Reflecting back on my thoughts and my facial expression as the book was handed to me I glanced at my new co-worker---all I could think about was hmmmm could this book captivate me enough, for me to even take a stab at the Acknowledgments? I was indeed skeptical. My life was busy- having recently relocated and not to mention a new challenging position. Did I really have time to read this novel? Needless to say, I placed the novel on my list of to-do's. Days and then months passed and the novel totally slipped my mind. Until one day I found myself confined to bed not able to put it down.

The Secret Life of Bees takes place during the early 1960s in South Carolina. The novel revolves around Lily Owens, whose life is shaped by the circumstances behind her mothers accidental death. Lily's father T. Ray is unbelievably cold-hearted and much the disciplinarian. When Lily misbehaves she is forced to kneel on grits. The only mother figure Lily has in her life is Rosaleen, a robust black woman who has been present since Lily's mothers death.

The day Rosaleen decides to exercise her right to vote spawns a turn of events that traps the reader. Using only a picture and a model figure of a black Madonna to guide her and Rosaleen, Lily shows up on the door steps of three honey making sisters. Lily takes refuge with the sisters of the pink-house not knowing they will share pieces of her mother's past that she so longs to discover.

This novel bears two main themes throughout the novel grief and love.

Lily longs for the truth and on her journey to closure, understanding and the events that lead up to her mothers death, Lily encounters grief of unimaginable proportions and love of a desperate shade.

Follow Lily on her honey-making journey as she conquers unexpected grief, and the truth she never expected to find. Her innocent lies will have your stomach in cramps as you try to control your laughter.

Reviewer Rating: 10---Using my resting time---I enjoyed every word completely engulfed by each page, it was truly hard for me to put down. This book has it all: love, struggle, truth, lies and the unexpected. The descriptive detail left my eyes begging for more. Once you're inside the big Pink House you'll never leave

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