Book Review: The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett
Title: The Help 
Genre: Historical Fiction and Drama
Pages: ebook
First Published: February 2009
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library

"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.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed." 

This has been sitting on my TBR list for a long, long time now. I finally got the motivation to read it, because this is the book for September for my book club. :) 

Where to begin?

I wish I could say that I loved this like everyone else, but I can't. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't fantastic either. The hype seems a little over-the-top for this book. It's okay. The characters were interesting, but I wasn't a big fan of Aiblieen's and Minny's POVs. Not because I didn't like the characters, but I felt it took away from their stories and I felt like the language used was a bit over done. I get that in the 60s Black Americans had a different way of talking, but it was over done and took away from the story. The balance wasn't done right in my opinion. 

Hahahaha the poo part was funny! I can't go into details, but I was cracking up!! It made the story in my opinion - I hope they put it in the movie. 

Other then the poo part, the book was okay. I will admit...I did a lot of skimming. I just wasn't THAT invested in the characters or what was going to happen. I get how people can love this book though, but I was neutral. I'm always glad when someone writes about a controversial time period or issue, its always a risk and I must tip my hat to the author for tackling such a sensitive issue of race. 

In the end...it was alright. I can see how people adore this book, but I think it is overrated a wee bit. I loved some of the characters, they were interesting and fun - especially Minny (what a rascal and sassy lady). I do plan on watching the movie one day, because I am interested to see how they put it on screen; also, I have heard the movie is better then the book, so we shall see. I would recommend this to those that like historical fiction or for those looking for a shake up in their reading. Out of five stars, I grant this 2 stars, it is more like 2.4, but I rounded, because I don't give decimals. 

Favorite Character(s): Minny, Aibileen, and Skeeter
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Everyone else.