Goodreads defines its star ratings as follows: 3 = "liked it" and 4 = "really liked it." I was hovering between 3 and 4, 3 and 4, 3 and 4 ... So you get that what I really wanted to do was rate it 3-1/2.

It's a solid good book. I think the author did a really good job with developing the voices of the three main characters. They all felt real, and distinct, and human in that they're a mix of admirable and not-so-admirable qualities.

The minor characters were blurry. Celia Foote was a caricature, and the scene where she and Minny fight off an intruder felt unnecessary. There were no distinctive male characters. Hilly was detestable; the reader's guide at the end of the book praises her for being a good mother, but that virtue is but a scant sliver of how she is portrayed.

Some of the plot elements were chilling. How awful it must have been for a maid to be accused of stealing, and stand trial and be convicted within a couple of days; and how simple it was for her (white) employer to make an accusation. There was also great pressure on the white community to conform. I can only accept these events as based in truth.