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Summary: A deep story of a tender young girl's search for a mother.
Review: This is a great read and a heartfelt book about a 14 year old girl who accidentally shot her own mother when she was little. The memory of what happened that night is, of course, haunting, but young Lily wakes one day and finds that her "Jar is Open". Tired of being made to kneel on grits and being unloved by an angry and unrelenting man who doesn't even try to be a father to Lily, Lily sets off for the only place she can even think of, a name on the back of a honey jar label that her mother kept. All it says is Tiburon, South Carolina, but Lily is certain it's her way out. Breaking her black nanny out of jail after Rosaleen is beaten senseless for trying to exercise her right to vote, this stunning story finds mothers for Lily everywhere and home is in the last place you expect it to be. Also, there is a reader's group guide at the end, which is always a plus. This is a beautiful story beautifully told by Sue Monk Kidd, her writing is exceptional. From page one you are emerged, and by the end, you are a character yourself as Sue Monk Kidd winds her literary genius around your heart.
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Summary: The Secret Life of Bees
Review: I read the Secret Life of Bees for my literature class, and I thought it was a great book. It is a wonderful coming of age novel. It is about a girl named Lily whose mother died when she was very young. Her father is horrible to her, so she runs away to a Tiburon, a city she found on the back of a picture of a Black Mary that was her mother's. Sue Monk Kidd is very descriptive about everything. It is a little hard to follow in the beginning, but then once you get past that part, it is really good. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it for anybody 7th grade and above.
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Summary: Blah....
Review: I must admit that I was hooked for about the first 75 pages. Monk provides all of the details and characters that make very rich and entertaining stories. However, after page 75 my disappointment grew with each turn of the page...then turned to frustration that a potentially great story fell flat. I just kept waiting for something, anything interesting to happen. The character and storyline developments are painfully slow and at times the writing is too obviously contrived. I really expected more out this one after hearing and reading the reviews. Frustration and boredom finally won. I just couldn't finish this book because I honestly did not care what happened to the characters and couldn't tolerate the writing to appreciate the deeper message that I am sure is in there somewhere. I flipped to the back of the novel and noticed that there were high school english class type dicsussion questions. AHA! If you are out of high school, don't waste your time with this one...there are much better reads to spend your time with!
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Summary: The best book I read all year
Review: This is a totally engaging, well-written saga that had me hooked from start to finish. Plain and simple, it's the best book I've read this year! Other recent books that I like: The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, Will@epicqwest.com by Tom Grimes
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Summary: Simply read this book
Review: I can not put into words how wonderful and uplifting this book was. I read the other reviews before me and agree completely that this book is a must read.
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Summary: Wonderfully Executed!
Review: "The Secret Life of Bees" is really about the lives of the women who make up the novel. Set in 1964 South Carolina, the story is about Lily who is orphaned after the death of her mother and the escape from her treacherous father. Using clues found among a few of her mother's belongings, Lily and Rosaleen (Lily's nanny) find themselves at the house of August, May and June. The women are sisters. August, the oldest, is a beekeeper. As the story evolves, Lily learns about her mother's life through the relationship her mother had with August. She learns about the nature of life through the connection the women have with one another. This is a wonderfully executed novel of love, loss, human nature and forgiveness. The author uses the life of bees as a framing device to reveal the life of her characters and to provide insight to the nature of people. The writing is crisp. The story is laced with metaphor and symbolism that is based on the behavior of bees. The characters are loveable, fully realized, and memorable. The fact that I was stung by a bee while reading this novel and am still able to appreciate the value of the little insect is testament to the creative link the author establishes between bee and human. This is a superb debut novel worthy of your time. Kudos to Kidd for the effort!
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Summary: Great entertainment
Review: This was a great book with great characters. I picked it up at the airport and was pleasantly surprised that it kept me reading the whole flight. Not sure my husband would enjoy it, but I will definitely share it with girlfriends... a fun and heart-warming story.
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Summary: The Secret Life of Bees
Review: The book The Secret Life of Bees is a great book. I read it for my Literature class, and I would recommend it to anybody from seventh grade and up. The book is about a girl (Lily) whose mother dies when Lily is very young. She has a faint memory of the incident: Her mother is looking out a window and Lily walks up to her. Her mother smiles and walks toward the closet. T-Ray (her father) comes in and yells at Lily's mother. They get into a fight, and Lily remembers her four year old self picking up a gun. Sometimes, she remembers a huge bang when she picks it up, but sometimes she remembers silence. She has a box of things that belonged to her mother that she found, but she doesn't want T-Ray to know that she has it. T-Ray hates having to deal with Lily. To help around the house, they have Rosaleen. One day, Rosaleen is going to register to vote. Lily comes with her. She insults three racists, and pours the ink she brings on their shoes. She refuses to apologize, and she is sent to jail. One night, Lily tells T-Ray that her mother is watching over her and that she is her guardian angel. T-Ray laughs at this and tells her that her mother left her and ran away. She doesn't believe him, so she takes her box of her mother's things, and remembers that she had a picture of a black Mary with the word Tiburon written on the back. Lily sets off and breaks Rosaleen out of jail, and they go to find the place that Lily's mother must have once stayed. They get there, and find that the place she stayed was with a house of black bee keeping sisters. She stays there (much to the surprise and disproval of a policeman later on) and finds out all about her mother. She learns about friends, family, and the strangest places you can find love. I'm not going to give away the ending, but I will tell you that this is one of the best books I've read in a long time.
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Summary: A Great Buy!
Review: Librarian from Frankfort, MI This is a beautifully written novel about a motherless young girl who struggles to find happiness and forgiveness. Left with a crude father to live on a peach farm, life is anything but content. She yearns to find something more and takes the opportunity to do so when her nanny is thrown into jail. Together the pair run away in search of happiness(and safety). With the help of each other and others that enter their lives, they eventually find a place they can call home. If you're looking for a heart-warming, completely engaging novel, this is it! Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
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Summary: A Really Great Story
Review: My sister told me about this book. I was reluctant, but I bought the book. I read it in one night. The book pulled me into it the moment I started reading it. I think that most people who have lived through a tragedy or through a really bad time will relate to Lily. When children live through a tramatic incident, they sometimes find comfort from caring adults around them. The characters in this book are heartwarming. They took care of this child and really loved her. The story has some mystery to it, enough to keep you reading. I laughed, I cried, it was totally worth the experience.
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