The Help (Kathryn Stockett)

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett during the summer and LOVED it! It had me laughing at many points and also had me in tears today as I was sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. I loved the rollercoaster of emotions I felt as I was reading this book.

For those of you who haven't heard about the book (which, I guess, is probably a low percentage considering the amount of publicity the new movie "The Help" was getting), it's a book about a town in Mississippi, where the coloured maids, alongside a friendly white lady, secretly write a book about their experiences working in white households. I loved how the chapters in the book were written from different points of view - it reminded me of how Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper" was written.

Here are some of my favourite (and most memorable) quotes from the book:

"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, 'We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.'" (The Help, Kathryn Stockett, p. 492)

"'I guess I got to go,' I say, even though I'd rather spend the rest of my life right here in Aibileen's cozy little kitchen, having her explain the world to me. That's what I love about Aibileen, she can take the most complicated things in life and wrap them up so small and simple, they'll fit right in your pocket." (The Help, Kathryn Stockett, p. 369)

"Skeeter look away from me, try to smile. 'I don't care about any of that ole stuff, anyway.' She kind a laugh and it hurts my heart. Cause everybody care. Black, white, deep down we all do." (The Help, Kathryn Stockett, p. 346)

I highly recommend this book. I loved it so much that I rushed out to see the movie. While the movie was decent, in this case I definitely thought that the details provided in the book provided for an even better story than what was shown on the big screen...