“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin, 336 pp.) centers around Lily, a spunky young woman tired of her abusive father and the close-mindedness of her racist community. Setting out to fill the void that has defined her life and determined to uncover the secrets surrounding her dead mother's past, Lily ends up fleeing with Rosaleen, the domestic in her father's house who is also Lily's surrogate mother. Eventually, events lead Lily and Rosaleen to a family of eccentric but loving beekeepers.
