Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

37 reviews

lucys_bookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Minor: Abandonment, Death, and Child abuse

daniellecalifornia's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Racism

luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing is beautiful and the story moves at a very nice pace, all of the characters are well written. But it is clear that although race being a central theme of the book, it is written by a white author to leave a white audience feeling good rather than focusing on the harsh realities of the south in the 60s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

smoothjazzhands's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Gun violence

corvicore's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse

celery's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Death

gracecleo's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Racism