The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd
First Published: 2002
9 Copies & Reading Guide
Lily has grown up believing she accidentally killed her mother when she was four. She not only has her own memory of holding the gun, but her father’s account of the event. Now fourteen, she yearns for her mother, and for forgiveness. Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her father, she has only one friend: Rosaleen, a black servant whose sharp exterior hides a tender heart. South Carolina in the sixties is a place where segregation is still considered a cause worth fighting for. When racial tension explodes one summer afternoon, and Rosaleen is arrested and beaten, Lily is compelled to act. Fugitives from justice and from Lily’s harsh and unyielding father, they follow a trail left by the woman who died ten years before. Finding sanctuary in the home of three beekeeping sisters, Lily starts a journey as much about her understanding of the world, as about the mystery surrounding her mother
Reading Guide:
Penguin – Includes a Q&A with the Author, an Intro to the Book, and Discussion Questions
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews – “The Secret Life of Bees“
Goodreads – Find out what fellow readers thought of The Secret Life of Bees.
Official Author Website: http://www.suemonkkidd.com/
More about Honeybees:
National Geographic – Honeybees
Life Cycle of Honeybees (Video)
If you enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees, you might like:
The Help (Book Club Kit) by Kathryn Stockett
Prayers for Sale (Book Club Kit) by Sandra Dallas
The Crowning Glory of Call Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
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