Happy Thanksgiving

I want to personally thank all of you for following my blog site, it means so much to me. My wish is that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and loved ones.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

*** Courtesy the Author


Synopsis

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.
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.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

My Review Comments:

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book to review and it didn’t disappoint me in any expect of the storyline. I absolutely loved this book, and the movie that was produced after it was even better. It stayed close to the original story line and it made the characters come alive from the pages to the movie screen. You will laugh and cry and have a better understanding of the lines that divided whites and blacks in the deep heart of Mississippi. You will also, have a better understanding of the roles that the black maids took over as surrogate Moms for their white employers children. The deep-rooted connection that was established carried over into adulthood with the children that they raised. Unfortunately, that message was lost on many of them. They became the complete opposite of what they had been taught by their much beloved Nannies and they eventually turned on them as their Mothers did and treated them quiet poorly. What I found so incredible about this book was the very last page, which explains why the author was inspired to write it. I don’t want to give too much away, but it explains volumes about why she wrote this story.

A Little Bit Wicked by: Kristin Chenoweth

***Purchased Through Barnes and Noble

Synopsis

A lively, laugh-out-loud journey from Oklahoma beauty queen to show biz sensation. “Life’s too short. I’m not."You might know her as a Tony Award–winning Broadway star who originated the role of Glinda the Good Witch in the smash musical Wicked. Or you may recognize her from her starring roles on TV—The West Wing, Pushing Daisies, and Sesame Street. At four foot eleven, Kristin Chenoweth is an immense talent in a petite but powerful package. Through a combination of talent, hard work, and (she’s quick to add) the grace of God, Kristin took Broadway and Hollywood by storm. But of course, into every storm, the occasional drizzle of disaster must fall, and Kristin reflects on how faith and family have kept her grounded, even in tough times. Filled with wit, wisdom, and backstage insight, A Little Bit Wicked is long on love and short on sleep. It’s essential reading for Kristin’s legions of fans and an uplifting story for anyone seeking motivation to follow his or her dreams—over the rainbow and beyond. Featuring Chenolicious recipes, Kristin’s advice for young actors, and much more!

My Review Comments:

After seeing the musical Wicked with Kristen Chenoweth and hearing her beautiful voice, I was so excited to be able to read a book all about the girl who played Glinda. She is amazing and her story was truly touching to me since it was based on her faith. What a wonderful follow up book to, Wicked and it was such a light and fun read. This book covers her entire life and explains what obstacles you need to overcome to make your dreams come true. It was so interesting to know that she was adopted and that she had struggles just like all of us, and yet she was able to achieve so much. Everything does come at a price but, she has the support of her family and friends to help her along her journey. She shares her humor and lots of delightful stories that you will get lost in. One other thing that I thought was interesting is that she included sprinkles of family recipes throughout the book too. If you have never seen her in Wicked, then I would encourage you to listen to her music. She has an amazing voice and one that you will not soon forget.

Wicked by: Gregory Maguire

***Purchased Through Barnes and Noble

Synopsis

Born with green skin and huge teeth, like a dragon, the free-spirited Elphaba grows up to be an anti-totalitarian agitator, an animal-rights activist, a nun, then a nurse who tends the dying? and, ultimately, the headstrong Wicked Witch of the West in the land of Oz. Maguire's strange and imaginative postmodernist fable uses L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a springboard to create a tense realm inhabited by humans, talking animals (a rhino librarian, a goat physician), Munchkinlanders, dwarves and various tribes. The Wizard of Oz, emperor of this dystopian dictatorship, promotes Industrial Modern architecture and restricts animals' right to freedom of travel; his holy book is an ancient manuscript of magic that was clairvoyantly located by Madam Blavatsky 40 years earlier. Much of the narrative concerns Elphaba's troubled youth (she is raised by a giddy alcoholic mother and a hermitlike minister father who transmits to her his habits of loathing and self-hatred) and with her student years. Dorothy appears only near novel's end, as her house crash-lands on Elphaba's sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, in an accident that sets Elphaba on the trail of the girl from Kansas? As well as the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and the Lion? and her fabulous new shoes. Maguire combines puckish humor and bracing pessimism in this fantastical meditation on good and evil, God and free will, which should, despite being far removed in spirit from the Baum books, captivate devotees of fantasy.

My Review Comments:

I have to say, if you love the idea of finding out what really happened before Dorothy landed in Oz than this is the book for you. There was a whole new world to discovery through this book that explained the story of Oz. It was an interesting twist to learning the back story of the relationship between Glinda the good witch and Elphaba the wicked witch. It will give you a new way at looking at the wicked witch of the west and the good witch of the north. You will also learn about the story through all the other unforgettable characters such as the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion. After, seeing the musical years ago I just had to read the book that it was based on it. Besides, the fact the there is a rumor that Walt Disney is going to take the musical version and make it into a movie. Let me tell you it didn’t disappoint me at all and I couldn’t put it down. It was such a great concept to think that there actually was a world with another side to it in Oz before Dorothy landed there. I would just like to also add, that there are three other books that go along with this one in the series. They are as follows: Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, Out of Oz. The last book is coming out soon, with a fitting end which includes Dorothy to make the story complete. You will have to add these to your library.

Mailbox Monday

The Orphan Sister by: Gwendolen Gross
book courtesy: Simon & Schuster

The Dry Grass of August by: Anna Jean Mayhew
book courtesy: Kensington Books