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The Help cover art

The Help

Written by: Kathryn Stockett
Narrated by: Jenna Lamia,Bahni Turpin,Octavia Spencer,Cassandra Campbell
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Publisher's Summary

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid, Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.  

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her 17th white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another.

This edition now includes the afterword "Too Little, Too Late—Kathryn Stockett in Her Own Words", as read by the author.

©2009 Kathryn Stockett, Cover Art: (c) 2011 DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC (P)2009 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

“The two principal maid characters...leap off the page in all their warm, three dimensional glory...[A] winning novel.” (The New York Times)

“This could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird…If you read only one book...let this be it.” (NPR.org)

“A beautiful portrait of a fragmenting world.” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

What listeners say about The Help

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Understanding the life of a black person in the US

I'm Canadian. Listening to this novel really underlined the history of the black experience in the USA. It increases the understanding of why the threat of loosing their gains is so very real today. Nobody wants to go back there.

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4 people found this helpful

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Best Audible book I have ever listened to

I have watched the movie, read the book and listened to the Audiobook. I like them all, but would rate them in the opposite order that I wrote them down. The audio book has all of the great undertones, theming, character thoughts, and interesting twists and turns of the book but with a very compelling story-telling method. You get to hear the story from 3 points of view, and each do their own voices. It is unique and enjoyable. Moreover, Octavia Spencer does a perfect Minnie, which others must realize as she was also cast in the movie. #Audible1

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All around amazing

Great story with delightful rememberable characters. Just did a re-listen and was just as good the 2nd time around. 5/5!

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SO good!!

The voices are so good and really draw you into the story. I laughed out loud over some of the parts (especially Minnie).
I was sad when it ended.

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the best book

the best book that I have read.. I wish it wouldn't end that way. there much of been more to the story.

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  • 2023-12-29

well worth a listen

the end had me in tears but the good kind of tears. I wish there was more because I got emotionally invested in the characters.

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great lusten

great perspective on how people were treated in the South during the 60s. It is very sad yet inspirational in the same way. it is the second d time I've read this book. I've now read the book, watched the movie and listened to the book and I've really enjoyed all 3. thank you!

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Wonderful Characters

I really enjoyed listening to the animated reader. She was great. The book was lovely.

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Couldn’t stop listening

This was a very engaging book. I loved the different voices in the characters.

Highly recommend!

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Loved it!!

Great story. Had me laughing, crying, thinking…..very well written and excellent narration.
Highly recommend

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