RM Books & Music – The Help and Mumford & Sons

This week’s featured RM pick, Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel The Help, delves into the lives of black women serving white families in the Southern United States during the 1960s.

No time to read? Try listening to Mumford & Sons’ album Sigh No More, and let their folk influences give you a boost!

Send RebelMom.com an email if you have a great book or album that you think should be featured on this page. You can reach RM via the contact form.

Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons

RebelMom Staff Pick!

“The sound of Mumford & Sons is certainly different from what most listeners gravitate towards, but the group’s uniqueness and the depth of their lyrics are part of its draw.  Be sure to listen to “Awake My Soul” and “The Cave,” and watch the YouTube video featuring an acoustic version of “The Cave”.” – Elysha Schickel, RebelMom Staffer

“With the heroically stomping folk songs on this winning debut, Marcus Mumford and his hale mates (who aren’t kin) employ the soft-to-loud strategy with more finesse than most plugged-in rockers…Thanks to a volatile mix of the uplifting and gloomy…Sigh No More transfixes.” - Jon Young from Spin Magazine

The Help Review by  Kathryn Stockett

RebelMom Staff Pick!

“The backstory is cringeworthy: A young, white first-time author — inspired by her own childhood relationship with her family maid in Jackson, Miss. — sets out to write a novel from the point of view of black maids in the midst of the civil rights era. “ - Karen Varbly from Entertainment Weekly

“The Help is both serious and lighthearted, a combination which makes for a story that grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go! The stories contained within the narrative of this profound commentary are entertaining, although you might not want to be on the receiving end of some of the tricks that were played!  In addition, the courage of the main characters, from the maids who withstand the constant negativity emanating from their white employers, to Skeeter who takes their stories — both the humorous and the terrible — in an attempt to expose the behavior of her family, friends and peers, should serve as an example for all those who find themselves in the situation of being at odds with their peers.” -Elysha Schickel, RebelMom Staffer

The Help from Amazon