The Secret Life of Bees Hardcover - 2002

Details

• Title The Secret Life of Bees
• Author Sue Monk Kidd
• Binding Hardcover
• Edition First Edition
• Pages 301
• Volumes 1
• Language ENG
• Publisher Viking Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
• Date 2002-10-10
• ISBN 9780670032372 / 0670032379
• Weight 1.09 lbs (0.49 kg)
• Dimensions 8.68 x 5.78 x 1.16 in (22.05 x 14.68 x 2.95 cm)
• Ages 18 to UP years
• Grade levels 13 - UP
• Reading level 840
• Library of Congress subjects Domestic fiction, Teenage girls
• Library of Congress Catalog Number 2001026310
• Dewey Decimal Code FIC

"Lily is a wonderfully petulant and self-absorbed adolescent, and Kidd deftly portrays her sense of injustice as it expands to accommodate broader social evils. At the same time the political aspects of Lily's growth never threaten to overwhelm the personal. The core of this story is Lily's search for a mother, and she finds one in a place she never expected.... She finds her Madonna in a woman named August Boatwright, the proprietor of a honey farm that's a harbor of quiet civility. August and her sisters, June and May, are no mere vehicles for Lily's salvation; they are individuals as fully imagined as the sweltering, kudzu-carpeted landscape that surrounds them."
—The New York Times Book Review



"Lily Melissa Owens... the brave girl at the heart of this novel... frees her babysitter, a black maid who has been abused by several white men and put in jail for it, and the two of them follow Lily's instincts to safety. The Secret Life of Bees is one of those novels that leaves a reader more confident: Heck, if this kid could do it, so can I."
—The Los Angeles Times Book Review



"Populated with rich, believable characters and propelled by a swiftly paced plot, this debut novel is a cut above most coming-of-age tales. You’ll be glad you went along for the ride. Bottom line: Buzz-worthy."
—People Magazine



"Sue Monk Kidd is an extraordinary storyteller. Beautifully written."
—Ursula Hegi



"A wonderful novel about mothers and daughters and the transcendent power of love."
—Connie May fowler



"With imagination as lush and colorful as the American South, a clutch of deliciously eccentric characters and vivid prose, Sue Monk Kidd creates a rich, maternal haven in a harsh world."
—Christina Schwarz



"A truly original Southern voice." —Anita Shreve



"The tale of one motherless daughter's discovery of what family really means—and of the strange and wonderful places we find love." —The Washington Post



"A moving first novel...Lily is an authentic and winning character and her story is compellingly told. The bees presage her journey toward self-acceptance, faith and freedom." —USA Today



"...Sue Monk Kidd is a direct literary descendant of Carson McCullers." —The Baltimore Sun