The Secret Life of Bees

After searching my bookshelf and my sister’s, I finally decided to do my book review on the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Out of all the books I decided on Secret Life of Bees because not only is it historical fiction, it also has strong female characters portrayed in a ‘sweet’ way.

The book is set in 1964 South Carolina after the Civil Rights Act was passed. The main character is Lily, a 14 year old girl who lives with her neglectful father, T. Ray and a black maid Rosaleen. Lily is haunted by the memory of her parents fighting when she was a little girl and the tragic accident of a gun falling to the floor by four year old Lily, firing and killing Deborah, her mother.

After getting into an argument with her father, Lily packs her belongings including a picture of a Black Mary with Tiburon, SC written on the back, one of Deborah’s belongings. Lily then sneaks Rosaleen out of a hospital where her injuries from being beaten when she tried to vote earlier that day, and they both head to Tiburon.

Upon getting to Tiburon, Lily recognizes the picture of the Black Mary on a jar of honey. Lily and Rosaleen are then lead to the house of the Boatwright sisters, August, May, and June, who take them in despite Lily’s unclear lies. Both Rosaleen and Lily begin to learn the way of the sisters and their beekeeping.

Soon Lily is meets August’s godson and the two begin to have an intimate relationship, but then becomes increasingly complicated due to different races.

At the end Lily begins to ask August about the Black Madonna and the truth of why Lily came to Tiburon soon comes out.

I believe this is an excellent book for young adults because even though the plot is fictional, the story faces heavy, but real issues and history. This book includes black rights, rights of women, child neglect, mental illness, interracial coupling, strong women characters, and love. This book is very well written and holds truth that young adults can learn from. By reading a fictional story scattered with several serious topics, the reader has an easier time learning how times were in 1964 than reading a history textbook. Sue Monk Kidd draws the reader in making him/her feel what the characters feel. Even though this is a sad book in parts, it has overall excellent moral and historical references.

Today’s youth are turning away from reading probably because they feel they ‘don’t have the time for it,’ which I believe is completely untrue. I remember as a child my mother would always encourage us to read books during the school year and would even required us to read several pages out of books we chose by the time she got home from work during the summer. Personally, I always enjoyed reading and read a lot with my grandmother was alive. I would always see her reading peacefully in her usual spot on the couch so I would go get my book and sit right beside her four hours. I especially loved reading when the Harry Potter books came out. I wouldn’t put the book down for hours and my mom would beg me to put the book down and come to the dinner table. That being said, I believe parents have a great deal to do with whether a child reads or not. If reading and school is not encouraged in the household and is not demonstrated by the parents or guardians, children are that much more unwilling to pick up a book.