The Help

After several friends encouraged me to read this book, I did. I loved it! It was so eye-opening for me. How crazy it is that when my mom was a little kid she could not go to school with black children.

This book arrived less than a week from the day ordered. It is very engrossing, can hardly put it down, as it reviews attitudes towards black and white people in the early 1960's. (After all the Civil Rights activities is is hard to remember the old days.) Stockett makes her characters, black and white, believable and honest in their daily lives and their reactions to events going on around them, i.e. murder and maiming of black men, all the rules the Negro must abide by, fear of being seen with a member of the other race, the degrading circumstances the blacks had to live in. I'm not quite finished with it, but hope that improvements will be made for the black people in the story. Probably there won't be many improvements for the black people until some of the white women are knocked up side of the head.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a definite must read! It is a warm and poignant novel. One that has the potential to be a timeless piece and passed on and on...and on.

Three women, Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny, join forces to embark on a seemingly impossible mission. They come from very different backgrounds but defy the rules of 1960s Mississippi regarding race relations and come together on a project that could put their lives in danger. Racial tensions begin to fly high as these women race to accomplish one common goal...to be heard.

Kathryn Stockett succeeded in writing a captivating novel. I really enjoyed reading it, and found it hard to put down. I was introduced to it by my mother, who was visiting me after I gave birth to my son. She was staying with us, and the book never seemed to leave her hands. And periodically I'd hear laughter or a shocked gasp come from her as she read it, so it peaked my interest. I never expected to have time to read since I had a newborn to tend to, but let me tell you, this book is so good I found myself creating time to read it. I'd balance baby in one hand and book in the other, or if I had to hold him and calm him down or pump, I'd crack the spine so the pages stayed flat and leave it open on the bed. It was that good!

It was such a page turner, it kept me wondering what happened next, or why something happened.The characters were so realistic I felt I was right there with them understanding their emotions. I felt I knew exactly who they were, not just a name, but who they were as people and understanding the personality of each one as if I knew them personally.

There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and equally as many OMG (oh my goodness) moments. Every chapter created a picture or scene that moved you to feel fear or sadness, even excitement. I definitely finished the book with a new found respect for the natives of 1960s Mississippi. I even felt thankful for never having to experience such negativity, but also wondered if I have, or ever had, that type of strength.

A really good book, which is exactly what The Help is, makes you do a self-examination. And The Help does just that. It forces (or moves) you to look at yourself and discover the real person you are within. I can tell you it inspires me to be better and even have faith that in a world of negative thought, there is still some good in people.

The Help is all encompassing, and we should definitely embrace it. So this gets a definite READ IT from me.

I enjoyed every minute while reading this book. The characters were real and believable and the plot well woven while also being enlightening.

Thouroughly enjoyed this book set in the civil rights era. The characters become people I know (for better or worse) because they are drawn in such detail and depth. Each maid's story is similar to the others because they are in the same situation, but each has their on unique perspective and worries. At the same time, the reader can relate to the three southern bells (and the mammas and beaus) becuase Ms. Stockett portrays the times so very acurately. Five stars and I'm waiting for her next book.