The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Synopsis - Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives (and a small Mississippi town) upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen, Skeeter's friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up (to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community). Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories.
Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly (and unwillingly) caught up in the changing times.
I downloaded this as an audio book to listen to while I worked or during workouts. I have tried reading it in book form several times, but struggled with the deep south drawl that it's written in. Hearing it read by people who almost acted it out, made it so much easier.
This author is extraordinarily talented, not many authors can make me laugh out loud while on the brink of tears, but Kathryn Stockett has that sort of talent. I absolutely loved this book.
The characters (big and small) were so well written, that you felt as if you knew them yourself. Some were immensely unlikable while others were so enjoyable, I was sorry when the book was over.
The imagery was also incredibly well written. So much that, by the end of the book, I read the last 20 chapters in book form so that I could experience reading the author's written word. This was a rare book that left me wanting more at the end.
Check it out at Amazon.com by clicking the title above or for Amazon.co.uk click here