The Secret Life of Bees

by Sue Monk Kidd

Book Overview

The multi-million bestselling novel about a young girl's journey towards healing and the transforming power of love, from the award-winning author of The Invention of Wings and The Book of Longings... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142001740
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

NOT FOR School At all!

Atrocious language! Adult ONLY. 18++++

My first purchase.

I did not read this book yet but I did read about this book in another book and I am use that I will love it.

Best book

This book has so many emotional ups and downs. It takes place in time where the colored had hardly any rights and child abuse was active parenting. This book tugs at the heart strings like no other. “A child called “It”” doesn’t even give out this much emotion.

Pretty good

I really loved this book until midway when I was alarmed at how contrived the plot became. I would recommend it as an entertaining and enlightening read, but not as a must-read book because of how it becomes somewhat unbelievable midway of the story.

Great read!

I love books based in this era. The book focuses on both racism and the civil rights movement, but also coming of age and family relationships. It is so easy to fall in love with the characters. Definitely a book I will be holding onto.

I loved this book!

I loved this book and I couldn’t put it down!

Great Book But Not What I Ordered. Not Worth My Trouble To Return.

Not What I Ordered Is A Legitimate Complaint.

I love this book so completely.

I already have this book, I’m buying a copy to bring with me in my bag so I always have it with me. It’s an incredible and wonderful story, with rich details and characters so deep that you feel you’ve known them since you were a child. 17/10 recommend!

Had to Read This for a Class, But . . .

The book is honestly very enjoyable. It's still not something I would have gone out of my way to read, but that's only because of personal preferences. I've been forced to read worse :-)

An all time favorite

I read this a year or two ago when I bought it, it is still to this day one of the ten books I think of when thinking of my all time favorite books.

Not what I ordered

This review has nothing to do with the story...its beautifully done and a great read, however I ordered this in hardback for my library and got soft...

It’s okay.

This book does hold your attention and has some good characters, but not the best book I have ever read it’s not even at the top. There are parts that brake you hart and some parts that make you cringe, is has a great story line. But all in all the book is okay if you are bored and want to do something this book will be your answer.

A beautiful story

I loved this book! Some parts moved a bit slow, but that added to the beauty of the story!

This was a Summer Reading assignment for my 10th grader. He said it is very interesting

My son is 16 and this was a summer reading assignment for his high school. He said it was very interesting, I may read it too!

Great read!

Read this months back and I loved it so much. It's heartbreaking and heart touching. I think everyone should give this wonderful book a chance.

This is my all time favorite book

I have read this book countless times. And it has my all time favorite quote. “Did you know there are 32 names for love in one of the Eskimo languages? And we just have this one. Isn't that a shame we don't have more ways to say it.“ And if that’s not pure beauty I don’t know what is.

Love

This is one of my all time favs. It's just soooo good.

Not what I ordered

I specifically ordered this book in hardcover and received paperback, it’s not the first time this happened to me.

Great read

Just truly loved the whole storyline!1 so different than most the books I read. Great not just for adults is also a great teen read too.

La union hace la fuerza!

Narracion de que tan cercana puede ser la relacion entre mujeres sin importar la raza ni la edad., que tanto arriegas por otra persona cuando realmente sientes tu compromiso hacia ella sin importar que seas o no familia y como a veces tu instinto te lleva a partes que de repente no concuerda pero al terminar el dia ves el porque de tu accion. Este libro debe ser leido por madres, hemanas, hijas, amigas...

THE POWER OF THE SISTERHOOD OF WOMEN...

This is the Spanish text edition of the New York Times best selling novel, "The Secret Life of Bees". It is a beautifully written, coming of age story, set in rural South Carolina in 1964 against the back drop of the civil rights movement. It is the touching story of a young white girl, fourteen year old Lily Owens, whose mother died in a tragic accident when Lily was about four. Lily lives with her father, a harsh man with whom no love is lost, on a peach farm outside Sylvan, South Carolina. Her mother's death stands between them. Neglected by her father, Lily is brought up by Rosaleen, a big-hearted black woman, who loves Lily and whom Lily loves. Yet, hers is a lonely existence, compounded by her unquenched thirst for information about her mother, Deborah. All she has left of her mother are some cloudy memories and a box containing a few mementos, among them a picture of a Black Madonna, inscribed with the words, "Tiburon, S.C." When Rosaleen goes into town to register to vote, she feels empowered by the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and has a run-in with the town's three biggest racists, resulting in Rosaleen being taken into custody. Lily arranges for her to break free. Together, they seek sanctuary in Tiburon, South Carolina, where Lily discovers the mystery of the Black Madonna. Taken in by a trio of middle-aged black women who are sisters, as well as beekeepers, Lily is introduced to the secret life of bees and begins to learn some important life lessons. She also learns something about her mother and finds love where she least expected. This is simply a beautifully realized novel, written in a true Southern voice by a wonderful writer with a story to tell. It is little wonder that this compelling book has received so many accolades. It is a stunning fiction debut by the author.

The Secret LIfe of Bees

"The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness."The Secret Life of Bees is a wonderful story that brings hope and strength to those that are in the midst of a journey through life. The author, Sue Monk Kidd, does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the story. By the end of the novel, the reader has developed a relationship with the main character, Lily Owens, and leaves you wondering what else lies ahead in Lily?s life. The story begins during the summer of 1964 in South Carolina. We are immediately drawn into Lily?s struggle with a vague memory of the death of her mother. Her mother was shot and killed in a freak accident when she was only four years old. Throughout Lily?s journey we discover more and more about her mother and her death. Lily?s journey begins when she goes into town with her African American housekeeper, Rosaleen. The Civil Rights Act has just been passed and Rosaleen is going into town to register to vote. On their way into town Rosaleen gets into a fight with three of the most racist men in town and ends up getting both Lily and herself thrown in jail. Lily?s abusive father, T. Ray, bails her out but on their way back they get into an argument about Lily?s mother. ??Not funny?? he yelled. ?Not funny? Why, it?s the funniest goddamn thing I ever heard: you think your mother is your guardian angel.? He laughed again. ?The woman could have cared less about you.?? This was absolutely devastating for Lily to hear. She knew she could not stay with T. Ray and live with his physical and emotional abuse. She also knew she needed to find the truth about what happened to her mother.She decides to break Rosaleen out of jail and travel to Tiburon, South Carolina. It is here where she meets the calendar sisters, May, June and August. While living with them Lily becomes engulfed in a completely different lifestyle from which she came from. She becomes an incredible beekeeper and develops strong relationships with the sisters. Throughout her stay with the sisters she begins to learn more about the truth of her mother?s life and the mystery of her death. Kidd does a remarkable job of drawing parallels between the life of bees and the life that Lily is leading. Each chapter begins with a quote about bees that directly relates to what happens to Lily in that chapter. The struggle that Lily went through when her mother was killed is like the struggle a hive goes through when they lose their queen. ?A queenless colony is a pitiful and melancholy community; there may be a mournful wail or lament from within?.Without intervention, the colony will die. But introduce a new queen and the most extravagant change takes place.? While there is no real replacement for a lost love one, Lily finds an almost motherly comfort within the calendar sisters

Not Only For Adults

I picked up this book only because it was always lying around the house(my mother buys books than it takes her about a year to finish them), and wow I am glad this was the book that I choose. I am a sixteen year old trying to cope with the death of my older brother four years ago and while Lily was dealing with a very different loss in this book the realizations that she came to about life, death, and family really affected me. Not only is this a book about family for a more mature audience I think that this is a great book for anyone my age who really wants a good read about the life and trials of someone their own age.

Share this with your daughter

I gave this book to my 15 year old daughter to read and she came back after finishing it exclaiming, " All those mothers!" Motherhood and its powerful influence (both good and bad) on each of us is a central theme to the story and the quest for all that a mother implies (safety, acceptance, unconditional love)draws the reader immediately to Lily Owen, the 14 year old narrator. I thought this book had beautiful imagery, a nice balance of goodness overcoming loss, and most of all conceded to the power of redemption. Sue Monk Kidd did a wonderful job weaving the racial tensions of the 1960's into the voice of the main character and bringing us, the reader, along for the ride as the young girl discovers what it feels like to be discriminated against herself, the dangers of racial inequality, and the basic human elements that bind us to each other despite color or class. This story is about a journey of growth and addresses that fundamental need in each of us to find answers to the questions of who we are. I have found, months later, that The Secret Life of Bees is still with me and I recommend it over and over again.