The story starts out with the exposition of Lily living in Sylvan with her father on a peach farm. She is very unhappy on account of her father being abusive and not supportive of Lily and her dreams. The rising action begins with you (the reader), finding out about Lily's past and how she killed her mother. Once Rosaleen gets arrested for confronting three racists they both end up in prison and Lily's father is called to pick Lily up. Once she returned home she decided she had been punished for the last time and made a split decision to go get rosaleen at the hospital where she was being treated for injuries, and to run away to Tiburon. Once they make it there Lily tracks down the house where august makes honey with the black mary picture she had on it. There, August opens her home to Lily and Rosaleen and supports them. Initially, Lily lies about why they are really there, yet August can see through it the whole time. Lily goes back and forth on decided if, and when she would tell August the truth and ask about her mother. Meanwhile she starts to discover herself and how the boundaries of race can be crossed when she meets and developes a crush on a balck boy, zach, that helps out. She learns how race is just a color and finds herself starting to form a relationship with zach. Once Zach gets arrested unrightfully for being with a group of boys who assaulted a white man things keep building up. They intitially try and hide the news from May, knowing she would not be able to take it, but she finds out and commits suicide. The whole house goes under 2 days or mourning. Finally Lily confesses to August about her true life, and August confesses to knowing the whole time. She finds out the true story about her mother, which is the climaz that goes with my main conflict. The falling action begins when her father is called and once he arrives Lily is finally strong enough to confront him about the past, forgives him, and finally can call him "Daddy". Yet, August convinces TRay to let Lily stay with them in Tiburon, so she can have a better life, he agrees to let her. The Storys resolution is Lily realizing that her mother was a flawed and complex person. She learned how to love and forgive. In the fall she begins school with zach where she makes new friends and starts her new life.  There are a few themes in this book including, Racism and its flaws, the power of strong female company, and the importance of storytelling.

Sue is best known for her famous novel, "The Secret Life of Bees". She was born in Sylvester, Georgia. She graduated from the Texas Christian University with a bachelors degree in nursing. She worked as a registered nurse and college nursing instructor througout her twenties. She got her start in writing when one of her personal essays was published in Guideposts and Reader's Digest. Her first books, God's Joyful Surprise, and When the Heart Waitswere spiritual memoirs describing her experiences in contemplative Christianity. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter  introduced some themes from feminist theology. Her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, was written over three and a half years. Her second novel, The Mermaid Chair, was published in 2005, and was also made into a Lifetime movie. Bees was just recently made into a movie and is in theatures now.Kidd is currently Writer in Residence at Phoebe Pember House in Charlston, where she lives with her husband, Sanford (Sandy) Kidd, two children, Bob and Ann, and a black lab, Lily.

I really enjoyed this book and what it turned out to be, and I'm not a big reader. I would most definately recommend this book to peopl. Its a good read for especially women of any age. its also an inspiring eye opener, so if you're looking for something with substance i would go with this.