The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is Lily's story. She is a fourteen-year-old girl growing up in 1950s South Carolina with no mother, a mean father, and a terrible guilt riding on her shoulders. When Rosaleen, her black nanny, finds herself in jail, Lily finds a way to free them both while searching for answers about her mother. Their search lands them on a beekeeping farm run by three sisters - August, June, and May. The sisters teach Lily more than she could have imagined including the mystery of the Black Mary, Jesus' mother. Lily knows she can never be the same, and neither will you. Read this book if you love strong women, if you like stories infused with a sense of time and place, or if you've heard about the filming and you want to read the book first. I give it a 9 out of 10.