Book Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina

By: Sue Monk Kidd

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 302

Release Date: January 28th, 2003

Publisher: Penguin Books

Summary from Goodreads: Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

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Review: When I first picked up this book is read like one of those books that told you how life was way back when, but didn't really have a story line. That changed around the halfway point. The story really came to life. We find out how Lily's path intertwined with the beekeeping sister long before she was born. This was the family that she was always wanting. The secret of her mothers death, the truth behind her fathers cold heart toward her. It was a touching, painful story that was wonderful to read.