My mom lent me her copy of this book a while back, and I kept putting off reading it because I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. I finally broke down and brought this along as reading material during my spring break travels. I must say, it definitely lived up to the hype. I could not put this book down. For those who have been living media-free, this book takes place in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960's. It is about a white woman, Skeeter, and her desire to give African-American women help an outlet and voice to share their stories as the hired help to wealthy white women. The central characters are Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minnie. Boy, do Aibileen and Minnie have a lot of patience to deal with their employers, let me tell you. These women are awful and are an unfortunate reminder of this nation's horrible treatment of African-Americans and the evil segregation laws that were in place during this time. This book will have you running through all sorts of emotions. One moment, you'll be laughing out loud, the next you will be mad, and then later, you'll cry. It is a fantastic read.
There is a movie about this book, of course. I did see it after having read the book, and it was pretty good! I am not one to praise movie versions of books, but this film stayed true to the text.
Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York: Amy Einhorn Books, 2010.
This is the second book in the Leviathan trilogy. Deryn and Alek are still trying to keep the peace amidst the impending war. The tension between the two is growing, too, as Deryn gets close to revealing her identity (there are some creatures who know she's a she). There are more machines, Clankers, as it were, too. It's a good read, but is a bit anti-climactic. I'm hoping the third book in the series, Goliath, is better. 
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