The Secret Life of Bees

I finished The Secret Life of Bees this morning. I really, really liked this book. I've noticed that it is appearing on more and more Honors reading lists (along with Life of Pi and The Kite Runner); I'm not sure I would ever assign it as a book I would teach to the whole class, but it might be a good contemporary lit option for independent reading.

I like the characters, the plot, the message, the setting, and the voice of the book. (I also found some of the beekeeping stuff pretty interesting.) My only complaint about the book is that sometimes it seemed to beat a dead horse a few too many times--Lily's longing for her mother, her emptiness inside...it is central to the book, but I think it is something that Kidd doesn't have to keep being quite as overt about. Other than that, though, I would recommend this one.