I know a lot of people *loved* this book. I certainly enjoyed it, and liked the characters. I found it easy to read, and now I look forward to seeing the movie. My mom said that she found it very true to life, as she grew up with an African-American maid. My only complaint (and it feels like a medium-ish sized complaint), is that the entire plotline and story was so very predictable. I can easily see why this is going to become a movie, it felt like it was written to be one! 
 Still, I did like it a lot, and recommend it.