Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

I see why this book has been on the best seller list for weeks. It was a wonderful read and a real eye-opener into the lives of the black maids in the South and the families who employed them.

Book has been returned to me.

Released at the May meet-up of Calgary BookCrossers at the Joshua Tree Café.

I loved the movie based on this book and have been wanting to read this one for a long time. Can't wait to read it.

LOVED this book! I was up late frantically trying to finish this so that I can take it with me to today's meeting. I did it and enjoyed every minute of it. Laughed, cried and made me think about racism and what a horrible thing it is!

Taking this to today's meeting to pass along to the next person on the list. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did!

Are you in the Calgary area and interested in meeting up with other Calgary BookCrossers? Please check out our facebook group, "BookCrossing Calgary" for details on how. Meeting are held on the second Saturday of every month at the Joshua Tree Cafe starting at 11am. New Crossers are always welcome.

Picked up at the June Calgary Bookcrossing Meeting.

A really excellent story about three different women living in the racially charged 1960's south. One of the best things is how its pointed out how utterly problematic Skeeter's attempts to be helpful, without being preachy. Oddly, I think the character who was the least racist character was Celia who, because of her lower-class background isn't used to having people wait on her, and isn't used to being around people who she considers inferior. At the same time, she was hugely troublesome, because she was running contrary to how everyone else behaved.

Taken to Christmas in July at the Joshua Tree.

Brought this home from the monthly meet up but not sure I want to read it. I really enjoyed the movie so have really no desire to read the book....but we will see!

I am taking this book to our monthly bookcrossers meet up at the Joshua Tree Cafe - the second Saturday of every month- to pass on to the next reader.

Picked up this book at the Calgary BookCrossing January meet-up. One of those books I have to read, it seems like.

Awesome book. I wasn't sure I would enjoy it, but it's very engaging without being flashy. It's just a story of three women trying to live their lives. It's sad to think that things used to be like that and might still be like that in some places in the world. I think I'll pick up the movie from the library now.

Releasing this book at the Calgary BookCrossing March meet-up. If it didn't go home with someone, it's on the bookshelf.

Picked it up at the book crossing meeting at the Joshua Tree Cafe.