The Help By: Kathryn Stockett

I recently read The Help by:Kathryn Stockett. If you like historical fiction books that make you laugh and make your heart break, you will love this book. This book is not just a book for girls.

It takes place in Jackson, Missouri, in the 1960s. In the 1960s, African Americans were not treated nicely by the Caucasian people. Some people were even killed because they were a certain race.

Minny is a feisty lady. She loves to cook and hates working for Ms. Hilly. When Ms. Hilly fires Minny from being her "help," Minny instantly starts finding a new job. Her friend Abileen finds her a job working for Ms. Celia, a new lady in town that doesn't know all the rumors Hilly had been starting.

Abileen works for Ms. Leefolt. Abileen takes care of and becomes attached to Ms. Leefolt's little girl. When Abileen meets Ms. Skeeter, Ms. Skeeter is very impressed with Abileen. Ms. Skeeter starts talking to her about what is a like to work for a white lady. She gets this idea in her head that she was going to write a book. The book was to be about what was like to work for a white person.

They were going to use other "helpers'" stories and change every body's names. There was great risk here. If they got caught writing this book, they might have been killed. It took quite a bit of time to find twelve to thirteen people who were willing to take the risk. By the time they found the volunteers, they didn't have very much time to write the book if they wanted it to be read and not stuffed in the "junk pile" that doesn't really get read. They worked hard and turned the book in soon after Christmas.

During the writing process, many people think that Ms. Skeeter is up to something. Ms. Hilly is one of these people. She decides that she is going to try and prove this theory. She starts finding every reason to go to Ms. Skeeter's own home to torment her into telling her what she wans to here.

This book was very memorable and entertaining. I had a lot of fun reading it because it switched which character was telling the story. I was laughing and feeling sad for Minny at the same time. I really like the way the author chose to write this book. I agree with how little content of what really happened in the 60s because the book is appropriate for all ages without all the details about what was going on. It did include a few things that occurred because it effected the content of the book but she did not go into gory details.

This book affected me because I did not know how the darker people felt about being safe and getting their story out. I know feel differently for those people. I used to feel kind of sorry for them because I did not know exactly how important it was back then to live the law and not take risks. Now, I know how they feel so I feel really sorry for them. I loved the way the author chose to teach this important lesson.

This book truly was an amazing book. I felt joy, sorrow, and humor while reading this book. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. I rate this book an A+.