The Help

 Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. Berkeley Books, 2009. 534 pages, $16.00 ISBN: 978042523200 (trade pbk.)

Plot Summary:

In 1962, Skeeter has just graduated from college and returned to her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi.  Skeeter has just taken a job as a cleaning advice columnist except that she knows nothing about housekeeping having grown up with a maid.  Skeeter decides to ask Aibileen, her friend Elizabeth’s maid, for help responding to some of the letter.  Skeeter has higher aspirations than penning an advice column; she wants to write about serious issues.  So, with the help of several black maids, Skeeter sets out to write and exposé of what it is like for black women, working in white homes and raising white babies.  Skeeter does not initially know how risky writing this book will be or the uproar it will cause in the community once it is published.

Critical Review:

Stockett’s debut novel is an intimate look at the hypocrisy of racism that will make you cry and make you laugh out loud.  In The Help black maids can raise white children and can cook for white families, but they cannot use the same bathroom as the family they work for.  Stockett reveals how terrifying it could be to live under Jim Crow, detailing events like the brutal murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in his own driveway.  Though Stockett’s novel is written for adults, teens too will appreciate Minnie’s outrageous antics and Skeeter’s quick wit.  Teens will also gain a greater understanding of life in the South during the 1960’s.  

Genre:

Historical Fiction

Crossover

Interest Level:

Grades 9 and up

Similar Books:

The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd

Subjects/Themes:

Racism

The South

Civil Rights

Jim Crow

Awards/Honors:

Indie’s Choice Book Award for debut adult author 2010

Author’s Website:

http://kathrynstockett.com/

Annotation:

The Help is an intimate, heartbreaking, and funny portrait of black and white women in the South during the tumultuous decade of the 1960’s.

Book Talking Ideas:

The Help is a must read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.  Jackson, Mississippi is turned upside down when Skeeter returns to her hometown in the early 1960’s, determined to become a writer.  With the help of African American maids Aibileen and Minnie, Skeeter will reveal family secrets and uncover skeletons in this heartwarming novel by debut author Kathryn Stockett.

Why I chose to include this book:

Though The Help was written for an adult audience I decided to include it because it was such a funny, heartwarming story and because I have had more than one teen patron tell me how much they have enjoyed reading The Help.

Potential Challenges:

The Help does contain references to racism and racial slurs; however this language is necessary to the storyline and the building of the setting in The Help.