Readalikes for “The Help”

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is set in Jackson, MS, in 1962 during the Civil Rights Movement. Young, white, budding journalist Eugenia Skeeter Phelan returns from college determined to work on her craft. Advised to write about a topic that disturbs her, she begins writing about race relations. She focuses on the lives of several black women who are servants to the country club set in which Eugenia lives.

Aibileen and Minny, black women who are servants to the white folk, are entrusted with the lives of white children but paradoxically not trusted enough to polish the silver. The book that Phelan writes rocks the community and brings mixed emotions to everyone involved.

This is the debut novel by Kathryn Stockett. She is from Jackson, Mississippi. Her novel has been praised for its realistic characterizations and pitch perfect dialogue.

Are you one of the many people waiting for the chance to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett? The MORE system has over 80 copies of this book, but demand has currently outstripped supply. Here are some other books about the African American experience you might enjoy while you wait for this book. 

New Books in June

	Beachcombers by Nancy ThayerBy the Author of the Hot Flash Club series. The three Fox sisters reunite on Nantucket at their father’s house and try to regroup from separate work and relationship wounds. They start up an odd jobs business as they try to move on. Even their father is finding new love with a divorcee renting a cottage from their family.
	The Burning Wire by Jeffery DeaverQuadriplegic forensic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme is back in Deaver’s ninth book in the Rhyme series. He’s assembled his usual team of scientists and police to find and stop a terrorist using electricity to kill people. Rhyme is also consulting on another investigation in Mexico to find a dangerous assassin. The two cases take a shocking twist before the end!
	Backseat Saints by Joshilyn JacksonRose Mae leaves her abusive husband after a fortune teller at the airport foretells that he will kill her if she returns home. Taking only a gun and her dog, she runs away to her home town and her abusive father. While on the run, she confronts family secrets and reclaims the girl she used to be.
	Broken by Karen SlaughterWhen a mentally disabled suspect kills himself in a jail cell, police misconduct is suspected. At the same time, a woman is murdered in the community. The two cases come together as the misconduct investigation reveals how the poorest and hardest working people in the area are the most likely to be exploited.
	My Names is Memory by Ann BrasharesBy the Author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This is a romance that crosses centuries; it follows the fate of a man, Daniel, as he tries repeatedly to reunite with his love, now known as Lucy. This may appeal to fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife and those who enjoy Nicholas Sparks.