Shyla's Reaction to the Novel

   When I first began reading The Secret Life of bees I thought Lily Owens was a very confused young teenager and that her father, T. Ray, was a depressing and abusive man. As I learned more about Lily I found her to be a very deep thinking character whose emotions confused her and I started to put myself in her place. I also felt the feelings she did because of the way the novel was written. Lily Owens is a very strong, determined character throughout the book and I loved that about her. During the middle of the novel Lily’s viewpoint on African Americans, imposed on her by her society and father, begins to change and was very crucial to the plot.
Then, when August and her sisters appeared in the novel, I began to adore the wisdom of August Boatwright and the compassion of May. For me, May was a character who was easy to relate to because I typically feel the pain and suffering of the world rest on my shoulders. So May’s part in the book was a very personal thing for me, and even though she commits suicide I found her inspiring. I think that Sue Monk Kidd was brilliant to include May’s character in her novel because it makes it easy for unique teenagers to feel like they have someone that relates to them. This is also the reason I found Lily’s character aided the novel. At first, my reaction to August was that she was a little bit confusing with her wisdom. Upon further inspection I figured out the true meaning of her words of advice to Lily and I thought they also applied to everyday life very well.
   My reaction to the end of the text was that it was very fulfilling. When Lily stood up to her father I was so happy because sometimes that is what needs to be done. I also loved it because a different side of T. Ray is revealed when he sees that Lily has her mother’s whale pin. The reader experiences T. Ray show a softer, loving side because Deborah’s pin causes him to recall an earlier time in his life when he was madly in love. My favorite part of this novel was the part where Lily and Zachary Taylor are talking about the future and he tells her that he’s going to come back for her after college. It was a very sweet and touching moment between the two and it further emphasized the point that racism affected everyone alive during this era. All in all Sue Monk Kidd’s novel was a touching and interesting story that I absolutely loved and would recommend.