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The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd
A story about a girl who is on a mission to find out the truth about her mother's death.
"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd is a heartfelt story that will take you back in time during the Civil Rights Movement in 1964 South Carolina. Lily Owens, a 14-year-old Caucasian girl, is the main character who lives with her unbearably cruel father, who she calls T. Ray, and Rosaleen, a powerful black woman who cleans, cooks, and acts like a mother figure for Lily. Taunted by the vague memory of shooting her mother when she was an infant child, Lily sets out to discover the truth about her death.
One hot summer day, Lily and Rosaleen find themselves running away to Tiburon, SC to escape the police after Rosaleen was arrested and beaten for supposedly assaulting racist white men. Knowing that the white men will soon come looking for Rosaleen to kill her, Lily decides to save her by fleeing the town, while also desperate to run away from T. Ray. When they stumble upon a home with three African-American sisters in Tiburon who have a business in beekeeping, they finally feel safe and at home.
The book is a unique tale of womanhood and strength. During the time when African-Americans for the first time started to register to vote, the novel illustrates the prejudice that comes along with change. Reading a textbook about the facts of the Civil Rights Movement does not compare to reading a story, fiction or nonfiction, about the movement. The novel brings the time period to life and creates a feeling of witnessing the injustices in real-time.
Even though the book was adapted as a film in 2008, which I have not seen yet, reading the book version is almost always more pleasurable than seeing a movie version. The book is a breath-stopper and a tear-dropper. I highly recommend picking up this good read.
Title: The Secret Life of Bees
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0142001740
Review written by: Lailaa Salaam
Reviewer's Rating:9
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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