Rating: 
Summary: Much buzz that didn't deliver
Review: I had bought this book because it was recommended for people who liked The Life of Pi. I am probably doing this book a big disservice because I read it right after Pi, a tough act for any book to follow, but I had such high hopes after reading the rave reviews about it. It was a lot of buzz about a book that was good rather than great. Three weeks after reading both books, Pi has stayed with me; Lily hasn't.I didn't find it fresh and new - it was more like a rehash of other authors' works, as many of the reviewers have noted with better comparisons that I have. Although it started out okay, the rest of the book didn't match the beginning of the novel. I didn't find any of the characters particularly compelling. For one thing, Rosaleen seemed like a cardboard cutout of Mammy or other similar characters - the woman who nurtures instead of, and better than, the parents. Was Rosaleen brave or just ill-informed in her actions? We are never given enough information to figure that out. The three calendar ladies raised some interesting questions, like what happened to July in the order, but were pretty interchangeable. As for her father, he is never given enough depth of character to understand why he seems to be more than one person rolled up into one. He is more of a plot device than a well-rounded, even though despicable, character. Change his name to Bubba or Jim Bob, also stereotypes, and it won't change a thing. I kept looking for more depth in the people. As for our main character, I found her very inconsistent. When I first started reading, I thought she was about 10 or 11 years old. After I found out she was 14, I was surprised. Then later in the novel, she comes out with insights that makes her seem much older. However, her temper tantrum and confusion made her seem like the age that she was. I never got a clear picture in my head about what any of these characters looked like, something that helps fiction cross that leap-of-faith boundary. By comparison, I knew what Scarlett O'Hara, Anne of Green Gables and Huckleberry Finn looked like before seeing any movies about them. There were good things in this novel - the honey label was described so well that I could see it in my mind, the pink house, the Black Madonna, tha hats, the wall. These were infused with genius. The underlying theme of the bees was quite well done, too. I am glad that I read it because it was worthy; however, it is like the rocks that Lily sucks, meagre sustenance that I won't read again.
Rating: 
Summary: ENLIGHTENING, ENGROSSING
Review: Simply put, TSLOB is a great book. I highly recommend that it goes on the "must read" list
Rating:
Summary: Engaging but predictable
Review: Traveling this holiday I saw at least a dozen women reading this book on trains and planes. It is a sweet story, but caters too carefully to it's audience - creating a world of women-centered spirituality and family without enough reflection or insight. The bee metaphors get, forgive me, sappy, too.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting
Review: This book was absolutely amazing. Ms. Kidd's sensitivity to the feelings of human beings was shocking. The feelings Lily, May, Rosaleen, August, June, and Zach shared with each other were described with such detail it felt as if Ms. Kidd was describing you yourself. An amazing author, Ms. Kidd is someone to watch for if you like emotional and politically correct books, just as The Secret Life of Bees was.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: I am a frequent reader, and hadn't heard anything about this until a stranger walked up to me after seeing me looking through the books at Costco. She pointed to it, and said that she loved it so much she wanted to pass that along to anyone else that might enjoy it too. I thanked her, and bought it just because of the strange circumstance. I have to say that I truly loved it. Right from the start, it gets your attention. I hate books that you have to be patient with to "get into" like The Poisonwood Bible. It's a fairly easy read too, so it's great for commuting (which is when I read) or any place you can't sit and really concentrate. But overall, this is just a great book that gets you thinking. There is a lot going on, both in the story line, and psychologically. When I find myself looking forward to reading more, that's when I know it's a good book, and I definitely felt that way about this one. Get it, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: a secret world revealed
Review: What fascinated me about this book was its tantalising glimpse into the hidden world of voodoo and its references to the Black Madonna. A really excellent book I've recently discovered is Vodou Shaman by Ross Heaven, which really set the whole of The Secret Life of Bees into context. If you enjoyed Kidd's book it's worth buying Heaven's too as the latter really enriches and adds depth to the first. A really great present to yourself!
Rating:
Summary: the not-so-secret life of a well-written book
Review: THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES easily ranks as one of the best reads I've encountered all this year, and one of my favorite books ever. Many friends and coworkers had read it as a book club selection, and talked constantly about how much they liked it, loved it, couldn't wait to see the movie, etc... Now that I've read it, I can tell you all the good things you've read are true. Sue Monk Kidd has a real way with the English language: the book has many passages that you find yourself going back to read a second and even third time before moving on. There were even just expressions or a metaphor that caught my eye, and made me think how richly the words convey the story and draw the reader into the lives of the book's characters. As a few hundred people have already written reviews, I won't waste time summarizing the plot or character descriptions. Just click the "ADD TO CART" or "BUY WITH 1-CLICK" button now on the upper right-hand corner of the page! My edition of the book included an interview with the author. One question asked her if she is going to write a sequel to SECRET LIFE OF BEES and she says she has considered it, but has not made a decision one way or the other just yet. I hereby cast my vote for her to continue the story sometime if not right away. This is simply a terrific book and a great example of "new" or "modern" Southern literature. Don't waste time reading the reviews comparing it to Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: I am quite certain that Ms. Kidd didn't have that book in mind when she set out to write SECRET LIFE OF BEES. It stands on its own as a wonderful Southern Novel. I should know--I grew up in Alabama! :)
Rating: 
Summary: This book is overrated
Review: I bought this book to read on the airplane. It's light and entertaining but I expected more given all the talk about it. I was surprised at how one dimensional the characters were, particularly the black women who live to nurture white children. The bee theme was initially interesting but only served to delay the realization that this was a boring story.
Rating:
Summary: --A Sensitive and Engaging First Novel--
Review: THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES is the story of a motherless girl and is both heart warming and sad. The story is told by fourteen- year-old Lily Owens who lives on a peach farm outside of Sylvan, South Carolina, with her father, who is a mean and nasty man. He's unable to conceal the hate he has for his daughter or his deceased wife. Since the age of four, when her mother was accidentally killed, Rosaleen, a black servant, is the only person to show love and concern for Lily. The girl has a few keepsakes from her mother, including a picture of a black Madonna with the name, Tiburon, South Carolina, written on the back. Lily has no idea what the picture means or what it had to do with her mother. It's the year of 1964, and the Civil Rights Act, a turbulent time in the South. One day as Lily and Rosaleen were walking near town, several bigoted men insult and harass Rosaleen and ask her where she's going. She replies that she's going down to register to vote. When they continue their insults, she retaliates by pouring her snuff jug, filled with black spit over their shoes. The men brutally beat her up and she ends up in the police ward of the hospital. Because Rosaleen had taken a paper fan from a church, she is charged with theft, assault and disturbing the peace. Lily breaks her out of the hospital ward and the two of them end up heading for Tiburon. In Tiburon, they meet several sisters who live together and support themselves by keeping bees. The story comes together, and eventually Lily learns about her mother and the meaning of love, caring and forgiveness. The beekeepers are interesting and the parts of the book concerning their lives make a delightful read. Every chapter in THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES begins with a quotation about bees and relates to the unfolding story. Chapter Eleven begins with "It takes honeybee workers ten million foraging trips to gather enough nectar to make one pound of honey." Taken from BEES OF THE WORLD. This is an excellent story and kept me mesmerized until I completed the last page. I would love to see this made into a film.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best audiobooks for adults I have ever heard!
Review: Even six months after listening to this audiobook the pleasure of that listening experience remains with me. It didn't surprise me to later realize that this reader, Jenna Lamia, also narrated one of my favorite children's audiobooks which I had heard with my daughter while driving in the car together last summer, [Hope Was Here, by Joan Bauer]. This particular story, by Sue Monk Kidd, was touching without being maudlin, and Lamia's reading truly drew in the listener from the very first moment. It's the story of an adolescent girl named Lily who lives on a peach farm in the South with only her father and a black woman named Rosaleen, who has been taking care of Lily since the death of the child's mother ten years before. Lily's father seems somewhat brutal and unsympathetic, and offers little comfort to the lonely child. When Rosaleen, who provides the only warmth in her life, gets into trouble defending her right to vote Lily joins her in leaving home. They flee with only a souvenir which once belonged to Lily's mother as a clue to where they are heading. This momento helps lead Lily and Rosaleen to learning more about what happened on the afternoon of Lily's mother's death. Lily's memory of the day her mother died is confused and conflicted, and she leaves hoping both to protect Rosaleen as well as to find out more about her mother. They also meet a very interesting family of sisters whose lives on a bee farm take up a significant part of the story. Lamia's reading is both innocent and tender, and reflects a profound understanding of Lily and of the South before the sixties and the Civil Rights movement which is contemporaneous with this story. The relationship between Lily and Rosaleen is also examined at length, and many sensitive emotional and social issues neglected by the 'politics' of history are illuminated by the tale. Both the story and the reading draw the reader into the era and the characters in a way that only fiction can create a bond of identification with the reader. ALthough I am sure the book is a wonderful story on its own, I can't help but believe it has been greatly enhanced by the voice of Jenny Lamia.
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