The Secret Life of Bees

Author: Sue Monk Kidd

First, let me share with you the text from the back cover: "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 black 'stand-in-mother,' Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free from jail. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina -- a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna."

If you think this sounds intriguing, it is; the book starts off strong with an original plot and two likable but believable characters. However, once the main character meets the aforementioned sisters, having run away from her moderately abusive father, the book drifts gradually downhill. The sisters, in contrast to Lily and Rosaleen, are rather flat; the character of August in particular is sweet, smart, knowledgeable, understanding, loving, etc., without a single flaw to balance her out. The book is only 300 pages long, but I was getting rather tired of it by the end.