The Secret Life of Bees
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 black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sister, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
BUY THE BOOK
Join a book club that is reading The Secret Life of Bees!
Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Secret Life of Bees* is a sweet, uplifting, and beautifully written novel set during the civil rights era, praised for its emotional ...
A masterpiece in storytelling, Sue Monk Kidd captures her audience with the clear and compelling voice of her young main character. I could picture the characters and the scenes perfectly. I especially loved the descriptive language and how the author brought you into the most tender of moments. A book which can move me emotionally always gets a high rating from me. Without getting into spoilers, I would highly recommend this book.
Written 10/18/08
Definately a good read- set back during the civil rights movement a 14 year old white girl runs away taking her black nanny with her. Her mother died some 10 years back and her father was abusive. She ran away to a town she found listed on the back of a picture her mother had kept. Lily learns about herself and how to keep bees and in the end about her mother. it got a couple of tears from me. Again another Nancy, must read. She said I had to read it so we can go see the movie together when it comes out...can't wait
Definately a good read- set back during the civil rights movement a 14 year old white girl runs away taking her black nanny with her. Her mother died some 10 years back and her father was abusive. She ran away to a town she found listed on the back of a picture her mother had kept. Lily learns about herself and how to keep bees and in the end about her mother. it got a couple of tears from me. Again another Nancy, must read. She said I had to read it so we can go see the movie together when it comes out...can't wait
If I was only allowed one word to describe this book, I would say: sweet. The story was just so sweet and uplifting. I recommend this to every single person. It bordered on historical fiction, the setting being in the south, around 1964, when African-Americans received the right to vote. That plays a huge part in the story, but really it's about this little girl that just wants to be loved and struggles with a terrible amount of baggage during her entire childhood. I laughed and cried. I can't wait to see this movie now! Please go and get this book!
------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to try this one again before the movie comes out - it looks like 10/17 is the release date!
------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to try this one again before the movie comes out - it looks like 10/17 is the release date!
Not so interesting. Constantly had to reread sentences because the structure is sometimes odd. Boring. Life's too short to read mediocre books. Just like life's too short to drink crappy wine.
Definitely an important read. This is beautifully written and unfortunately my reading visualization was dictated by the movie with Dakota fanning but that wasnt so terrible. I really enjoyed this read
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.