Rating: 
Summary: knees' of bees
Review: Although I enjoyed the fanciful prose and metaphors, I felt like the author was holding back on many of the issues of abandoment,abuse,and racism that were introduced into the story early on and certainly could have been explored within the prose. I say "cut loose, Sue", write the story you are wanting to tell and you will elevate above the knees', perhaps even allowing more heart.
Rating: 
Summary: Audiobook Review (unabridged version)
Review: This is one of the most enjoyable audiobooks I have ever encountered. The reader's voice is so like a young girl's, the accent and intonation is so perfect for the content that I could hardly stand to turn off my "walkman" at the end of my daily walk! It is really a "woman's" story - somewhat trite and predictable, but I can vouch for the great entertainment value in this format.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, not great
Review: If 3.5 had been an available rating, that would have been my choice for this book. While it had interesting characters (especially the "calendar" sisters)and I learned a lot about beekeeping,it also was based on a very far-fetched premise, one that I could not manage to get a handle on.The premise that a black woman, sprung from jail by a 13 year old white girl, would run away with that child and take refuge someplace with no questions asked.....yikes, just plain unrealistic! I thought this author also tried to deal with too many "issues" : racism, romance, child neglect, feminism, religion, mysticism, and so on. It was just too much for one book and in places the book really dragged for me. These negatives were a shame because I think that the author has a beautiful grasp of language and the character development was very good. Like another reviewer, I would have liked to know more about the sisters and their pasts.
Rating:
Summary: A Memorable Read
Review: I read this book months ago, yet the images still play in my mind. In particular, a gun in a child's hands, the wailing wall, the political/racial tension of the 1960's, the Black Madonna. Reading it again, Sue Monk Kidd's characters remain true and their stories compelling. I hear echoes of Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird) in Lily, both deftly portrayed young southern girls coming of age. Truly a wonderful book!
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, not bad at all
Review: Very likeable book. I saw it was an 'Oprah' selection and groaned after the fact, but it turned out to be a well flowing tale as seen through the eyes of a naive white teenage girl living amongst many well-developed black characters. The family dynamics between the three 'bee' sisters was well done. Given the backdrop of civil rights, it never got preachy - the book let the reader make their own conclusions and opinions. I listened to the Unabridged audio version and loved the narractor's voice - she was right-on with capturing the tone of Lily. I recommend this - nothing too complicated but worth a look.
Rating: 
Summary: Something Missing
Review: I purchased this book with much anticipation, particularly because of the author's use of the Black Madonna. I had read many reviews that were all favorable, including most of the reviews here. I also went to the author's website and read of her interest in spirituality and mysticism. For me, however, the language of the book was dry and lacking in originality. I could not connect with any of the characters, especially Lily, the main character. Although I finished the book, it was a real challenge. I was expecting something with more depth and a much richer grounding in spirituality. I plan to look into the author's autobiographical writings on her spiritual journey. I hope to find something on a deeper scale there. I will still give the novel 3 stars for incorporating the Black Madonna, an aspect of the Virgin Mary not found enough in literary works, into the story. This element does provide a unique aspect to the work, although the characters and language are missing something.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Engrossing Novel-Loved the Characters!
Review: This was a very good novel and my heart went out to Lily many times. Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her tyrannical father, Lily Owens has shaped her entire life around one devastating memory of when her mother was killed. Lily was four years old then. Her companion was the housekeeper, Rosaleen, who was black. She acted as Lily's 'stand-in,' mom. One day when Rosaleen insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily knows it's time to spring them both free. They take off in the only direction Lily can think of, toward a town called Tiburon, South Carolina-a name she found on the back of a picture amid the few possessions left by her mother. An eccentric trio of black sisters named May, June, and August take the two in. Lily calls them the calendar sisters, and enters their mesmerizing secret world of bees and honey. This book is hard to put down, and I read it almost straight through.
Rating:
Summary: A little too predictable...
Review: I felt this book was too predictable and there were too many 'themes' - racism, religion, feminism, traumatic childhood, romance...the list goes on. It seems as if it's trying too hard. That said, the interactions between the characters was nice, I'll admit, but not nice enough for me to tell a friend to spend a day reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Honey of a Tale
Review: The richness of women's stories set in the South propagate the legendary strength of Queen Bees of all races, in nature and in the fairer sex. Lily Owen's plight, a cruel, unfeeling peach- raising father, and the mystery of a long absent mother drive her to her fated discovery of an exceptionally powerful set of characters with a capital C, the women of the Black Madonna honey-making business. The mixing of the races, black and white, with the down-trodden blacks nurturing and uplifting the destitute whites is a classic story of good versus evil on a cultural level so well understood by those who really lived in the South, even in more recent times. Then mix in the voting rights issues and the standard horrors of white supremacy and violence against blacks and you have the suitable level of suspense that makes one keep reading. Kidd's characters are reminiscent of the Melinda Haynes' characters in Mother of Pearl, weirdly wonderful, a true taste of honey. There is a lot to learn as one joins in Lily's adventure as a seeker of her own identity and as a honey collector and processor. The analogy of the two are perfect in this journey to self-discovery plot.
Rating:
Summary: amazing first novel
Review: The Secret Life of Bees has it all: Lily, an emotionally abused, motherless child, a strong proud black woman who cares for her, a mystery: the circumstances surrounding Lily's mother death, an eccentric trio of black sisters who take her in, a budding romance plus the 1960's Civil Rights movement as a backdrop.
Sue Monk Kidd's scrumptious Southern writing style easily captures Lily's emotional rollercoaster in this wonderful coming of age novel. Not only does she capture Lily's search for who she is, and what life is about, but she has done so in language that is both poetic and clear. In addition she has drawn strong, admirable women in June, May and Rosaleen ( I see an Oprah movie coming on) the three women who take Lily and Rosaleen in when they are "on the lam." In addition to sharing a summer with these amazing women and learning what it truly means to have a mother, the reader learns a great deal about bee keeping as well.
Each chapter starts with a quote from some guide to bees. The opening chapter begins with this quote:
"The queen, for her part,is the unifying force of the community.....the workers very quickly sense her absence"
So it is for Lily. Her mother is with her always by her absence and this is the summer Lily learns the truth about her mother, discovers herself, learns the meaning of forgiveness and finds herself with more loving mothers "than any eight girls off the street".
An altogether satisfying and heartwarming read.
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