Tolog Review: The Help

The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
reviewed by Kaitlyn Hanes

If you enjoy reading historical fiction books, then you will love The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This novel about racism, families, and friendships will expand your horizons and show the flaws and freedoms of twentieth century America.

Through characters like Aibileen and Ms. Hilly, this amazingly written book compares and contrasts the view of different people in the 1960’s, and shows the discrimination faced by women and African Americans in their communities. Stockett changes her writing style from character to character, bringing the story a new life and a higher level of realism. With changing point of views in different chapters and unlikely backstories, this is a novel full of twists and turns, surprises and suspense.

Everything in The Help is upfront, it has clearly stated themes and ideas, and is not so much as full of symbolism, but crammed with thought provoking ideas. Though you don’t need to dig very deep in the novel to find meaning, The Help will lead you to look deeper into the way you think about and treat others. If you are looking for an interesting yet easy read, this is the book for you.

I enjoyed this novel because of its genre, story line, and simplicity to read. It genre, though fictional, showed a very real look into terrible situations, and it’s story line, which was simple yet thoughtful, had a unique perspective on the struggles of the protagonists and the views of the antagonists. All in all, The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a wonderfully written novel, and a perfect book for a casual pleasure read, a serious school report, or any other literary occasion!