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Reviewed by Pinwheel Pearl

Lily remembers shooting her mother, and her life has been hell ever since. Trapped on a hot Southern peach farm, with a father who doesn't love her, she longs to escape and become a writer. So when her black maid Rosaleen is imprisoned while trying to register to vote, Lily leaps at the chance to break her out and run away to Tiburon, South Carolina. Lily has a picture of a Black Madonna, found amongst her Mother's belongings, with Tiburon written on the back.

The book started slowly, but picks up when Lily and Rosaleen reach Tiburon, and start to discover the truth about Lily's mother. This provides suspense, but the main bulk is the growing up of Lily. As the only white main character, 'The Secret Life of Bees' captures the essence of racism in 1960s America, throwing up lots of interesting problems for the young girl. Among them the impossibility of a first love for a coloured worker.

Lily and Rosaleen stay with the beekeeping Boatwright sisters, who each have their own problems. Kindly August lives for her bees, and is devoted to her religion, June is wary of Lily, and soured by feeling unable to live for the moment. Then there is May, who has a wailing wall to deal with her depressions, and who gets the house painted Hot Caribbean Pink to be happy.

'The Secret Life of Bees' relies on its characters, and Monk Kidd has made them rich and real. The melting pot of mixed emotions beautifully creates tension and laughter, a subtle humour that adds vitality. You care what happens to the characters, cry with them and, in some ways, live with them. Each chapter begins with a quote on bees, and this helps show the importance of family, be they blood relations or not. Just as 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood' draws you into friendship, 'The Secret Life of Bees' draws you into love, be it romance or family, it is 'all relative.'

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