michaelion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don't know what impact this book left on me. I assume an important one. I still love the book despite the controversy, maybe also in spite of it. My grandmother was born in Jackson. She and Mae Mobley would've been a week apart, if they were both alive and real, respectively. Her side of the story, what would've been my grandmother's I mean, isn't shown, but maybe someone story she would've known was. Maybe her auntie or cousin or someone who she went to church with, had her mother not moved out of the South before she was three months old. I don't know. The story's very real. Whether or not it connects to you personally, who doesn't have a soft spot for those?
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Racism, Excrement, Grief, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Miscarriage, Vomit, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Hate crime, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Suicide
edesia_guest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Racism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism, Chronic illness, Bullying, Body shaming, Abandonment, Misogyny, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
veerau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Racism and Abortion
Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse
rose492's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Spoiler
This is basically a white savior story where the main character Skeeter swoops in and makes change in Jackson in the 1960s. Though Minny and Aibileen have initiative and are good characters, Skeeter seems to solve all their problems! She gives up so much to help them when she doesn’t even have to! Yay for her for not being so racist!! This was written by a white author and it felt as though she saw herself in Skeeter. I was honestly shocked I didn’t notice any of this on my first read. A line that really stuck out to me was “I am in the old Jackson kitchens with the maids, hot and sticky in their white uniforms…. I let their colored memories draw me out of my own miserable life.” She’s getting over a breakup. She writes this book to get over a breakup. There was some interesting perspectives from the point of view of minny and Aibileen, but the skeeter parts were just bad. I found the topic of the book very interesting, but it wasn't written in a good way.Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Murder and Sexism
Minor: Homophobia