Rating: 
Summary: Bad TV movie material
Review: This book is one long extended cliche--from the young kid in the south who helps a black person escape injustice (Mark Twain did it slightly better) to the wise black person who becomes a mentor (this has been done so many times, it's not even worth discussing) to the heavy-handed symbolism and the dialog, which sounds like it was written by a grade B TV scriptwriter.In terms of literary significance, this book is about on par with _Bridges of Madison County_. Pass this one up and re-read _The Heart is a Lonely Hunter_.
Rating: 
Summary: A Beekeeper Authority
Review: This is an inquiry along with a review.
The question is: has Sue Monk Kidd searched in depth on the subject of "keeping bees"? I have a friend, who was a beekeeper for 9 years in North Dakota and said she was terribly upset about the book's incorrect information that was scattered throughout as to how to keep bees. For one thing, if bees are covered in their homes with a black cloth they will all die. I would like an answer. Otherwise, I read the book with appreciation of how a young adult views life after the death of a mother, an abusive father and the turmoil that sets into a young person's life in search of answers. I think this book should be read by anyone looking for answers after a mother's death. Adults on down. It is a novel that I intend to read again and, maybe, once more after that.
The dialog needs to be remembered.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring Testament to the Female Spirit
Review: This is a very sad but inspiring tale of an adolescent girl who is learning to cope with the loss of her mother caused inadvertently by her own hand at age 4, which is a blur memory. As she grows older, she continues to struggle with the fear that her mother had actually planned to leave the family with suitcase in hand shortly before her death. Lily also suffers from the frequent emotional abuse by her neglectful father who is bitter about her mother's loss. Without giving away too much of the plot, Lily finds comfort and a temporary home with 3 beekeeping sisters in the black South. This is where she discovers her past, learns to fill the void in her life, and overcomes the way society treats her association with "colored" folk. There are many interesting and poignant conflicts within the plot, especially between blacks and whites in the turbulent 1960s when the Civil Rights Act had just been passed but not yet accepted or enforced within society. The underlying themes throughout the book, however, are female strength and independence, faith in a higher power, and the bonds of friendship that cannot be severed by race, religion, or gender. These themes are interwoven and compared to the habits and everyday life of honey bees, which was interesting and educational. Note: The book starts off with a bang but begins to slow down considerably in the latter half, which caused me to skim faster and faster to the end. But overall, this is a great story that most everyone will enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Another heartland.
Review: The Secret Life of Bees is a multi-layer adventure, with a true to life coming of age story filled with richly developed characters, honest insights about human nature, and vivid experiences the reader will find engrossing. Like Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, the novel explores life in terms of universal themes. Our relationship to the world around us, to mankind and to whatever higher power one honors. This is not a novel focusing on the rich and powerful. It is a story of everyday people, exploring their most profound secrets and their absolute uniqueness. It is set in the culture of a south where the space between blacks and whites is being challenged and redefined. Our cast of mostly women characters move through that world with the courage to defy rules that abuse their rights and their dignity. All in all a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Alcoholics uses and abuses
Review: I choose to read Alcoholics uses and abuses.This book is written by Margaret O.Hyde.My book talked about how alcohol can be used good or bad.In this book you will learn that a drink for a special occasion is ok,but drinking to much or overdose can be bad to your health and to others health.
I liked this book because it told me how just one little drink can be like a huge bottle of whatever.I find that cool because if someone thinks there cooland drinks a lot to show off then they will make a fool of themselves and at the same timesomeone who drinks a little bit and gets just as drunk as the person who drank alot.Alcohol can be good sometimes too because when someone comes home from work and feel the need to relax,they drink one or two beers or any kind of alcohol,which is fine as long as you dont overdue it and remember friends dont let friends drive drunk take there keys.One of the best known quates in the book is "dont drink and drive".
Rating:
Summary: The Busy Bees
Review: The Secret Life of Bees
Written by
Sue Monk Kidd
A young girl named Lily runs away after she is emotionally and physically abused by her father T-Ray. She leaves and goes to Tiburon, South Carolina. In Tiburon she goes to a friend's house, her name is August. August is a beekeeper and she teaches Lily how to take care of bees and become one with their spirit. While there she meets a man named Zach and they fall in love. Then along with all good events there comes the bad and grieving becomes a daily part of life. When her father finds her finally things don't go as Lily had expected and a surprising ending will float your way. Trust me you will be shocked.
The Secret Life of Bees is a powerful book and is a book that is not an easy book to read. It empowers women of all ages and types. The style of writing is a classical style that is more often then not used by writers. Sue Monk Kidd wrote with passion as if she had been there especially when something dire would happen such as the death of one of August's sister. There are so many life lessons and metaphors in the book that occasionally it's a book that has to be set down to understand the full meaning. There were some events that just struck with such surprise such as Zach going to jail that the book would need to be put down for a minute. It is definitely not a lucid piece. Although the details and descriptions are not over powering they are real and the reader feels them as if they were there in that specific place. I felt this way especially when anyone was over by their mourning wall. You could feel the depression in the writing it felt enervated.
There were parts of the novel that didn't fit with the book and these seemed like added fluff and stuffing that brought the messages of the book down. These included explaining many details about his peach farm that wasn't related in a huge way to the end product and messages of the book. Another component to the book not being as great as it could be is that it left one to many loose ends at the end that would have been nice to have closure to. Such as what happened to the deaths that occur or Lily's vision of her mother. The other fraction that I disliked was that Lily was a smart child but had no background of education, which didn't seem as if it was real that she could be as intelligent as she was and not have an educational background.
The Secret Life of Bees was a book that any woman would greatly enjoy. I was a novel of lessons, messages, and the story of a life that had to go through many struggles but ended in a great chapter of Lily's life. The novel represented many subjects that we as humans have to go through and it represented them in an understandable way.
Rating:
Summary: The Sweetest Read
Review: "The Secret Life of Bees," by Sue Monk Kidd, is the story of Lily Owens. Lily is an orphaned girl who struggles with the fact that T. Ray, her father, tells her she shot and killed her mother when she was a baby. Lily lives with T.Ray and also with Rosaleen, who is black and sort of a mother to Lily. Rosaleen offends a racist in town, the two of them flee. The only place Lily can think of is that written on the back of the one treasure that she has of her mother; A picture of the black madonna with "Tiburon, South Carolina" written on the back. When Lily and Rosaleen make their journey, they settle with the three beekeeping - and calendar -sisters: May, June, and August (Yes, there was once an April). The story continues on an even sweeter note than that of honey. The bonds that Lily forms in Tiburon, the lessons that she learns (especially from August), about spirituality, beekeeping, and most important, self-growth and acceptance. In each chapter there is a quote regarding bees and their behavior, and the chapters each hold something about the characters that is in very many ways comparable to the secret life that bees do have. I thought that this was a beautiful expression of harmony, especially during the 1960s when racism was at its peak in many ways. The story of Lily's coming of age is one of self-worth, acceptance, the definition of a mother -- how it does not have to be a biological mother -- and mostly on dealing with life's stings ... and, of course, BEEing able to move on.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This is a beautifully told story of a young girl's coming of age. The events of our youth shape us, but we have choices in how. I highly recommend this novel. The beekeeping details were an interesting bonus, a mini education threaded throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: A well written story, it keeps you waiting for the next event. A young girl goes on an adventure of sorts. Well researched.
Rating:
Summary: Coming to terms with your reality
Review: A great book for the "girl" in all of us. You hate her enemies & love her friends. Lovely.
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