The novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is a story every person should read at some point in their life. The Help presents the challenges and struggles black people faced during a period in history where many people were very racist and prejudice. This novel will make you cry and laugh, with every page you turn. It granted me a new way to look at life. Stockett tells a story that will forever be one of my favorites.

            The Help centers around a white socialite, Skeeter Phelan, who has just returned from Ole Miss back to Jackson, Mississippi. Her hopes and dreams of becoming a writer are turned into reality when she gets a job at the newspaper writing a column about domestic maintenance. Having grown up with a maid of her own, she knows nothing about house cleaning. She contacts her friends maid, Aibilean, to help answer the column. Skeeter soon began to realize how poorly her friends and family treat black people, so she comes up with an idea to interview black maids on what's it like being a maid in Jackson. With the stories from the maids, she writes an anonymous book. Throughout the story, Aibilean, Skeeter, and the other maids face many challenges since the time period is in the 1960's, where racism is still a big issue.

             This novel was very influential and well written. From the second I started, I just could not put it down. I thought that there were some points that became monotonous, but the rest of the book was very exciting.The Help opened my eyes to help me realize how bad people were treated during this awful time in American History.

             Overall, this novel was one that I would recommend to anybody who is looking for a good read. I would get hooked on every chapter. The last few chapters really showed a difference from the first few. I was very satisfied with The Help because it was very well written and constructed. This novel will always be one of the best books I ever read.