Lisa of Troy's Reviews > The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees is a fictional story set in 1964 South Carolina. Lily Owens lives with her abusive father, T.Ray, and she is haunted by the mysterious circumstances surrounding her mother’s death. One day, Lily finds herself in legal trouble after a racist encounter, and she goes on the run with Rosaleen. Will Lily find a place where she is loved and accepted? What will happen when her new host discovers the truth?

Each chapter starts off with some facts about bees. Did you know that in certain areas bees produce purple honey?

The Good

The beginning of this book is fascinating, and there are some laugh-out-loud moments. There are some elements of this book which are borderline fantasy, and that is really the fantasy that I love best, where something might actually be true. The bees added a certain depth to the story, and I enjoyed how they were woven into the fabric of The Secret Life of Bees.

This book has a lot of really strong female characters. They are hard-working women, and I really enjoy seeing pieces of literature where women are central figures, doing important work.

The Bad

The pacing is a bit too slow. For example, there are two big reveals that we know are coming. However, it took far too long to get there. There were too many times where Lily was going to reveal her secret and then changed her mind.

The reading technique that I used for this book is called immersion reading (listening to the audiobook while following along in a copy of the text). The narrator was Jenna Lamia. She did a great job; however, she also narrated a similar book entitled The Help, a book also about race relations in the 1960’s in the Southern United States. Personally, I enjoyed The Help more than The Secret Life of Bees.

2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal

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