num_pages: 302
description: Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love--a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
language: English
title: The Secret Life of Bees
titlecomplete: The Secret Life of Bees
characters: Lily Owens, May Boatwright, June Boatwright, August Boatwright, T. Ray Owens, Rosaleen
genres: Historical, Young Adult, Classics, Novels, Coming Of Age, Adult, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adult Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 1266406
places: Tiburon, South Carolina, South Carolina, The United States of America
awards: awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Orange Prize
category: Fiction Longlist, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Book Sense Book of the Year Award
category: Paperback, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Lincoln Award, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Gateway Readers Award, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: LovelyBooks Leserpreis
category: Allgemeine Literatur
publisher: Viking Adult