Book Review: "The Help"

I will admit that I am a book-a-holic. I LOVE reading books. Sometimes they are new ones, sometimes they are old favorites that I just want to read again. I am usually reading at least two books at a time. One on my own and one with my husband/family as we travel places. I know that several of my friends enjoy reading too, so I thought I would start doing a book review. I must say that I am just expressing my opinion about the book. I will try hard to not give the story away. The first book that I picked is :

About a year ago, my book club read this book. It took me awhile to get into it, but I really enjoyed reading it. After reading the book, I saw the movie and thought that they did a really good job with it.  If you want to know what "The Help" is about, you can read the synopsis here.  
Recently, I decided to listen to the audiobook. (I find that I spend SO much time in my kitchen that I might as well listen to something while I'm there.)  I must say that this is one of my FAVORITE audiobooks that I have listened to.
I think the reason that I enjoyed this audiobook so much is that each of the main characters (Aibeleen, Skeeter, and Minnie) is portrayed by a different reader. It brings the book to life and is almost like listening in on their lives.
I love this book because it is not just about civil rights, but it teaches so many other things. For me, I learned to make sure I tell my children that "You is smart, you is kind, you is important" often. I want them to remember that when others might put them down. I also learned that social lines are only there if we choose to draw those lines. Several the women in this book were willing to step out of those lines and reach out to others that would not have normally been in their circle of friends. What a great thing to remember - be accepting of others,  even if they don't look like you!. I also was reminded that we really aren't that different regardless of race, religion, or any other differences that we might perceive. We all want to be safe, loved, valued, and happy. Overall, I enjoyed this book - both as an audiobook and a regular book. I would have loved it, except that there is a part with a nude drunk man that I felt was a bit more descriptive than I thought it needed to be.  The point could have been made without the nudity or at least without being so descriptive. I loved the movie and was glad when I found out that scene was not included in the movie.