The Help - Kathryn Stockett (Kindle)

I recently signed up for the Southern Reading Challenge, and because of overwhelmingly positive reviews from bloggers and Entertainment Weekly, I added this book to my list. Not only that, it was my first purchase on my Kindle. First-time author Kathryn Stockett has hit a serious home run here, guys. Watch out. I'm working up to a major love fest.

It is Jackson Mississippi in 1962, and we are knee-deep in segregation - separate bathrooms, separate hospitals, even separate libraries. Every middle and upper class family has a black maid. But we are on the brink of big changes. Martin Luther King Jr. is making a name for himself, and tensions are running high between blacks and whites.

At the center of the story are three women. Aibileen is a meek, middle aged, single black woman whose only son was killed in a tragic accident several years prior. She has spent her entire life raising the babies and polishing the silver of her white employers. She is God-fearing, and her prayer lists are famous for their effectiveness. Minny, Aibileen's best friend and also a maid, is a firecracker, whose sassy mouth tells it like it is and gets her in big trouble. She even served one particularly bitchy employer a cake with an extra special ingredient to get the last word in. At home, though, she suffers from domestic abuse. Then there is Skeeter, a white, spindly, homely girl from a wealthy family, who wants to become a writer. She also fiercely disagrees with the inequities between blacks and whites, but must keep it to herself or suffer at the hands of her bigoted family and friends.

In order to convince a New York publisher that she has what it takes, Skeeter decides to write a book. But not just any book...she wants to interview about a dozen of Jackson's black maids and tell their sides of the story. The kindnesses, the humiliations, everything. It's not an easy sell. If caught, these ladies could be fired and blacklisted, or even physically harmed. Skeeter and the maids meet at night, in secret, and names are changed in the stories. But the danger is still there. Aibileen and Minny take the challenge, and rally their fellow maids to do the right thing, regardless of the cost.

There are so many reasons why this story works. As any good plot should, there is a villain - the high society's mean girl that manipulates everyone and everything to her whim. I wanted to smash her face! Stockett brings the characters to life, particularly Aibileen and Minny, with voices so real I can hear them in my head. I fell in love with these two ladies. They are warm, spiritual, flawed, courageous, and full of life. You feel tension in your stomach from the risks they take; you cheer for them to succeed in their mission and in life. There are also a multitude of sub-plots...Minny's employer, a white trash floozy who married rich, ostracized by society, and who would take a bullet for her maid. Skeeter's mother's battle with cancer. Aibileen's attachment to her employer's children, who she so desperately tries to teach lessons of equality and self-esteem. The unbreakable bond of friendship and love between blacks and whites, even during a time of discrimination and hate. I could go on forever. You will not want to put this book down, even for food and sleep.

Tell your friends. Tell your book club. This one's a winner.

5 out of 5 stars