The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a coming-of-age novel set in South Carolina, 1947. Reminiscent of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, this novel deals with heavy topics like racial prejudices and abusive households in original ways, while still impressing upon you the effects of these topics on individuals and our society as a whole.

Sue Monk Kidd masterfully blends humor, tragedy, and drama and sets it right in the middle of a hot, hazy summer where you can practically feel the heat waves rolling off your back. The imagery is abundant, from the bee yards always buzzing with bees, to the small church full of singing ladies with outlandish hats, to the warm, comforting house where Lily, the protagonist, begins her journey to becoming a confident young woman. The sad parts are appropriately heartbreaking, but often there is comfort in the words of the characters, who offer advice on grieving and healing. The humor is the right amount of subtle and is a relief in the midst of the drama. This is not to say that the book is overly dramatic, but you become so invested in these characters and their lives that you are glad when they can laugh and sing and be happy even under hard circumstances.

Lily is fourteen at the beginning of the novel. I was about the same age as her when I read The Secret Life of Bees, so I could relate to her and her rationale. Her fearlessness and genuinity inspired me to be curious and try new things. She is realistic – impulsive and sometimes hurtful, she learns how to forgive and think things through and calm the justifiable anger that was boiling in her heart, and I learned lessons right alongside her.

The Secret Life of Bees not only appeals to teenagers but also to anyone who appreciates a story that can make you laugh and cry and think about it a week later and laugh and cry all over again. Its message of love and independence shines brightly from its pages and warms your heart, like the sun on a hot, hazy summer day.