The Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd
 Set in South Carolina in the months of July and August, 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of 14-year-old Lily Melissa Owens, who is in search of her mother's past. She lives in a house with a neglectful and abusive father, who she refers to as T. Ray. They have a black maid, Rosaleen, who acts as a surrogate mother for Lily. The book opens with Lily's memories of the day that her mother, Deborah, died. She vividly remembers her mother and father fighting. A gun fell to the floor and into the hands of four-year-old Lily, who accidentally shot Deborah. Lily is haunted by the fragmented memory of the incident. When the Civil Rights Act is put into effect, Rosaleen decides to register to vote. She and Lily walk into town, where Rosaleen is harassed by three white men. She gets into an argument with them, pours her spit jug on their feet, and is brutally beaten in return. Lily and Rosaleen are put in jail. After T. Ray takes Lily home from jail, they get into an argument and T. Ray tells Lily that her mother abandoned her. Lily is infuriated and believes that this revelation could not possibly be true. When T. Ray is outside, Lily runs away with all of her belongings. She escapes with Rosaleen by sneaking her out of the hospital where her injuries were being treated. They begin hitchhiking toward Tiburon, SC, a place written on the back of an image of the Virgin Mary as a black woman, which Deborah had owned. They spend a night in the woods with little food and little hope before reaching Tiburon. There, they buy lunch at a diner, and Lily recognizes a picture of the same "Black Mary", but on the side of a jar of honey. They receive directions to the origin of that honey, the Boatwright residence. They are introduced to the Boatwright sisters, the makers of the honey: August, May and June, who are all black. Lily makes up a story about being an orphan. Lily and Rosaleen are invited to stay with the sisters. They learn the ways of the Boatwrights, as well as the ways of beekeeping. With a new home and a new family for the time being, Lily learns more about the Black Madonna honey that the sisters make. Wanting to repay the Boatwrights for their kindness, August tells them they can work off their debt. Lily finds out that May had a twin sister, April, who committed suicide with their father's shotgun when they were younger. While Lily and Rosaleen are staying there, they get to see the sisters' form of religion. They hold service at their house which they call "The Daughters of Mary." They keep a figurehead of "Black Mary," or "our lady of chains" which was actually a statue from the bow of an ancient ship, and August tells the story of how a man by the name of Obadiah, who was a slave, found this figure. The slaves thought that God had answered their prayers asking for rescue, and "to send them consolation" and "to send them freedom." It gave them hope, and the figure had been passed down for generations. Lily meets Zach, August's godson. They soon develop intimate feelings for each other. Acknowledging the trouble that an interracial couple could cause in the South, they attempt to put their feelings aside. They share goals with each other while working the hives. Both Lily and Zach find their goals nearly impossible to meet, but still encourage each other to attempt them. Zach wants to be the "ass-busting lawyer", which means he would be the first black lawyer in the area.Lily wants to be a short story writer. Zach and Lily go out for a honey run, but Zach and some friends get arrested for "injuring" a white man. The Boatwright house decides not to tell May in fear of an unbearable emotional episode. The secret does not stay hidden for long, and May becomes catatonic with depression. May leaves the house and August, June, Lily and Rosaleen find her lying dead in the river with a rock on her chest, an apparent suicide. A vigil is held that lasts four days. In that time, Zach is freed from jail with no charges, and black cloth is draped over the beehives to symbolize the mourning. May's suicide letter is found and in it she says, "It's my time to die, and it's your time to live. Don't mess it up." August interprets this as urging June to marry Neil. May is later buried. Life begins to turn back to normal after a time of grieving, bringing the Boatwright house back together. June after several rejections, agrees to give her hand in marriage to Neil. Zach vows to Lily that they will be together someday. Lily finally finds out the truth about her mother. August was her mother's nanny, and helped raise her. After her mother and father's relationship began to sour, Deborah left and went to stay with the Boatwrights. She eventually decided to leave him permanently and returned to their house to collect Lily. While packing to leave, T.Ray returned home. Their ensuing argument turned into a physical fight during which Deborah gets a gun. After a brief struggle, the gun accidentally discharges, killing Deborah. T. Ray, having never been able to get over the fact that his wife was leaving him, lied to Lily about what happened, leading her to believe she had killed her own mother. While Lily is coming to terms with this information, T.Ray shows up at the pink house to take her back home. Lily refuses, and T.Ray flies into an enraged rampage. He has a violent flashback which brings him around. August steps in and offers to let Lily stay with her. T.Ray gives in and agrees. *Lily Owens: the narrator. She believes she accidentally killed her mother. *T.Ray Owens: the father of Lily and the widower of Deborah Fontanel-Owens. *Deborah Fontanel-Owens: the deceased mother of Lily Owens and wife of T.Ray Owens. *Rosaleen Daise: the maid of Lily's household and other neighbors, also acts as Lily's primary caregiver (surrogate mother). She is Lily's best friend for most of the book. *August Boatwright: the eldest of the Boatwright sisters, a beekeeper, a well-respected businesswoman in the community. *June Boatwright: the sister of May Boatwright and August Boatwright. She is a school teacher and musician. *May Boatwright: the sister of August and June Boatwright. She had a twin sister, April, who died when she was younger, and as a result of April's death she is hyper-sensitive. *Zachary "Zach" Taylor: August's godson who helps her with the hives. He is a football player who attends the local black high school. He wants to become a lawyer. *Neil: the principal at the school where June teaches. He has proposed multiple times to June. He becomes June's fiance. *The Daughters of Mary: Cressie, Queenie and her daughter Violet, Lunelle, Mabelee, and Sugar-Girl who attends with her husband, Otis, the one man of the group. They are followers of Our Lady in Chains.