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A review by ryleee
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
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.
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Death of parent
Moderate: Slavery, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Pregnancy