Secret Life of Bees

Author: Sue Monk Kidd

Title: The Secret Life of Bees

Genre: Historical fiction

Bibliographic Data in MLA format: Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. Tinder Press, 2015.

Recommended Grade Level(s): 11-12

Number of Pages: 336

*Brief, concise plot description (no more than one paragraph): 

This story is about a 14-year-old girl named Lily who lives in the 1960sin a time period where racism is running rampant through the country. Her nanny, an African American woman named Rosaleen, is met with abuse in the streets, so Lily and Rosaleen run away from home together, away from Lily's abusive father, and to a home of three women who farm honey from bees. There, they deal with self-discovery, combat loneliness, and learn how to come to terms with guilt and shame from the past. =

Possible Teaching Concerns (may refer back to the text(s) used in class): 

This text does include racist comments made to Rosaleen, abuse, gun violence, suicide, and police brutality, which are all sensitive topics. However, the way in which the novel is framed is that the characters are overcoming these hardships. This novel should be taught with care, however, when approaching these topics. 

Personal Reaction to/and/or Evaluation of novel: 

I absolutely loved this novel. It may be my favorite one I have read in this class so far. I think that the storyline was one of the most complex and enticing ones out of all the young adult novels and the message was a wholesome and clear explanation as to why family and belonging is not limited to skin color or blood alone. I would teach this novel over and over again gladly. It is a great way to introduce topics of mental health, racism, and more. 

Canonical work with which to juxtapose this novel & a brief (one paragraph) description of the rationale to connect the 2 works: 

I would connect this novel with Their Eyes Were Watching God, as the main character of that novel, Janie, is a Black woman who goes on a journey to find independence and escape from the world that is dragging her down at home. Just how Rosaleen escapes her home and finds what it means to be her own woman and be happy, Janie too leaves to find self-fulfillment.