Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

34 reviews

plantainicus's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment

Minor: Suicide

nenah_elizabeth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

bloomingpear's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

zoiej88's review against another edition

emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Gun violence

egrupenhoff's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Police brutality

ryleee's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book was an easy read. Nothing groundbreaking, but a pleasant experience nonetheless. I think I liked it because I felt like it wasn’t trying to do too much, or be pretentious. I enjoyed reading about the bees, and thought it was a novel concept to centre the story around. Some of my family members have bees, and it made me think of them. 

I feel like some readers may think that Lily is written in an unrealistic way for a 14-year-old girl, and that may be true. Certainly in parts she displays a lot of maturity and insight that probably isn’t typical for a teenager, even one with her background. But I prefer young characters to be written in this way. I think it helps us as adults to go back and think about why we had a lot of those feelings as teenagers, and helps us to connect with younger characters. This is a fine line and even at some points in this book I found myself distracted by Lily’s self-reflection. For the book club - I feel like Lola and Lily are two sides of the same coin. Lola was extremely self-assured but lacked insight, whereas Lily spends a lot of the time feeling confused or wrong, but probably thinks a little too much about it. Both girls are discovering their identity and both of them are on the run! 

I think the story did get lost/stuck in a few places. The third quarter of the book felt a bit stagnant, and there were a few little sub-plots that were good to read but I feel they could’ve been woven into the overall story a little better

(e.g. Zach getting arrested)

. Similarly, while I liked the story about Mary and the Daughters of Mary, I think it went on a little bit too long in that part of the book. 

As for the ending, I do wish it was a little clearer why T Ray was the way he was. I suppose that the author wanted us to infer or project onto him, but as a character that I couldn’t really relate to, I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or just dislike him. But out of caution I think I’ll dislike him. 

2001 seems like not that long ago but it was certainly a different time for literature! Despite potentially being historically accurate, I did find the slurs  quite jarring, so thankfully there wasn’t too many. The themes of racism and segregation would probably be challenging for POC to read. 

Overall, I thought this was a good read. I would recommend it to people looking for a good story, set in an interesting time and place, that isn’t overly existential or difficult to follow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Moderate: Slavery, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Minor: Pregnancy

shesun's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It is a beautiful story about faith, growth and found family. Absolutely beautifully written.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Misogyny and Blood

hathaway99's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I finally finished “The Secret Life of Bees.” It was a little wordy and I found myself skipping paragraphs a lot in the last half of the book. It did touch on civil rights and how things were in the south in 1964, but only a little bit. 

It’s also confusing switching between Mary Worship, which I didn’t understand but think it’s to show that woman are strong and don’t need a man and the bees.
I was a little disappointed in the ending, too. I’m not sure why because it was an okay ending.
There is some (moderate) bad language in the book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Suicide

tracy89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Abandonment

victoriaashade's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Racism