Book Review: The Help

This month I finally got my hands on The Help by Kathryn Stocket. You guys. This book is so good. I know I'm tardy to the party on this book, but I loved it so much. Per usual, I chose to wait until I read the book before I watched the movie, and of course, life started to get in the way and it took me forever to finally pick it up and read it. I'm kicking myself that it took me this long to finally read this story. For me, this book was one of those that I would be itching to get back to when I was working or doing other things. There were multiple times while driving that I was wishing I lived within the radius of public transportation so I could spend my commute reading!

Anywho, this book is set in the mid-1960's in Jackson, Mississippi and each chapter is told from the perspective of one of three women - Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia Phelan, also known as Miss Skeeter. Aibileen and Minny are both black maids that work for affluent white housewives, and Skeeter - though not a housewife herself is a part of the housewife inner circle - is a recent graduate of Ole Miss who has a dream of becoming a writer. Disgusted and frustrated with the way she sees her friends treat their maids, she approaches Aibileen with the idea to interview her and a handful of other maids to tell their stories of what it's like to work for the white women they spent their lives raising - something that could spell serious trouble for all involved.

Stocket does a fantastic job in giving all three narrators unique voices and stories, and the way that she was able to weave each of these characters as well as the supporting characters into each others' lives was remarkable. Each perspective had it's own unique draw to it that I found myself thirsting to know how each character was reacting to each situation. When I was wrapping up a Miss Skeeter chapter, I was dying to hear Minny's side of the story. When Minny's chapter ended, I so wanted to know what Aibileen was thinking. The way this book was written made you want more, and I loved each page of it.

If you haven't read this book, I HIGHLY encourage that you do. I watched the film with Brett immediately after finishing this story and I would say that the movie did a great job in sticking to the story line, but the book provides with so much rich detail that you miss out on in the film. This book quickly shot into being one of my favorites and I'm so happy that I finally took the time to read it for the book club!

What did you think of The Help (either the book or the film)?

Let me know in the comments!