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The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009)

6/4/2020

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett - RapunzelReads
By Super Kitty

Aibileen Clark has spent her whole life playing by the rules. She's raised dozens of white children, but the pain of seeing them grow up to become as racist as their parents has never faded away. And now that her only son has been killed in an accident, she's beginning to wonder if silence isn't her only option.

Skeeter Phelan has come back home to Jackson, Mississippi with a college degree and dreams of becoming a writer, but all her mother cares about is finding her a husband, and even spending time with her high school friends doesn't feel natural anymore. Maybe they're growing apart--or maybe Skeeter's the only one who notices the discrimination that seems to be everywhere.

Minny Jackson has never had a problem with telling people what she thinks, be they black or white, friend or employer. She's been fired plenty of times, but as the best cook in Jackson, it's never been too hard to find another job. Until now. Desperate for a job, she accepts a position with a woman too new to town to know about her sarcastic reputation--a position which involves keeping far more secrets than she wants to be involved in.

When the three women unite to write about the experiences of African American maids in their town, they know that they could be risking everything they care about. But each knows that it's time that change came to Jackson. And once you see injustice, you can't ignore it anymore.

​The Help is gorgeously written, and the characters all feel incredibly real. The three perspectives balance and contrast each other, creating a stunning narrative. Also, the audiobook narration is outstanding--if you enjoy audiobooks, I would highly recommend listening to it! Overall, an excellent book for readers ages 13 and up.

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    For Older Readers

    Although we're continuing to focus this blog on middle-grade (8-12) books, we've read some stories for older readers which we also enjoy. Some of these we've already reviewed because we've loved them so much, but we wanted to give them and some older reads their own place so that if you’re a reader who is beginning to grow out of middle-grade, we’ll still have some favorite books to recommend.

    Happy reading! 


    Young Adult vs. Middle Grade

    The difference between ‘middle grade’ and ‘young adult’ books mainly has to do with themes, not the complexity of the story. On this page, we’ll give recommendations for readers ages 12-14+, for those reasons.

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