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Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life of Bees: Tie In Edition Paperback – August 20, 2008

by Sue Monk Kidd (Author)

4.6 31,227 ratings

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Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

August 20, 2008
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

5.1 x 0.6 x 7.76 inches
ISBN-10

0143114557
ISBN-13

978-0143114550
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Popular Highlights in this book

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People who think dying is the worst thing don’t know a thing about life.
Highlighted by 4,159 Kindle readers
This is what I know about myself. She was all I wanted. And I took her away.
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Loss takes up inside of everything sooner or later and eats right through it.
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (August 20, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143114557
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143114550
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.6 x 7.76 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,592,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18,256 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #21,067 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #68,609 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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4.6 31,227 ratings

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Sue Monk Kidd

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Sue Monk Kidd's debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees, spent more than one hundred weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has sold more than six million copies in the United States, was turned into both an award-winning major motion picture and musical, and has been translated into thirty-six languages. Her second novel, The Mermaid Chair, was a number one New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a television movie. The Invention of Wings, Kidd's third novel, was an Oprah's Book Club 2.0 pick, and also a number one New York Times bestseller.

Her most recent novel, The Book of Longings, was published in paperback on March 23, 2021. Released in 2020 to widespread critical and reader acclaim, it was an immediate bestseller and book club favorite. It has been translated into 17 languages thus far.

Sue is also an acclaimed memoirist, with titles including The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, her groundbreaking work on religion and feminism, as well as the New York Times bestseller Traveling with Pomegranates, written with her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor. She lives in North Carolina.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

31,227 global ratings

5 star		71%
4 star		19%
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2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Neighbor

Very powerful

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 29, 2023

Verified Purchase

I could not put this book down. I realize my ignorance (or innocence) with regards to civil rights. I was unaware of the black white issues. I heard of Rosa Parks, but never really gave it much thought.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 12, 2023

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I love this book and it's been passed around from me to my mom then to my sister. We all love it

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

This has on list for a long time. A coming of age story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 25, 2023

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This is a s coming of age story set in the summer of 1964 in South Carolina. The story of Lily Owens at 14 . It is multilayer study of racism, redemption, bees and pain. It is a story of healing that crosses racial lines and a story of love. Black Madonnas, beekeeping, A purpose driven life. It is the kindness of strangers, grief,pain and the joy of ordinary life in a pink house an dev happiness and family with a sense of family that is not your own family. It is about finding security in chaos and shelter for mother and daughter. I liked the book. Everything has a time and a place.

2 people found this helpful

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AUDREAY

Beautiful book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 5, 2023

Beautiful book

The Secret Life of Bees :)

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 26, 2011

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The Secret Life of Bees written by Sue Monk Kidd is amazing story of a young girl's journey to find out the truth about her deceased mother. The story follows fourteen year old Lily Owens, a young girl living in Sylvan, South Carolina during the civil rights era. She is raised by her father T.Ray, a peach farmer, who has been anything but fatherly towards Lily. Her mother, Deborah, passed when Lily was a young child. Lily knows very little about the death of her mother, expect for the fact that it was she who took her life. The only mother figure in her life is their African American housekeeper, Rosaleen. After a terrifying altercation while Rosaleen attempted to register to vote, both Lily and Rosaleen are forced to flee Sylvan. Lily takes along with her a few of her most prized possessions that once belonged to her mother, including a photograph of a Black Madonna with the town of Tiburon, South Carolina written on the back. Lily, longing to know the truth about her mother sets out with Rosaleen to Tiburon. Once in Tiburon they meet the three Boatwright sisters who take in Lily and Rosaleen. Lily spends the summer learning the ins and outs of beekeeping from August Boatwright the eldest of the three sisters. As it turns out Lily learns more than just about bee keeping in that summer, she learns about life, spirituality, love, strength, acceptance, and most importantly she learns the truth she`s been longing for.
Sue Monk Kidd does an amazing job of creating an emotional connection between the reader and the story. She writes with such vivid description and emotion that you as a reader cannot help but feel Lily's pain. She finds a way to tell such a sad story in a beautiful and eloquent way. The Secret Life of Bees is complex and the characters have many layers that keeps the story interesting. As a reader I felt just as anxious as Lily did to learn the truth about what had really happened to her mother. You also develop personal connections with the story and its characters. We all know someone like August who is caring and compassionate for all people, and we can all relate to the grief felt when we lose someone we love. As readers we get to see Lily grow and blossom right before our very eyes. I can almost certainly guarantee you will fall in love with this emotional story and grow very fond of it's characters. Sue Monk Kidd also does an amazing job at connecting the life of a bee to situations taking place within the novel, it all really comes full circle once you've completed the book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys coming of age stories. Women and girls will find a deep connection to this book, especially those who have experienced the loss of a mother or someone close in their lives. The Secret Life of Bees empowering, inspirational, and a good and easy read. I found myself at times unable to close the book wanting to know more. However, I would not recommend this book particularly for a male audience. The main characters are primarily women and the issues they face are often not relatable to the average man. Overall, it's a great and enjoyable book, so get out there and read it!

5 people found this helpful

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Tiffany

I was so excited when I found out there was a book version of the movie.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 15, 2023

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The quality of the book and how quickly it was delivered.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 1, 2023

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Loved reading this book years ago and now sharing with my daughter.

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sam

She was stunned that she was capable of something like that and regarded herself as a horrible person

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 29, 2017

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The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a young Southern girl and her complicated past. Lilly lives on a peach farm in South Carolina during the 1960s with her abusive father, T Ray. She has held on to a blurred memory of her deceased mother, and she is desperate to make it clear. When Lilly’s nanny Rosaleen is insulted by three racist men in their small town, they escape to Tiburon, South Carolina. This town holds the answer to Lilly’s questions. They are taken in by three African American beekeeping sisters named August, May, and June. Lilly finds comfort in their way of life and their belief in the Black Madonna. She starts to find out about her mother’s past and embraces a new lifestyle that teaches her about the world.

One of the main messages of The Secret Life of Bees is that sometimes you must leave home to find home. Lilly knew that there was more to her mother’s past than what she had been told, and a twist of fate helped her find the answers she needed. She found protection from her abusive father with three surrogate mothers. The Secret Life of Bees is also about learning from your mistakes and accepting your flaws. Lilly learned that she accidentally killed her mother when she tried to hand a gun to her for protection from T Ray. She was stunned that she was capable of something like that and regarded herself as a horrible person. It took her a long time to come to terms with her actions and love herself. Finally, the most prevalent theme in the book is the importance of having love and compassion in your life. In addition to finding a place where she felt like she belonged, she also found loving home. This is not something she had experienced before as her father was abusive. When she found August, May, and June, she felt comforted and appreciated. She realized that one of the things that any human needs to grow and flourish is a nurturing family.

The Secret Life of Bees is a book that you will not want to put down. The story is intriguing because it captures the essence of what human beings desire to have- love, appreciation, and respect. The story is told from a young girl’s point of view and describes her journey to uncover her mother’s past. It is engaging because the reader does not understand all the details of her mother’s past until the end of the book, so it leaves the reader with a desire to uncover the mystery. I truly enjoyed this book and was a little sad when it was done. I highly recommend this amazing novel to everyone!

54 people found this helpful

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Luke Dennison

Very enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 25, 2019

Verified Purchase

This seemed like one of those books that those famous people's book clubs like (the Operah Winfries, Reese Witherspoons and Richard and Judy's of the world) and I would usually avoid those like the plague. However, this seemed like it would be a good holiday read and I like Bees and am interested in the civil rights movement, so I thought I'd give this a go and I really enjoyed it. Some people have moaned and said it took them only two hours to read (impossible by the way) and not in a good way. Well I would say what do you expect. This is an easy read, it doesn't really go into anything in great detail and it is an easy read crowd pleaser for the masses. There are a few themes the book tackles but the main one I took away was that of self awareness and taking responsibility for ones self. I thought in the main the characters were well drawn (except for the one dimensional bad guys, but they serve their purpose) and Lily was a great character worth rooting for. Oh, and for all those reviewers who like to pigeon hole stuff this is NOT a fricking YA novel but more in the vein of To Kill a Mockingbird (though not as good)...

13 people found this helpful

Chris Wheal

Great writing, descriptions, simplicity and emotion.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 10, 2016

Verified Purchase

Beeeutiful. It has nothing to do with bees and everything. This is perfectly written narrative of a young woman's journey. Yes there is a geographic journey and there is a political journey, but mainly there is a personal and emotional and growing-up journey. Nothing happens. There is no car chase or anything exciting, though there is a past shooting a few beatings, several arrests and a suicide to contend with. The key is the writing, the plain understanding and beautiful language that makes this so great.

This is set just as the US was legally, if not socially - in the South at least - adopting the civil rights legislation of Martin Luther King's protests. But it is not a polemic. I happened to finish reading this on the 80th anniversary of the UK's Battle of Cable Street, and this is a such a simple reminder of what people are still fighting for. Here's one snippet, of a white girl comparing herself with a black woman who was yet to be her friend:

"As I squatted on the grass at the edge of the woods, the pee felt hot between my legs. I watched it puddle in the dirt, the smell of it rising into the night. There was no difference between my piss and June’s. That’s what I thought when I looked at the dark circle on the ground. Piss was piss." from "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

28 people found this helpful

El

Nothing really happens

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

I think it says a lot about this book that as I came to review it just 2 months after finishing reading it I can’t remember much about it, including why I only rated it 2 out of 5.

I enjoyed the sample of the book which led to purchasing the book and the premise for the book looked good. The story is set as the Civil Rights Act is passed in America and the focus of the book is 14 year old Lily who believes she killed her Mother in an accident when she was younger and she has been raised by her abusive Father ever since, Lily reaches a point where she has had enough and so she runs away using only a photograph that was left by her Mother to navigate her way to a family who keep bees. If the story had continued in this way it would have been an interesting read, instead once Lily and Rosaleen reach the house, nothing really happens any more. The biggest plotline from this point onwards is trying to work out who the bee-keeping family are and their connection to Lily’s Mother.

The book dragged on, there were a lot of descriptions about the process of making honey and keeping bees which I didn’t find interesting and only one interesting sub-plot involving May. Whilst reading I felt that there may have been some symbolism about the bees that I was missing but from reading other reviews since finishing the book, I don’t think it was that deep.

It covers important topics such as racism and grief but I think the story could have been done a lot better; it started off interesting and engaging but by the middle it was plodding along with nothing really happening. It didn’t take me long to read and it wasn’t a struggle to finish it, I just didn’t enjoy it.

One person found this helpful

Matthew Whyndham

Too sweet and wet

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

Quite diverting for the duration of a holiday flight, but not serious enough for me. There were several stylistic things to be irritated about: such as the names of the characters, the happy coincidences and the quotations at the start of each chapter. Some more general defects as well: characters were either Good (the queen bee August) or Bad (the father) with hardly any nuance, apart from the late lamented mother. What really grated were the punchline paragraphs at the end of each significant happening, telling you in symbolic woo woo language exactly what to think, in terms highly unlikely to be expressed by the young central character. Instruction to editor: Delete last paragraph from each section, and let the reader work it out a bit. This could be OK as a young person's book, but I'm mystified as to why so many grown-ups are swarming around it.

23 people found this helpful

Bobbinmad

Absorbing read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

I have had this book in my Kindle library for quite a long time now. I have started it three times and decided it was not for me on the first two occasions.
However when I did read it beyond the first couple of chapters I was so glad I did. It is not the type of book I usually read, and the subject matter was not one I knew much about, but it carried me along so I couldn't leave it once I got into it properly.
It is a strong tale, very sad in places, and with a good ending. It is very well written and easy to read without the typos so common in some books that put you off the story completely.
I won't forget this very absorbing story for a very long time.

4 people found this helpful

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