The Secret Life of Bees

For my outside reading assignment for December break, I chose to read 'The Secret Life of Bees" written by Sue Monk Kidd. The book was a phenomenal pick and I am guessing that several of you have already read it, because it has been on the New York Bestseller's list for a substantial amount of time.

With its complex arguments and conflicts, "The Secret Life of Bees" demonstrates the burdened lifestyle young Lily Owens, must encounter each and every day. At age four years old, Lily Owens kills her mother in an accidental shooting. Throughout the novel, we experience Lily's journey as she searches for love and compassion that was lost along with her mothers' life. Interestingly enough, the only compassion Lily finds is when she is with her African caretaker Rosaleen and when she runs away from her father with Rosaleen and comes across three African women who are bee keepers and live in a pink house. Lily is forced to make a decision between being loved while shunned because she is a white girl living in a house full of African women, or return home to her father where happiness ceases to exist.

Throughout the novel, Lily finds comfort and strength through religion and bees. Kidd uses these small insects that usually represent fear and panic and instead demonstrates the support these tiny creatures hold for Lily.

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Bees-Monk-Kidd/dp/0143114557/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262562782&sr=8-1