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A review by kgstuckinabook
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
5.0
Lilly, is a young girl who winds up being our narrator and main character of the story. Fairly early, we find out that her mom died when she was 4, and she has a rather poor relationship with her dad. Their housekeeper wound up raising Lilly. The story begins with bees, and we see what an important role they play in Lilly's life, as they try to find their way into Lilly's bedroom. It was already a sign that Lilly was on the path to being where she needed to be. In each chapter we find out a little bit more about Lilly's past... and eventually discover that Lilly killed her mother with the family's gun, while she was packing up trying to leave T.Ray, Lilly's father, and even though it was an accident, we see the grief consume Lilly daily. Her father seems like an angry, uncaring man, but we don't find out until later why that is, though we can make assumptions. Their housekeeper Rosaleen, seems to care for Lilly though, so at least she has her.
"There's nothing like a song about lost love to remind you how everything precious can slip from the hinges you've hung it so careful" (page 50).
Lilly winds up running away, having kneeled on one too many grits as punishment from T.Ray. Her breaking point wasn't the grits though, but rather when T.Ray told her that her mom left the both of them, and was only coming back for her things. We don't know how true this is, and Lilly fights this with every fiber of her being. After busting Rosaleen out of jail, they run for it... to a place that Lilly truly believes her mother went to, after finding her mother's picture, and 'Mary' - Tiburon, South Carolina. There she meets August, May, and June, and I quickly became enchanted by their lives, their house, and their past. It's obvious that Lilly and August's relationship is growing the strongest.
"I love the idea of bees having a secret life, just like the one I was living" (page 148).
"After you get stung, you can't get unstung no matter how much you whine about it" (page 167).
I fell in love with how close knit this 'family' has become, because that's exactly what they are... There doesn't have to be the same blood between them, or even the same skin color, they are there for one another no matter what. And soon after a forbidden love, the death of a sister, and close call with the police, we discover that Lilly's mom had been there. Things happen for a reason though, and even though Lilly was ready to find out the truth - their world fell apart, and it wasn't until after the storm, when Lilly was able to finally hear it all.
"There's a fullness of time for things, Lilly" (Page 236).
"You think you want to know something, and then once you do, all you can think about is erasing it from your mind" (Page 249).
As readers, we see Lilly go through all of the stages of grief, from shock and anger, to forgiveness and understanding. She still battles with these feelings each and every day, but it seemingly gets easier. The end was perfect. I felt the love surrounding Lilly, and did not think about color separating them, it was all love.
"There's nothing like a song about lost love to remind you how everything precious can slip from the hinges you've hung it so careful" (page 50).
Lilly winds up running away, having kneeled on one too many grits as punishment from T.Ray. Her breaking point wasn't the grits though, but rather when T.Ray told her that her mom left the both of them, and was only coming back for her things. We don't know how true this is, and Lilly fights this with every fiber of her being. After busting Rosaleen out of jail, they run for it... to a place that Lilly truly believes her mother went to, after finding her mother's picture, and 'Mary' - Tiburon, South Carolina. There she meets August, May, and June, and I quickly became enchanted by their lives, their house, and their past. It's obvious that Lilly and August's relationship is growing the strongest.
"I love the idea of bees having a secret life, just like the one I was living" (page 148).
"After you get stung, you can't get unstung no matter how much you whine about it" (page 167).
I fell in love with how close knit this 'family' has become, because that's exactly what they are... There doesn't have to be the same blood between them, or even the same skin color, they are there for one another no matter what. And soon after a forbidden love, the death of a sister, and close call with the police, we discover that Lilly's mom had been there. Things happen for a reason though, and even though Lilly was ready to find out the truth - their world fell apart, and it wasn't until after the storm, when Lilly was able to finally hear it all.
"There's a fullness of time for things, Lilly" (Page 236).
"You think you want to know something, and then once you do, all you can think about is erasing it from your mind" (Page 249).
As readers, we see Lilly go through all of the stages of grief, from shock and anger, to forgiveness and understanding. She still battles with these feelings each and every day, but it seemingly gets easier. The end was perfect. I felt the love surrounding Lilly, and did not think about color separating them, it was all love.