Tuesday, June 09, 2009

The Secret Life of Bees (book review)

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, is a heartwarming story about the importance of family. Set in South Carolina in 1964, the story revolves around 14-year-old heroine Lily's search for a mother. After a tragic accident killed her real mom when she was four, Lily has been taken care of by her cruel and unloving father, T. Ray, and his fiery-hearted black servant, Rosaleen. When Rosaleen insults three of their small town's biggest racists and lands herself in jail, Lily decides to set them both free. After she breaks Rosaleen out of jail, they run away to Tiburon, S.C., a town that holds the secret of Lily's mother. They are taken in by three black beekeeping sisters, and as Lily is introduced to their strange world of honey and bees, she realizes that she has discovered a family in a place that she would never have dreamed.

I really loved this book! It was funny at times and sad at others, but the whole book was incredibly interesting. I never wanted to put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone, really. It was written in beautiful prose that would grab anybody, even a reluctant reader.

3 comments:

Amanda said...

I have this book home from the library right now, and plan to read it in the next three weeks. I'm glad to hear that it's a good one.

Jean said...

A friend gave me this book for my birthday a couple of years ago, and I loved it, too. I read it in one sitting--I just could not put it down.

alisonwonderland said...

The Secret Life of Bees is one of my all-time favorites. I'm glad you liked it too!