Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Secret Life of Bees

This is another book written by a white author about a white child being cared for by Black women in the 1960s American south. The child is struggling with issues of family and identity and is nurtured, mothered, and healed by her Black caregivers. After reading an interview with the author at the end of the book, I'm sure she had the best of intentions in writing all of these characters, but it felt really problematic to have the white child and her problems as the focus of this story, given the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement. Not to mention that the Black characters were somewhat based on the author's own childhood nanny. It all just felt a little gross.

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sporemiette's review

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emotional hopeful relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I wish this book challenged me a bit more. Granted, the last book I read was The Poppy War which was pretty fucking challenging, but considering the topics this book covered (race, abuse, abandonment, mental health), I would've thought the book would be a little more provocative. I think there's also something to be said about a white author writing about a white girl running away from home and being being adopted by a group of Black women and the implications made, although as a white reader I don't really feel like it's my place to make any sweeping statements about. All I can say is to be wary of some mildly tone-deaf statements made in the book. As for the plot itself, I thought it was perfectly serviceable. Other reviewers have stated that the book is cliche-d, and I can say that I have NO OPINION on that matter seeing as I have never read any book like this before. The main character, Lily, was great. She felt like a realistic representation of a teenager her age, and I could relate a lot to her lying problem. The other characters were great as well, though I wish we could have spent more time with Rosaleen. There's a good portion of interactions between her and Lily at the beginning of the book,

but once they get to August's house Rosaleen kind of takes a step back from the plot

, which is a shame considering she is supposed to be Lily's "stand-in mother." All in all, this is a good book to read on a day off, but not anything mind-blowing.

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readingwithkt's review against another edition

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The content of this is just too graphic for me right now.

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stephaniekane's review

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

So, I picked this book up off the street. It was recommended to me about a decade ago, and decided now that it was being offered up to me for free, I might as well finally read it.

Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily, a fourteen-year-old white girl, and Rosaleen, her Black maid, after they run away from Lily's abusive father T. Ray. They find themselves in the home of the Boatwright sisters, three Black women who are also beekeepers. In the Boatwright home, Lily not only begins to learn the true story of her mother (who died in a tragic accident when she was only four), but also learns the true meaning of motherhood and family.

This book has what I call "Big Hairspray Energy." Don't get me wrong, I love Hairspray, it is a perfectly constructed musical with many certified bops. What I mean when I say something has "Big Hairspray Energy" is that it perpetuates the myth of Good White People (not racists) and Bad White People (overt racists who use the n-word and are proponents of segregation and often enact racialized violence). At least the white-centering of Hairspray is focused on Tracy Turnblad, who faces very real fatphobia and can draw comparisons to being unfairly judged in her own life.

I'm sure if I had read this book when it was recommended to me when I was 15, I would have found it very moving. Like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help, it tells a story of systemic, but as a piece of historical fiction it can be easy to point too as the kind of thing that doesn't happen anymore, while the events of the book, including voter suppression, racialized violence, school segregation, and unfair imprisonment, are all still real issues. Additionally, Lily, like Tracy or Scout or Scooter, gets to be the young white woman who just doesn't understand how people can be so awful towards Black people. If only they knew them. If only they fell in love with them. It seems so simple.

In short, this book just didn't age well, and that's a good thing! We've moved past this kind of narrative, and have passed the mic to people of color so they can tell their own stories, rather than a white woman's version of the segregated south.

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celery's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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