The Help

On to three favorites because of the wonderful storytelling and characters.  The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam, 2009) is every bit as good as the word of mouth about it.  Set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962, our heroine, Skeeter, (or Miss Skeeter, depending on who is speaking!) is an Ole Miss graduate who returns home to Jackson longing to become a writer.  She begins to view her friends and family, and the way they treat their “help”, in a different, more enlightened way and gets three maids to agree to meet with her and tell their stories.  The enterprise is dangerous – it could be life threatening to the maids and Skeeter if anyone finds out they are meeting and telling these stories – so the novel is infused with a sense of suspense.  The characters are all so wonderful, even the ones you love to hate (Miss Hilly) that I was truly sad when the book ended and want more!