The Help

"Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own."

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is phenomenal.  It not only delves into the relationships of women, but opens eyes to the female side of racism and the Civil Rights era. There will be much conversation about Skeeter’s role in exposing these discriminations, but Aibileen, Minny, and Constantine are the real heroines of the story. Minny struggles with her anger about being considered “less than,” while Aibileen uses her disappointment and disgust to give strength to her own identity. Each of these ladies, Aibileen and Minny, showcase the strength, tenacity, and heart of the African American people who were forced to endure ignorance and hatred from their fellow “wo”man. The Help is a testament to the power of friendship between women, regardless of circumstance and skin color. 

While it does take a some adjusting to get used to the way they talk, you come to love these three main characters and hate a couple other characters. Great characters. Some parts of the book could really make you giggle, others you were afraid for what could happen if those women were caught  You begin to root for them and feel their pain.  This was the best book I have read in a long time and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Once you start reading, you're not going to want to put it down.  Next up, the movie!