Skip to main content

The Secret Life of Bees: A Book Review

So I've finished the first book from my reading list for the Fall Into Reading
challenge. I wanted to read The Secret Life of Bees first since the movie is
coming out this month and I wanted to be *prepared*. Although it'll probably
be different from the book, like movies usually are. Oh, well...
I hardly ever read popular fiction. I find that for some reason a lot of authors seem to think all people swear like the proverbial sailor (movie producers are the same way). And, frankly, I can just do without all of that foul language.
However, when I saw the preview for this movie the story seemed very interesting and I decided to check it out. And it was a very good story. There was some language in the story, but it didn't dominate it.
The story is set in 1964 in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. It's about a runaway white girl and her black nanny who seek refuge with three black beekeeping sisters. There is a mystery concerning the girl's mother that she is determined to solve and her time with the sisters is very healing.
I don't agree at all with the spiritual elements of the story: it's heavy on divine female empowerment, which isn't biblical in the least. But it was an interesting look at the possible beliefs of others. It's certainly not going on my list of personal favorites, but it was a good read.
So how's your reading list coming along?

Comments

Beth F said…
I was interested in your comments about this book. And I didn't know that it was going to be a movie. I'll have to check it out, but movies from books are usually a disappointment. Anyway, I read Secret Life of Bees several years ago and really liked it. The writing style and character development were what struck me.
Shannon said…
This book sounds pretty good. I don't ever read popular fiction either. Maybe I'll just see the movie. I am in the middle of a Katheleen Morgan book and have two (Sunset by Karen Kingsbury and When the Heart Mends by...(I forgot)) waiting on me. I can't wait! :)
Kayren said…
I don't usually read popular fiction either. I might try to get this from the library some day. I'm doing pretty good on my list. I'm on my third book. I need to write some reviews! I also need to start some non-fiction, since it's my third FICTION!

~ Kayren
Nancy said…
The first I saw of this title was on your reading list, then I saw something about the movie the other day. It sounds like an interesting read. I'm usually a little skeptical of popular fiction for the same reason...the foul language, or the detailed sensuality, or the religious nonsense. But this sounds like it could be an insightful read, plus I really like reading things from that era--Civil Rights movement.
Just Mom said…
I liked this one too! I'm looking forward to the movie - we'll see hwo it matches up! Word of advice - don't pick up her next one - Mermaid's Chair...ugh - it doesn't measure up to the Bees.
Michelle said…
I feel the same way as you did about the book. I also read this as part of the challenge, and was disappointed from all of the hype. The book had such great reviews and people have said that their lives had been changed because of it. I thought that was pretty strong for a book that hardly made me feel changed. I did enjoy and it was a easy read, and I am excited about the movie. I love Dakota Fanning...
heidi @ ggip said…
I thought it was an interesting book, but certainly not the best ever. Thanks for the review.
Nely said…
I really enjoyed this book too and if you are wondering about the movie... it was fantastic. It's a great cast (Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Alish Keys, etc.) and the movie stays as true to the book as it can within a 2 hour timespan.

Popular posts from this blog

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while.  It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it.  However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it.  Plus it's a little bulky.   When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it!  It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make.   I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course.  They  have these little wooden door hangers for .79.  I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each.  I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing.   I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had).  Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will clip on the right direction.   The left

1st Day Back to {home}School, Among Other Things

We did it! We finally got unpacked enough and got our new learning room organized enough to start back to school! Frankly, I was starting to get worried...ha Today went very well though. So far I am extremely pleased with our new curriculum choices for math and language arts. Now, if I could just actually get some lesson planning done... And get the finishing touches done in the learning room, so I can blog it! In other news, it has been a bit of a traumatic week...pet-wise. Last weekend a sweet friend (who had asked my permission beforehand) brought the kiddos their very own little fish tank with two goldfish. Well, on Sunday we noticed that The Princess' fish was pretty lethargic...dead, actually. She was sad, but she handled it fairly well. And we went to the store that evening and let her pick out a new goldfish. Well, today during our school time~the fish tank is in our learning room~we noticed Mr. B's fish was acting funny. And then he was dead. It was a