First off, this book was LONG. I personally believe that books don’t need to be as long as this one was, but that’s just me. That is not to say, at all, that this book was boring or bad. It was just… a little too long for me . Anywayyy, let’s get into the review because, to be completely honest, this was an amazing book. 

So, I’ve never read The Help, but this book definitely makes me feel like I need to read it because Kathryn Stockett is a WONDERFUL writer. She brought these characters to life and made you want to do anything to help them (which, in the book, they definitely cross some lines). Meg? Oh my gosh, the audiobook narrator did the best job making her character feel real. So so many things should have broken Meg’s spirit, but she just kept going. She was sassy, smart, kind, and wow how I pray my daughters will get that same spark as they get older. Birdie was naive, kind, brave, and unwilling to let people tell her how to think. My other top characters? Mrs. Tartt and Flossy. They were so amazing in so many different ways. Mrs. Tartt wasn’t judgy like you think a Southern mama would be. She was willing to listen to understand another character’s perspective and I could not, for the life of me, understand what Frances’ problem was with her. I would love to have Mrs. Tartt as a grandma or mother. And Flossy? My gosh. Everything she said and everything she went through was heartbreaking. It was also so admirable to see how she never really lost her positivity. Frances and Charlie were probably my least favorite main characters (Mrs. Garnett obviously tops them because she’s evil). Frances was just too whiny and spoiled. I could not wrap my head around how she had the upbringing that she did and ended up like that. Charlie? Dear Lord. I think my main problem was that she was willing to hurt EVERYONE else just to get to Meg. I understand that she wanted her daughter back, I do, but man, she really didn’t care if she took everyone down with her and that just bothered me. 

Okay, that was a really long paragraph. The story itself is broken into two parts. The first part was really good at introducing the characters, the setting, and the stakes. The second part? Phew, I was anxious the whole entire time. That’s good writing, though. I’ll talk more about what happens in the plot in the spoilers because I feel like I really can’t get into anything without spoiling something. Just know that this story was so so good. 

Spoilers ahead.

First off, once Birdie comes to Oxford to ask Frances for money, she begins volunteering at an orphanage. She meets Meg, a little girl who they took out of school, locked in a room by herself, and Mrs. Garnett literally calls her dirty any chance she gets.

Alright. After this setup, you find out Rory is gay, got sent to a New Orleans hospital when he was younger (*shudders* because what the actual heck did they do to him?), and then decides as payback to steal all of the valuables from his family home and run away with them. This leaves Mrs. Tartt with no money, a huge mortgage to pay, and literally no means to get by. Frances, being Frances, is oblivious to her husband’s misgivings and swears that if they find him, he’ll make it right. 

So, Frances and Mrs. Tartt go to look for him. Birdie is left trying to pick up the pieces and make sure that they can pay her family’s back taxes and the Tartt’s. This is where Charlie, Meg’s mother, comes in. 

Charlie is trying to get Meg back and convinces Mrs. Tartt to open up a dance club. Turns out, she’s opening up a brothel. Birdie doesn’t know how to get behind this (I still don’t know how to, either) but ends up helping anyway. They make a ton of money, don’t get busted by the sheriff, and basically run a dance club with the brothel inside. Mrs. Tartt and Frances find out, but somehow ALSO get behind it (the things we’ll do for money). You find out that Dr. Pittman, Mrs. Garnett’s husband, is Meg’s father and that’s why Mrs. Garnett is so awful to her. Well, in the end, Garnett’s husband threatens to tell the courts who Meg’s father is if she doesn’t back down. Charlie gets Meg back. Birdie ends up with Jack, who will be president of the bank, and then all ends up pretty dang happy for how sad it seemed it was going to be. I think one of the saddest plotlines was Tom and Lucille when they adopted Meg. Lucille was intolerable and I wanted to legit slap her in the face. Poor Tom was just too “sensitive”, as they would say, for this world and he ended up killing himself (probably because Lucille wouldn’t stop freaking bullying him). That for sure scarred Meg, but at least she got to be with her mother after that. 

Overall, this book was a really great and immersive story. The characters were wonderful and the only thing I think I would have wanted was a slightly condensed beginning. It all felt a little too long for the ending that you got. Definitely 4.5/5 rounded up to 5 for social platforms. A must-read for sure!

Source: Audiobook from Libby Public Library

(P.S. You can read tons of books—including ones written by me—by trying a free trial of Kindle Unlimited!)