Teen Ink

The Secret Life of Bees is a meaningful story of racism, humanity, and divine female rights. This book absolutely grabbed me and made me read. As my eyes sprinted over the words, I began to feel the characters’ pain and emotions.

This spiritual, adventurous story follows 14-year-old Lily Owens, whose life has been circling around a terrible, blurred memory of her mother. It is a uniquely written drama that grabs your heart and keeps you turning the pages.

One hot summer afternoon, Lily’s mother and father begin screaming at each other. Lily’s mother is shot and killed, and Lily is left with a harsh, ­neglectful father. Her only companion is her caretaker, Rosaleen, a fierce-hearted black woman who cooks, cleans, and acts as a stand-in mother.

The story is set during the year of the Civil Rights Act, 1964, in South Carolina. Lily decides she
is tired of living with her ­father, and with Rosaleen, she flees to Tiburon, South Caro­lina, a small town that holds
the secrets of her mother’s past. While walking through town they are taken in by three black women beekeepers who introduce Lily to a wild life of bees, new people, and the Black Madonna who rules over the household as a symbol of the Virgin Mary.

Lily’s mission is to find out about her mother’s mysterious past and who she really was. Bravery. Racism. Love. Those are the words that represent this story best.