Thursday, November 24, 2011

Book Review Thursday - 11/24

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you all are able to stuff yourselves with wonderful foods while you give thanks! Here, I am still catching up on book reviews!

Clear and Convincing Proof by Kate Wilhelm is the next Barbara Holloway novel. A murder occurs outside of the Kelso-McIvey Rehabilitation Center and there are plenty of suspects to go around - the widow, the brilliant physical therapist, and a couple of founders of the Center. Barbara is hired to protect the widow and the physical therapist and eventually the future of the Center.

There were plenty of new characters added in this book and of course they all come with their own personalities and quirks. Wilhelm does a great job of keeping all the characters separate without letting any of them lose their individual characteristics. This is the first book in the series where Barbara has not ended up in court trying a case, but the lack of the courtroom drama did not set the novel back at all. Still a great series and the book is awesome!

If you have not heard of The Help by Kathyn Stockett, you must have been living under a rock for a long time! I finally got around to reading it a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of the DVD release of the movie. I have heard good things about the movie being as great as the book and I was ready to get the book in my reading rotation.

Set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's, the story follows Aibileen and Minnie - black maids for white families - and Skeeter - a white college graduate determined to become a writer - in their journey to change the world. And if not the world, they hope to at least change the city of Jackson and to make things better for the black maids in the city.

This book is Ah-maz-zing!! These women set about to write this book hoping to change things and thinking that it won't make a difference and praying that they are not found out so that they don't have to suffer the consequences of social interaction between races.

Honestly, there isn't much that I can say that hasn't already been said in countless reviews all over the net. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it! The only thing that I wasn't too keen on was the way it just .... ended. I wanted the book to go on or at least have a bit of wrap up on the main characters. But I will probably read it again anyway! And I can't wait to see the movie!

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

Yeah, The Help is on my list one of these days.

Brenda said...

Yup, I have read 'The Help' and enjoyed it! Have not read the other yet, but I have downloaded one of the books you recommended, 'Desperate Measures' by Kate Wilhelm. Have not listened yet, but I am looking forward to it!!
Have a great weekend!!!

Karen said...

I just finished The Help and it is great. I really enjoyed reading it.