Book Review: The Help

The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 464
Where I Got It: A friend got it for me

First line: "Mae Mobley was born on a early Sunday morning in August, 1960."

Told from the point of view of three different women, Kathryn Stockett's NY Times bestseller is an absolutely captivating story.

Set during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Minny and Aibileen are two African-American women who work as maids in the homes for two wealthy white families for women who have no problem letting them raise their children, yet can't fathom the idea of sharing even a bathroom with them.  Meanwhile, Skeeter (real name Eugenia and shoot I'd go by Skeeter too if that was my name) is recently graduated from college and is ready to do some really big things, which is tough to do when you're stuck in a town where all the women are in a hurry to just settle down and start having kids.

I know I just did this with my review of Columbine (which got a comment from the actual author!!), so here we go again.  Go out and buy and read this book immediately if you haven't yet.

I couldn't get through this one fast enough and will be adding this to both my list of all-time faves and my list of books I will most likely re-read sometime in the future.

The narration shifts throughout the story between Minny's voice, Aibileen's voice and Skeeter's voice and it worked perfectly.  Speaking through their different voices, Stockett really captured the fear, pride, love, frustration and every other feeling these women experienced throughout the story. I found myself smiling, close to tears, and with a racing heart at all of the appropriate times which I think speaks highly to how well-written this book is.

I really loved this book and can't recommend it highly enough.

Apparently they are turning it into a movie with Emma Stone (Superbad, Easy A) starring as Skeeter.  I am not happy with that decision mainly because in the book, Skeeter is described as being super tall and gangly with unruly frizzy hair - overall she's awkward.  Emma Stone is not. I'm very hesitant to see this movie after how much I loved/gushed over this book.

Carry on.

Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars (duh)


Coming Up Next: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (aka HP7)
Do I really need to put a synopsis here?  It's the last book of the Harry Potter series.

Five years after it was originally published, I am finally reading the last HP book.  NOTE TO READERS: Do not get cute and tell me what happens in the book.  I have gone five years without any idea as to how it all ends and if you ruin this for me, I will probably end our friendship. Real talk.  I have to read this now because the movie comes out on the 16th and all of my best friends in Sac are having a movie marathon leading up to going to see the last movie.