Kidd, Monk Sue. The Secret Life of Bees ( New York, NY. Penguin Books, 2002), 302 pp. reviewed by Chrystal Okwuokei, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
The Secret Life of Bees is a 21st century, fictional novel that takes place in Tiburon, South Carolina. The main character Lily Owens has to deal with the absence of her mother after accidentally "killing" her when she was a child. She struggles to replace the emptiness in her heart because she searches for her mother's love. She runs away from her abusive father T. Ray with her nanny Rosaleen. On their escape they encounter a bright pink house and meet three sisters August, May, and June Boatwright who invite them to live with them. August teaches Lily to become a beekeeper and she learns how to make honey and candle wax.
Lily receives the support, comfort, and love she needs from Rosaleen and the Boatwright sisters. They teach her to have faith and she begins to feel empowered. Lily continues to learn and grow and eventually moves on from her troubled past. The major themes in the novel are the power of sisterhood and the mother figure which represents universal love. Sue Monk Kidd uses both coincidence and accident to propel the plot because although Lily didn't have a plan on where to go after she ran away from home she is still able to find the truth that she seeks.
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