A book that will change everything – THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett reviewed
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Reviewed by Sawomi, age 15
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. Abileen is a black maid, a wise regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Minny, Abileen's best friend is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest women in Mississippi. Together these three ladies work to tell the stories of what it's like to be a black maid in Jackson, Mississippi without getting caught by the folks in town.
I started out reading this book for my English culminating assignment (bleck!) but then I really started to enjoy reading it, maybe I didn’t completely LOVE it but it was a great read and I definitely don’t feel like I wasted my time reading this book. While The Help was a bit tacky and cliché at times ( ***SPOILER ALERT***) like when we find out Skeeter’s mom who had been sick this entire book had cancer or Stuart Whitworth still being hung up on his old girlfriend, the book still told an amazing story about three people and how their collaboration/friendship stirred up the beginning of a change in their small town of Jackson Mississippi. The Help was funny, with Hilly’s pie, dramatic with Skeeter’s romance, realistic with actual events being mentioned like the famous Rosa Parks bus sitting and Medgar Evers assassination, and even suspenseful with the thought of whether the book will actually get published always looming over the readers head. Another thing I liked about this novel was the characters. Every major character was very complex with many sides to them and they all felt so real, like they could be someone I know. For example Abileen is a lady who has always done what she’s told and stays in her comfort zone but when she gets the chance to assist Skeeter with writing her novel she slowly takes that chance and from then on we see her grow and change as a person right before our eyes. This was an overall loveable and touching novel with characters that came to life and gave the readers a chance to see what it was like to be a black maid in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s. If I were to rate this book I would rate it about 8.5/10. A wonderful book about the journey towards writing a book that will change everything…and what happens after.
10 thoughts on “A book that will change everything – THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett reviewed”
Wow, I’ll definitely pick up this book the next time I see it at the library. Even the cover makes it look like a great time consumer. However, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover! So, I should read it for myself and find out!
I read this book back in seventh grade, it was great. Very thought provoking. It really shows the struggles of racism.
Yes I’ve read it too and its a heartwarming story that shows the paternal bonds between the maids and the white children they raise. This story provides a realistic, not an ideal and naive, view on love, friendship, and bonds as the black maids struggle with the condescending and racism views of white woman towards them.
Very true, it was nice to read the true struggles in the black maids’ point of view.
Yes, but the book also had different povs between white characters and black characters which made things interesting.
Now I want to read it again, added to my list!
Great book you will love it.
While this book has many aspects of it, it still keeps the racism towards blacks as the central issue in the book.
That’s good, can’t wait to read it again.
I’ve always wanted to read it, but never got around to it. Great review! It encouraged me to place a hold on it and now I can’t wait!