The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Summary: Lily Owens is 14 in 1964 in the South. She accidentally killed her mother when she was four years old, has an abusive father, and breaks her nanny Rosaleen out of jail. They hit the road to escape their lives and to find out about Lily's mother, her past. They are led to Tiburon, South Carolina and to the home of August Boatwright. Lily learns about love and life and forgiveness.

I really loved this book. It's a wonderful coming of age story and it contains so many truths about love and life. Lily is confronted with her feelings about whites and blacks when she comes to live with August and her sisters. All of them are intelligent and cultured; Lily had always assumed she would be the smartest in the room. Just one of the many truths she learns on her journey and at the same time it makes us the readers examine our own prejudices and long-held "truths."

I also watched the movie right after reading this and was pleasantly surprised by how close they stayed to the novel. They changed a couple of things for dramatic effect, but overall they were true to the source. Dakota Fanning plays Lily perfectly and Queen Latifah is always wonderful!