Skip to main content

Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett


When Skeeter graduates from college in the early 1960's, she returns home to Jackson, Mississippi. Her friends are all married and having children, while she is a single aspiring writer. Her sorrow over the loss of her childhood maid, who left town while Skeeter was in college, and her desire to become a professional writer propel Skeeter to a project that will affect the lives of most of the women in her town.

This is an incredible debut from Kathryn Stockett. Written from three different perspectives, in three different voices, the novel follows Skeeter and two maids - Aibileen and Milly - as they come together to tell the true stories about the relationships and interactions between the help and the white women for whom they work.

Stockett does an amazing job of developing each of the many female characters in this novel. Although all of the women fall within two categories - the help and the white employers - each is unique so it's easy to keep track of them, their families and their storylines from beginning to end. It's an excellent look at how life was for these Southern women as they embarked on the changes that the civil rights movement would eventually bring to all of them.

My Rating: 5/5

Reading group guide and discussion questions for The Help

This review was written based on a copy of The Help that I purchased.
Labels:

Comments

  1. LynnNovember 23, 2009 at 3:45 PM

    I loved this book, too. Wasn't it good? It seems like it would be a fun one to discuss in a book group.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JulieDecember 2, 2009 at 11:27 AM

    I'm actually hosting my book club's discussion of this one in January!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JennyDecember 9, 2009 at 6:00 AM

    This one is in my TBR pile. Can't wait to start it as I have heard really good things about it. Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Micaella LopezDecember 13, 2014 at 7:17 AM

    I couldn't wait to finish this book so I could send it to my mother. I wished the author had written more because I would have bought every one. I have been telling every person who will listen to buy this book. I fell in love with those three women. I wished I could have hugged them myself. Thank you, dear author, for writing such rich characters who spent time with me.
    I like this site :: Alaska Fishing Lodge Information, recommended

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Popular posts from this blog

Banned Books Week: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

This is the end of Banned Books Week and unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to write about banned books this year. But I did want to include at least one post about it, so today I wanted to share one of the book series that it seems most people are surprised to find on the list: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park.

According to Wikipedia:
The Junie B. Jones series came in at #71 on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000-2009. Reasons cited are poor social values taught by the books and Junie B. Jones not being considered a good role model due to her mouthiness and bad spelling/grammar. This is an interesting example of a banned book. Many times there are serious, controversial topics featured in books that are challenged. Things like homosexuality, drugs, vulgar language, etc. You can actually understand why people may not want their children to read those books, and why they may challenge their inclusion in school libra…
10 comments
Read more

Book Review: No Story to Tell by KJ Steele

Victoria has been put down since the day she was born. First by her parents who were disappointed that she survived while her twin brother died. Then by her verbally abusive husband and his low-life friends. But soon an intriguing artist named Elliott arrives in town and starts encouraging Victoria to follow her dream of opening her own dance studio. She also begins to receive phone calls from a mysterious someone who gets her to open up about her past and face her true feelings.

In No Story to Tell, KJ Steele has captured the small-town atmosphere and brought these characters to life. From the victimized Victoria, to her drunk and obnoxious husband Bobby and his drunk and obnoxious friends, to all the side characters who you'd expect to encounter in a town like this ~ all are so realistic in both their actions and their voices. She has written a compelling story of an abused woman who thinks she is trapped in this loveless, miserable existence. But then she finds a spark of hope…
Post a Comment
Read more

Book Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I See You
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Genre: thriller
Published: February 21, 2017
Format: ebook (NetGalley)
Source: publisher
Buy on Amazon(affiliate link)


Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? You will after reading Clare Mackintosh's latest release I See You. Told from the perspectives of two women, one who appears to be targeted by a criminal and the other who is the police officer working the case, this psychological thriller will have you looking over your own shoulder by the end.

Zoe is a typical working mother who takes the Underground through London to her office every day. Like most commuters, she has a routine that she follows every day, leaving home at the same time, sitting in the same train car, taking the same route to work from the station. It's habit. But she starts to realize this may not be a good idea after seeing her own photo in an advertisement in the newspaper. Another woman who appears in the advertisement is murdered and Zoe starts to ge…
2 comments
Read more