I just came across a book that I immediately fell in love with. It’s called The Secret Life of Bees and it’s really good!

It’s all about a teenage girl named Lily and her journey to find out about her past. Why did her mother die? What do her memories mean? Why did her mother own a picture of Black Madonna? (Black Mary as in Mother Mary)

Lily spends her whole summer out in the middle of dirt selling peaches from a stand. Her father is strict and mean and reprimanding and gives her terrible punishments such as kneeling on grits for hours at a time. After a bunch of events happen, Lily and her black housekeeper come across a bright pink house in Tiburon, South Carolina where three sisters live as beekeepers. They introduce Lily to their world of making honey and caring for the bees. Lily learns to love it, and I love the way the beekeepers describe their bees and the honey, it’s just beautiful!

I’m really glad that I chose to read this book, because I wouldn’t have picked it out at the library on my own probably. Actually, it’s kinda funny how I came across it. It was one of the books on the list my English teacher gave us as ideas for books to read for our Contemporary Book Report. Really good, I recommend it for everyone! I keep telling everyone, “I view the world differently now” but they just laugh! I don’t blame them ’cause it’s a really dramatic sentence, but I’d love to hear from other people who have read this book or if my post inspired them to read it!

-Kelsey H., 9th grade