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"The Help"
by Kathryn Stockett
Told from the perspective of three woman - one white, two black - this novel explores the tense, compelling, and sometimes poignant relationship between white women and their black maids in the South of the 1960's. Skeeter has just returned home from college only to find that her degree doesn't impress her family as much as a good marriage would; her usual confidante, her maid Constantine, has disappeared and no one will tell her why. Aibileen, a black maid for one of Skeeter's friends, is raising her seventeenth white child while grieving over the loss of her own son. And Minny, Aibileen's friend, has just lost another job for sassing her white employer; Minny finds employment with someone too new in town to know her reputation, but this white women has secrets of her own. The three women, seemingly the unlikeliest of heroines, band together for a secret project that puts their reputations - and even their lives - at stake. Based on Stockett's own experiences growing up in the "recovering racist" town of Jackson, Mississippi, "The Help" is a story about the lines we tolerate and those we defiantly cross.
Kelli's Thoughts: Comical and heartbreaking, this book is one of the most refreshing "best sellers" I've read in a long time. The characters are fully formed - not caricatures - and each tells her story with a clear, unique, and powerful voice. The only drawback in my opinion is that the visual descriptions suffer a bit because of the concentration on characterization and dialogue; I didn't really feel the hot summer nights in the black shantytown, or the haughty atmosphere of the all-white Junior League meetings. A film version will be coming out soon; hopefully, they keep the strong characters AND give us some good visuals as well.
Overall Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars
You Will Enjoy This Book if You Like: "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, or "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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"Matched"
by Ally Condie
For Cassia, nothing is left to chance (or choice) - not what she will eat, not the job she will have, not her activities in her spare time, nor the man she will marry. In "Matched," Society Officials have determined optimal outcomes for all aspects of daily life (including the time of your death), thereby removing the "burden" of choice. Things such as writing and the owning of personal items are forbidden, seen as roadblocks to an equal and fair society. When Cassia's best friend Xander is identified as her ideal marriage Match it reaffirms her belief that Society knows best... that is until she plugs in her Match microchip and a different boy’s face flashes on the screen. This strange mistake (from a society that doesn't make them) leads Cassia down a dangerous path to the previously unthinkable - rebelling against the "perfect" predetermined life Society has in store for her.
Kelli's Thoughts: This book has similar themes to the Hunger Games trilogy - dystopian society of the future, initially innocent heroine who becomes jaded - but this story focuses on romance where the Hunger Games books focused on violence. The main character is really only rebelling because of a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who she's told she can't have. Interesting themes, bad dialogue: the author has this weird need to end each chapter with some kind of homily. An example would be when Cassia says, "It felt strange to be rebelling this way against rules I was previously accustomed to. But maybe we all rebel in some ways?" It seems like she wants it to come off as deep and thought-provoking, but it just ends up being awkward and actually made me feel disrespected as a reader. Granted, this is YA fiction... but I was never that dumb, even at 14.
Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
You Will Enjoy This Book if You Like: *shudder* "Twilight" - but only if you're the kind of person who would never admit to liking it. Also, Lois Lowry's "The Giver"
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"Fallen" and "Torment"
by Lauren Kate
In "Fallen," Luce must spend her senior year at the Sword & Cross reform school after her boyfriend dies in a mysterious fire. Did the dark shadows that have tormented her all of her life have something to do with it? Or is she, as she fears, going insane? When Luce meets fellow student Daniel, she feels a familiar longing, making her believe they have met before. When she pursues him and tries to discuss her feelings of deja vu, Daniel cryptically tells her that the truth would kill her as it has many times before. And then there's the charming Cam: Luce wants to like him, but something just feels wrong about him. Strange deaths, homicidal Goth girls, unwanted advances, and a seemingly unrequited crush - all plague Luce's steps at her new school. As Luce figures out that her classmates are decidedly unnatural, she also discovers that this life may not have been her first.
In "Torment," Luce has discovered the true nature of her relationship with Daniel, but not all secrets have been revealed. In an effort to protect her, Daniel removes Luce from Sword & Cross and places her in another boarding school, the hippie-ish Shoreline. Although his pact with Cam prevents him from doing so, Daniel sneaks in to see Luce, confusing their relationship even more. Her training at Shoreline is helping Luce to fight back against the shadows that previously plagued her... but it's also giving her the confidence to take it one step further and try to control them. Will Luce ever truly understand the supernatural war going on around her? Will Daniel ever trust her enough to tell her the truth about who he is and who she was?
Kelli's Thoughts: I really enjoyed these. (However, I am currently also obsessed with YA fiction, sooo... others may not share my appreciation!) Not too much of a spoiler here: these books deal with the concept of fallen angels. The plot of both revolves around lovers who find one another, only to lose one another over and over again in a story that spans centuries. Both play with the idea that Good and Evil are less black and white, and more shades of gray; basically, the idea of a "bad guy" is relative, history is written by the winning side, etc. The books are a little angsty, but not to a sickening degree. Luce as a main character is a somewhat maddening (Why doesn't she draw the obvious conclusions?) and a little too gaga over Daniel. The story caught my interest more than anything; it's interesting and fairly well-plotted. Nutshell: I will be buying the third book when it comes out, but I won't feel the need to get it the day it comes out.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
You Will Enjoy This Book if You Like: The House of Night novels by PC and Kristin Cast
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That's all for now, chickadees!
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