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For over 40 years, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis has been a globetrotting spokeswoman for Judaism. Whether counseling a searching soul or addressing a packed house in Madison Square Garden, her message is elegantly universal, while simultaneously addressing the specific needs of contemporary Jews.

Single mom Lizabeth Kane isn't exactly carpenter material: She's never picked up a hammer in her life. But she desperately needs the construction job that builder Matt Hallahan is offering. And even though he knows trouble is ahead, Matt can't refuse Lizbeth's irresistible smile.

Thea Luckmore believes in love, the magic spark of true, old-fashioned, romantic love. She's determined only to fall head over heels, or rather, heart over head. Alice Heggarty, her best friend, is always falling in lust, with dashing rogues who invariably break her heart. As yet another disastrous relationship ends, Alice makes a decision. It's time to marry and she knows just the man.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.