Rating: 
Summary: As Sweet as Honey
Review: This was an absolutely wonderful book. I related to the emotional ups and downs, in so many ways. The protagonist, Lily, runs the gamut of emotions in this novel. From isolation, bewilderment, despair, sadness, betrayal and finally love. A young girl finds herself unable to connect and relate with her father, and it leads to a path of discovery and eventually contentment through the memory of her mother. Kidd does such a wonderful job with the prose that the story just envelops you. It's not a perfect novel, the beginning tends to lag in areas, but once Lily and Rosaleen make their way to Tiburon, South Carolina, the story moves right along. Pick it up; it will be well worth the read, particularly for mothers and daughters.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but lacks some development
Review: Sue Monk Kidd creates a world for Lily that is soft and likeable. However, it seems like some of the characters lack life or a successful outline. T Ray is passionless and seems to fizzle out due to his flat history that we never get to discover. The three calendar sisters appear to be several sides of one full woman. They bleed together without enough qualities to separate them. Also, I find it hard to believe that Lily's first romance would not cause any turmoil.
The entire story seems to go buy in haze that matches the pink colored house. The plot screams to be developed into a full fledged journey. Instead, it is shortchanged for a shorter tale that lacks a complete climax and full characters. I wished Monk Kidd had taken this to the drawing board one more time.
Rating: 
Summary: A Timely Novel With Historic Implications!
Review: An interesting and timely story of l4-year-old Lily, a white girl raised by Rosaleen, an African American, after the death of her mother. Following a racial disturbance in the l960's they move to another town to live with three sisters who keep bees.
The interaction and the relationship of Lily to these women of a different race, and their belief in the healing power of honey is an important theme in the story. Eventually, Lily learns more about her mother and now she must make important decisions about her future. A heartwarming book for teens and women and for schools and libraries!
Evelyn Horan - teacher/author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One -Three
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Rating: 
Summary: worst book ever
Review: The story centers around a young bee struggling to define his sexuality. He eventually opens a hamburger stand and makes a ton of money by selling burgers he spits in. They of course do not taste like honey. The female narrator relays phallic symbolism throughout the book but it makes very little sense. Do yourself a favor and buy the newest Danielle Steele instead. Its a must read!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't get through it
Review: It is hard to believe there are so many readers who give this book a glowing review. To me, it seemed as if the author was more intent on creating quirky, off-the-wall characters than in telling a good story. I finally had to put it down about 3/4 of the way through due to the apathy I felt for each and every character in this sappy book. Oh, and the reader that said it was "alot like Gone with the Wind" should probably go back and take another look at GWTW.
Rating:
Summary: A great, tight novel
Review: After reading this book all I could do was marvel at how adroitly the author maintained the selfish, confused, scared, yearning voice of 14 year old Lily in a South on the cusp of great and painful change. Lily does not become (unbelievably) stirred beyond her own concerns to great social action, rather she lurches from one event to the next as any child would and we experience this slice of time through her naive and distracted eyes against a colorful backdrop. This book is vivid and well paced.
Rating:
Summary: POWER TO THE WOMEN!
Review: I picked up "The Secret Life of Bees" because I liked the title...I have read "Bee Season" and "The Recipe for Bees"
And I love the Bee Metaphor.For instance- "New beekeepers are told that the way to find the elusive queen is by first locating the circle of attendents" This is from "Secret Life" and pretty much gives the reader some insight into what fourteen year old Lily will be searching for...The Queen bee (Her Mother) In this searching she finds many mothers, love, acceptance, wisdom,spirituality, and finally, her own self. She learns life lessons from the master, August. And the reader gets to follow along for the ride! Some may say that it doesn't matter if our biological mother leaves us. We can still survive and thrive. But...
I believe that the searching will continue, the longing, the wanting, the needing...to be truly, honestly loved. "All the mothers. I have more mothers than any eight girls off the street. They are the moons shining over me."
Lily-"Secret Life of Bees" Yes! this is what a mother should be...
A moon shining over us!
Rating:
Summary: Rich and Melancholy, then Rich and Joyful.
Review: A real story with an actual beginning-middle-end format. People beging one way, then feel, change, and understand differently at the end. I just kept feeling, "this is REAL." This is a real, human story. The language is lovely, the characters faceted and engaging, the conversation both serious and lighthearted. The setting is rich, as is the self- and societal-discovery of the protagonist. By the end of the story, I was in love with all the wonderful women in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Starts with a bang and then ......
Review: This book came highly recommended by most of the reviewers on Amazon. That coupled with the fact that it was a New York Times Best Sellor lead me to believe that it would be really great. And for the first third of the book that's what I thought. In viewing the Amazon reviews I noted a few critics but blew them off. About a third of the way into the book my mind kept going back to the critics and I kept thinkig how right they were. The first part of the story about Lily's life with her father and her "escape" with Rosaleen is intriguing. It's well done and keeps your interest. But when Lily and Rosaleen get to the "pink house" and are taken in by the sisters everything seems to go into fantasy land. I am African American and went to college in 1963 so I remember those years well. In all of the turmoil that the author says in going on in the town, Lily and Zach are just driving around town and no one notices, especially in the scene where the bottle is thrown at the white men. Now this is not that long after Emmette Till is lynched for looking at a white woman in Mississippi. And what about Zach's parents? The author must have gotten the image or Rosaleen off an old Aunt Jemimah box. Are we to beleive that Rosaleen had no family, friends or obligations even if she was in trouble with the law. For the second third of the book I just wanted to yell out at Lily, "TELL THE TRUTH." Here these folks have taken you in and you continue to lie and decieve them. When she finally finds out about her mother, I wanted to yell out "GET OVER IT." And the coincidence of Lily finding August is just to far fetched to believe. The author could have left some clues for her to follow, but just to think that she walks into this town and finds them is too much to believe. The story is a nice fantasy but the characters are not real at all. The whole deal about the cult of Mary and the black women isn't even believable. And how the heck did Lily get registered in school? She is a minor and the Boatwright's had no legal custody of her. Her father could have easily gone to court and gotten her back. And one more point that bothered me. There is a real problem in the story about time. I was reading along and thought long periods of time had passed and then the author tells you it's only been a week or a few days. The time sequence is very confusing. I hope that I'm not the only one that feels this way. But as far as I'm concerned this book is totally overated.
Rating:
Summary: One sweet read...
Review: I simply LOVE this book. Kidd's writing is poetic and flowing. I inhaled the book in two sittings. Lily will capture your heart, as well as Rosaleen and the Calendar Sisters. I wish I could actually sit down and have iced tea and honey cakes with all of them. I have told women friends and teen girls about this book. A perfect novel to kick off the summer!
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