PRABE Week 7

     This week in Someone Knows my Name, the story really begins to evolve. Aminata begins her story in Africa where she lived free with her parents. She tells of her parents' chance meeting and the love they shared as a family. She also shares the night that her life was forever changed when both of her parents were killed and she, along with countless others, was kidnapped. They endured a long journey to the coast. Those that survived were forced onto a slave vessel waiting to carry them across the ocean. On the journey, Aminata made friends, old and new, became a woman and most importantly, she survived. Since she was able "catch" babies and able to speak two different languages she became useful to the toubab (white man) and known by the "homelanders" on the ship. On their trip across the ocean the homelanders revolted, killed several toubab, lost plenty of their own but were overpowered and were once again bound in metal shakles. Those that were dead, injured or too weak to be of any use were tossed into the ocean.
     Upon arriving in the toubab's land, the homelanders were separated and sold off.  Aminata was taken to the plantation of Robinson Appleby along with Fomba, a native of her village that was lost in his mind. She was nursed back to health by Georgia who reached out to the fishnet for her friend Chekura. He was a boy about her age that guarded them along the journey but then was also taken captive and loaded onto the ship. He was owned by the master of a nearby plantation. Their love grew in secret but Appleby found out and made sure she knew he belonged to him completely. Despite her terrible ordeal, Aminata and Chekura fell in love, conceived a child and got married. For this she was stripped down of all her clothes and possessions, shaved bald and made an example of by Appleby.
     Aminata delivered a baby boy that she named after her father. She loved her son so much and accepted her conditions because of him. Chekura came to visit when he could sneak away. She continued to nurse her son until he was sold by Appleby and taken from her in the middle of the night at 10 months old. Believing the loss of their son was her fault, Aminata gave up all will to live. She refused to work or eat despite threats and beatings. She was hoping to die. Appleby hoped to get something out of her before it was too late, so he sold her Solomon Lindo, a Jewish Indigo inspector that had previously inspected the Appleby plantation and had offered to buy Aminata.

PRABE Week 6

This week I began a new book that was suggested by a friend. It is Someone Knows My Name  by Lawrence Hill. I'm prepared for a brutally honest read into the life of a girl kidnapped from Africa as a child and enslaved in the colonies. The story begins with Aminata Diallo, also called Meena Dee, as an old woman in London 1802. Right now, Aminata begins to talk about her past and how her life used to be. Now that she's old she just wants her parents or her own children to care for her, but she has neither. She is now in the care of abolitionists who brought her to England so she could "help change the course of history". They feed and clothe her and she signs petitions, does public speaking and continues to tell her story to anyone that asks or is willing to listen in the hopes of ending the slave trade.

PRABE Week 5

I finished The Help this week. The ladies finished writing their book and Skeeter sent it off to New York. They patiently waited to hear from the Ms. Stein and were surprised, relieved and scared that it was going to be published. After the books release, rumors slowly begin to spread about the city and maids in the book. Although no one confirms the identities of anyone mentioned in the book everyone has their suspicions and some maids lose their jobs while others are offered jobs for a lifetime. Skeeter receives a job offer from New York and although reluctant to leave her friends and family, she accepts the job offer. Before she leaves, she tells Aiblileen that more books will be published and more money will be coming. She also sets her up with her Miss Myrna column. She is fired from her postition and takes it as a sign of new beginnings. Minny finally gains the courage to leave her abusive husband and will continue to work for the Foote's. Overall, I thought it was a daring story of courage and friendship in a troubling time in our country's history and although I would have preferred more in the ending, the ladies leave me with hope for their lives and the future of Jackson.

PRABE Week 4

     After the unfortunate jailing of one of the maids because of a petty theft blown way out or proportion, Skeeter finally has all of the maids she needs to interview for the book. She continues to meet with them in secret and worries that everything will come out in the open at any minute. After dating Stuart for a couple of months, she and her parents are finally invited for dinner at the Senator's home. There, she realizes her father shares her same views about colored people and that Stuart is still in love with his ex-fiance.
     Aibileen has been faithfully facilitating the interviews with Skeeter and the other maids. She continues to work for Miss Leefolt and tells Mae Mobley everyday how special and kind she is. She tells her stories of whites and colored being the same and being friends and the little girl enjoys the stories.
     Minny continues to work for Miss Celia even though she thinks she is a horrible drunk. She soon realizes that the liquid in the brown bottles is not alcohol when she finds Miss Celia sitting in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. She had been drinking a concoction she hoped would help her keep her baby inside of her but sadly it did not work. She loses baby number 4 in the toilet and begs Minny not to tell her husband.

PRABE Week 3

     This week in The Help, a lot has been going on with the ladies. Skeeter has begun to pursue her dreams of becoming a writer. Though writing as Miss Myrna through weekly cleaning advice column is not her ideal writing job, it’s a start.  She is still searching for answers to what happened to Constantine, her childhood maid and the woman that raised her. Sparked by the challenge of a female New York editor, Skeeter has begun to consider different topics to write about. She decides she wants to tell the story of colored maids in the South.
     Aibileen is both nervous and scared to share her stories with Skeeter. It’s improper and dangerous to share such truth and perspective with a white woman but she feels the need to let the stories out. After a lot of pursuing and persuading, Skeeter has Aibileen on board to share her stories. She sees Mae Mobley, her current white baby, and dislikes the woman she will most likely become, she thinks about the death of her son and the emptiness left behind and she thinks of Robert, the colored boy that was beaten blind for using the wrong toilet as she tells her stories. She is worried what would happen if they were caught but she prays that some good comes of it. 
     Minny finds a job with Celia Foote, who for some reason wants, to hide the fact that she hired a maid from her husband.  Minny also begins to tell her stories to Skeeter but she is more harsh and unforgiving than Aibileen. There is a lot of racial tension In Jackson, Mississippi and each time the women meet to share stories, they are risking imprisonment, injury or death. The women are so devoted to having the truth heard and praying that it makes a difference that they continue to meet even after the murder of an NAACP member on his front lawn.

PRABE Week 2

After spending more time this week on The Gift and my eventual "aha" moment that lead to me no longer reading it, I have moved on to The Help. I'm already happy I did. From the beginning, Kathryn Stockett does well to draw the reader into the lives of each of the women she portrays. I feel myself hurting for Aiblieen as returns to work before she's fully mourned the loss of her son. I'm disgusted with Miss Leefolt and her eagerness to please her "friends" yet her unwillingness to offer any love or affection to her own child, Mae Mobley. I hold my breath every time Minny speaks knowing that most times, it will get her in trouble. And yet Miss Skeeter's demeanor and way of thinking, have me both anxious and hopeful.

My "Aha" Moment

I've still been reading The Gift and I’ve still been struggling to like it. There were story lines I didn’t recognize or felt I should know more about, but didn't. I would even backtrack what I read to see if, by chance, I misread something. I had no luck. I decided to do some research of the book to see what others thought about it. That's when my "aha" moment occurred. Apparently Witch & Wizard is a series by James Patterson and Witch & Wizard: The Gift is book 2! It's no wonder I felt so lost. I think when books are in a series, they should be labeled in the order in which they are to be read. Clearly, had I seen a number 2 anywhere on the novel I would have been tipped off and moved right along. I'm not sure if this series is already doomed with me because of the initial lack of interest and confusion but at this point, I am moving on to The Help! :)