The Secret Life of Bees is a “tale of one motherless daughter’s discovery of what family really means-and of the strange and wondrous places we find love.”(The Washington Post)
In South Carolina, 1964, fourteen year old Lily Owens is raised by her ungrateful father T-Ray.
Lily doesn’t have a mother, except before that afternoon her mother was killed. Ever since then, Lily has been raised by T-Ray and cared for by her black “stand-in-mother,” Rosaleen. However, when Rosaleen is caught stealing from the church, she is thrown in jail leaving Lily to T-Ray. It didn’t take Lily long to realize she needed to run away. So she frees Rosaleen and they escape to Tiburon-“the town that holds [Lily’s] mother’s past.” They don’t have a plan, just their destination, which is scratched onto a picture of the Black Madonna, left by Lily’s mom. Once they arrive at Tiburon, Lily and Rosaleen are taken in by three sisters/beekeepers. While living in Tiburon, Lily learns the art of beekeeping and the stories of the Black Madonna (a.k.a. Black Mary). Although, after a string of lies, a fight, and a death, Lily finally comes clean about why she and Rosaleen are really in Tiburon, and learns the secrets of her mother’s life. Then one day,
T-Ray shows up at Tiburon to find Lily. What happens next? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
I do recommend The Secret Life of Bees to middle school students. I recommend this book because it’s an excellent read that will move you (possibly to tears). I loved how Sue Monk Kidd made me feel the same emotions as the characters.If Lily cried, I almost cried. If she was scared, I felt scared. I also liked how the author described the scenery and setting. For most of the book, I felt like I was in the story watching the plot unfold. I loved this book and recommend it to middle school students and beyond. Now lets hope the movie is just as good.