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Product Description:
Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love--a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
From Amazon.com Review:
In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, 14-year-old Lily Owen, neglected by her father and isolated on their South Carolina peach farm, spends hours imagining a blissful infancy when she was loved and nurtured by her mother, Deborah, whom she barely remembers. These consoling fantasies are her heart's answer to the family story that as a child, in unclear circumstances, Lily accidentally shot and killed her mother. All Lily has left of Deborah is a strange image of a Black Madonna, with the words "Tiburon, South Carolina" scrawled on the back. The search for a mother, and the need to mother oneself, are crucial elements in this well-written coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s against a background of racial violence and unrest. When Lily's beloved nanny, Rosaleen, manages to insult a group of angry white men on her way to register to vote and has to skip town, Lily takes the opportunity to go with her, fleeing to the only place she can think of--Tiburon, South Carolina--determined to find out more about her dead mother. Although the plot threads are too neatly trimmed, The Secret Life of Bees is a carefully crafted novel with an inspired depiction of character. The legend of the Black Madonna and the brave, kind, peculiar women who perpetuate Lily's story dominate the second half of the book, placing Kidd's debut novel squarely in the honored tradition of the Southern Gothic. --Regina Marler
Inspirational - 
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The Secret Life of Bees Review
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This is a truly inspirational novel. It is rare that I finish a book feeling as though it has changed me or affected me beyond being a great read. But the story of fourteen year-old Lily Owen has certainly affected me. What a touching story this is! I've already loaned my copy to two friends and purchased one for my aunt, they agree that this is one amazing and enlightening book. I believe that I will be recommending "The Secret Life of Bees" for quite some time.
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fantastic coming of age novel - 
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The Secret Life of Bees Review
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Summary: Lily Owens is 14 in 1964 in the South. She accidentally killed her mother when she was four years old, has an abusive father, and breaks her nanny Rosaleen out of jail. They hit the road to escape their lives and to find out about Lily's mother, her past. They are led to Tiburon, South Carolina and to the home of August Boatwright. Lily learns about love and life and forgiveness.
I really loved this book. It's a wonderful coming of age story and it contains so many truths about love and life. Lily is confronted with her feelings about whites and blacks when she comes to live with August and her sisters. All of them are intelligent and cultured; Lily had always assumed she would be the smartest in the room. Just one of the many truths she learns on her journey and at the same time it makes us the readers examine our own prejudices and long-held "truths."
I also watched the movie right after reading this and was pleasantly surprised by how close they stayed to the novel. They changed a couple of things for dramatic effect, but overall they were true to the source. Dakota Fanning plays Lily perfectly and Queen Latifah is always wonderful!
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Big T -
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The Secret Life of Bees Review
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Book was in great condition and was sent on time. And was a good deal!
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Flawed, but still worthwhile -
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The Secret Life of Bees Review
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I think Kidd makes the mistake of many lesser authors: in her great desire to ensure that the reader grasps the subtleties of the book, she makes the themes and the symbols of the book painfully obvious. For a book directed at a younger audience (particularly high school readers), this is a good strategy - better to assume that they'll miss those brilliant finer points and instead serve them up on a platter. But for an older reader, it smacks of condescension, and perhaps worse, it removes the magic of discovery.
That (admittedly major point) aside, it is a very good book. The structure, the symbols, the themes - all are very well thought out and come together beautifully.
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Great Story -
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The Secret Life of Bees Review
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I LOVED this book. I could not stop thinking about the characters and hated to put the book down. This was a quick read for me. I fell in love with August, Lilly, and Zach! I didn't want this book to end. Everyone should have an August Boatwright in their life. The movie was great, too.
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