The Secret Life of Bees

Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees is a fantastic book. It manages to be both sad and uplifting at the same time. I wept through a whole section of it, in a good way.

The main character, Lily Owens, reminded me strongly of Huck Finn. Their stories start off similarly, both adolescents escape from abusive fathers and traveling south to find refuge. But where Huck keeps traveling, Lily quickly settles in with the Boatwright sisters who she knows has a connection to her deceased mother. The two books also explore race relations, as seen through the eyes of a white teenager who doesn't quite agree with society at large.

Unlike The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Secret Life of Bees is very much a female story. Lily's coming of age is anchored by the many women around her, acting as mothers and sisters. On a spiritual level, her relationship with Mary becomes incredibly important, too. Lily has to learn to come to terms with her relationship with her birth mother, who died when Lily was four. The process is scary and painful, but Lily is ultimately able to come through it.

This is one of those books that I got stuck in a bit. Even when I wasn't reading it, I was wandering around in a slight haze, still living with one foot in this world. It's the sort of story that just grabs hold of you, and the narration really helps with that. Lily's voice is unique and adds a lot to the story.

Overall this was just an incredible book. If it had come out sooner, I bet I would have had to read it in high school, alongside The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Their Eyes Were Watching God

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