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Summary: One of those memorable books that changes you
Review: Reading this book helped me to remember that love can transform even the deepest wounds. The Black Mary in the story leaves unforgettable images in my mind. Only a writer who has absorbed an incredible storehouse of knowledge about life could have written this. The characters are eccentric and delicious. The setting vibrates with truth. The plot dazzles you with its unexpected twists and turns. Black Mary will remain in my heart forever, just as the "calendar" sisters will. They are archtypes of everyday people we encounter. Those healers-of-our-hearts who arrive unexpectedly to guide us to a higher knowledge. The wailing wall especially touched me. Yes, the pain the world suffers hits some of us especially hard, but nature, the rocks in the wall accepting all that grief, and the river that embraced the lost...the bees...Damn! This was a good book. The kind I return to again and again whenever I need to renew my faith in the human spirit, to realize that something "out there" leads us all to our own Tiburons. Thank you Sue Monk for such a wonderful adventure...from the first page to last, I could hardly breath because I was so awed by the beauty you mapped.
Rating: 
Summary: a good read
Review: I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, but I loved it. Ms KIdd's writing reminds me of Elizabeth Berg. Here we have Lily who has a mean father, no mother and runs away from it all. I think the last paragraph of the book is the best.I think the author did an excellent job of showing us how different blacks and whites were treated. I can just imagaine Roseleen practicing writing her name. I loved May's wall. perhaps we all need a wall like that when life gets too hard. I hope that somewhere, somehow Lily and Zach get together. I would have loved to live with those ladies. How wonderful for Lily to find all that love in her search for her mother.
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Summary: A memorable, piercing read
Review: I will not give a mini book review; others have done far better than I. Instead, I wish to note the impact of this book on me. Once in a blue moon, someone like Sue Monk Kidd can weave a tale of the fragile heart of teenage girls and create a story that pierces our hearts and minds. She has done what few writers can do...made me cry...tears of sadness for Lily and tears brought on by the sheer gentleness of May and August and the struggle of heart within June. I especially loved the way she surrounded her story with the secret lives of bees and their fragile existence as well. Finally, I could almost feel the love that August had for Lily lift straight from the pages of the book. It was as though the bees had flown around me as well and embraced the teenage girl in all of us. The Boatright sisters give me hope that a world like this could really exist. I love May for her wailing wall, August for her gentle heart, and June for her ability to grow. I thank you, Sue Monk Kidd, for a wonderful story.
Rating: 
Summary: What is the hype about?
Review: ok. This was a decent read. No more. if you've read stuff by Maya angelou, toni morrison, etc then you end up feeling like a lot of the language and events are just a teensy weensy bit a copy of something that you've read before. The coincidences didnt work for me and I'm sorry to say I skimmed the last two thirds. No big surprises. Some nice images and writing but nothing to get all worked up about.
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Summary: Amazing Book - pure genius writing!
Review: This book absolutely captured me. Having not been born until just after the civil rights movement it gave me a unique perspective on what transpired during that time. The way Ms. Kidd writes just draws you into her characters and makes you fall in love with them. August Boatwright and her relationship with Lily provide a real lesson in unconditional love well worth remembering. May's extreme emotional sensitivity emphasizes the deep pain and suffering of the time. I highly recommend this book to people of all ages and races. It is something that will stay with me for a long time.
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Summary: Fabulous Book
Review: This is Lily's story, a 14 year old growing up in South Carolina during much social upheaval in the 1960's. From the very first page, I knew that this would be a great read. Lily is longing for a mother's love and gets more than she bargained for when she meets with the beekeeping sisters, May, June and August. Each one teaches Lily something different about herself; strength, love, compassion. Rosaleen and the Daughters of Mary are also wonderful characters in Lily's life who help to teach her life's hardest lessons. This book is about love and forgiveness and one girl's journey to find herself and her inner strength. Ms. Kidd has told a heartwarming story with amazing insight and truly lyrical writing. This book is not to be overlooked.
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Summary: Loved This Book!!!
Review: This book was a wonderful read! The characters were interesting and the reader could really feel empathy towards Lily and her longing for knowledge about her mother. Lily's character changes and matures through her experiences living with the Boatwright sisters and falling in love with Zach. This book was truly a story of forgiveness...Lily had to forgive her mother for leaving her while forgiving herself for accidentally killing her mother. While losing one mother, she ends up gaining more mothers who love her. Everyone is worthy of love, compassion, and forgiveness. What I also loved is the message that strength comes from within. Lily needed to find her own strength and courage to stand up to her father and fight for the love she rightfully deserved. A wonderful thought provoking novel that I would highly recommend!
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Summary: Beyond the Bees, She Nails the Family Trees
Review: In my aunt's kitchen, a cross stitched picture reads "If you look too far up the family tree, you might find a monkey." The Secret Life of Bees is a wonderfully engaging tale in which the protagonist, Lily, has a family with one such monkey (with all apologies to real monkeys, I mean by this a "completely irascible pest"). Sadly, this pest also happens to be her father, T. Ray. While much of the novel centers around Lily's quest for self-understanding and healing after she leaves her father and seeks refuge within a family of beekeepers", the novel is perhaps most invaluable for the insight it sheds with regard to the nature of the intimate tangled relationships that exist--and continue to exist--between African Americans and Caucasian families in the South. As a native of South Carolina, I feel that this book contains just as many secrets of how relationships are formed between families as it does about secrets of bees. (That being said, I'd also like to add a brief disclaimer for those who do choose to read this book: to my knowledge no one I know has ever used Martha Whites for any other purpose than to eat them!)
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Summary: I really enjoyed this book
Review: I love books about people with whom you can relate too. I enjoyed reading this book. Lily and her courageous ways, I think she made some wise choices for a young girl. There are so many T-Rays in the world, Lord have mercy. The Boatwright sister were me all wrap up into one person. I really enjoyed reading their story. Anyone looking for a good, humorous summer, winter, reading book then read this one, it was that good.
Rating:
Summary: Time Well Spent & Worthy of A Second Read
Review: Ms. Kidd has presented the reader with a gift. Characters like these live & breath. Lily-14 years old & so deeply wise. T-Ray;father & tormenter.The Boatright sisters; May,June & August-sheer beauty & humanity. Their seperate personalities unfold on the pages like the silky petals of a camillia blossom.Simply Wonderous. Linking May with her "Wailing Wall" is too-too perfect.In the heart of this reader,May's deepening sensitivity to lifes cruelties spoke louder than expected.She resonates... After 9/11 many of us need such a wall. This story speaks to the heart. Buy it & plan to re-read. Give a copy to your sister. Then, send Ms. Kidd a "Thank-You" card for what she has produced is truly exceptional.
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