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What readers think of The Help, plus links to write your own review.

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • Readers' Rating (54):
  • First Published:
  • Feb 10, 2009, 464 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Apr 2011, 528 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews

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There are currently 54 reader reviews for The Help
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Power Reviewer
Dorothy T.

Not to be missed
In spite of some historical inaccuracies, this novel rings true and kept me engaged from beginning to end. (I admit, though, that I did get a little distracted at times trying to figure out which actresses would play which characters in the movie that inevitably will be made.) The characters are well-developed, and there is the right combination of suspense and humor.

This is another story that points out the inconsistencies in the relationships between whites and their black servants. On the one hand the blacks were considered inferior morally and dangerous to the health of the whites. Yet at the same time the black maids were entrusted with their most precious things: their children. These absentee mothers underestimated the influence their maids had on the children and the affection their children had for the maids. As long as the help didn’t use the same toilet, their white employers thought they had control of the situation. Kathryn Stockett does an excellent job with this contradiction.
lana b.

interest keeper
Easy to follow, historical infor. of the times, I did not want it to end. A
trip down memory lane for the older reader, and very informative for younger readers that never were involved in these times. Funny, sad, uplifting
Anne B.

A Great Read
While the author was a little fast and loose with historical events, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Extremely readable, with characters that draw you in.
Barb C.

Best Book I have ever read!
Without a doubt the best book I have ever read (and I read a lot). I loved it so much I gave 15 copies as Christmas gifts this year. One of my friends that received it said she was mad at me for giving it to her. When I asked why she said "I did not accomplish one thing for the 2.5 days it took me to read The Help."

I actually shed tears when I finished The Help, not because it was sad, but because there was no more of it to read.
S.Newman

The Help
My sister left this book behind for me to read after celebrating the holidays together. She said I would not be able to put it down. She is a English teacher so if she says something like that, you know it will be good. Well, it is more than good, it is excellent! She was right that I wouldn't be able to put it down. I couldn't believe it was Kathryn Stockett's first novel! A couple points in the book I felt I was right there, my heart would be racing along with the characters. It is that good! I look forward to reading more by Ms. Stockett.
Nancy Gould Chuda

Boundaries
Is the human condition for compassion blinded by the color of skin? The Help is an awakening for anyone who has ever cast fear or doubt that humanity can and does triumph from truth. Set in the south as told by a white author, Kathyrn Stockett weaves the lives of three unique characters into a tapestry of unforgettable reality. Rosa Parks crossed the line to define a new historical boundary for blacks in America and Stockett's The Help confirms why.
Lynn

The Help
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Along with some real 60's American history, it is funny, sad and eye opening. All the characters are realistic, colorful and I would love to have met them and talked. Because of Kathryn Stocketts personal history, she had good first hand knowledge of the South in the 60's. The book reads very easy and I hope another is coming soon.
Power Reviewer
PDXReader

Perfect historical fiction!
What an amazing book. It should be required reading for everyone too young to remember the racial injustice and turmoil of the 1960s. In addition to simply having something important to say, The Help is exceptionally well-written. All the characters are three-dimensional, even the minor ones, and everything about it feels agonizingly real. My only complaint is that it ended too soon; I wasn’t ready to leave the marvelous women at this book’s core.

Beyond the Book:
  Medgar Evers

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