Sometimes, something so well

known…

So feared…

has a secret life of its own.

Throughout the book the reader is easily pulled into what living in the South might have been like during 1964.

The following events had a strong influence throughout the story.

1964 January 23 - 24th amendment ratified February 7 – A mistrial in the case of Byron De La

Beckwith's murder of Medgar Evers March 8 – Malcolm X says he is forming a black nationalist

Party March 14 – Jack Ruby convicted of killing Lee Harvey

Oswald July 2 – Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 July 18 – Six days of race riots begin in Harlem October 14 – Martin Luther King Jr. becomes youngest

recipient of Nobel Peace Prize. December 3 – Berkeley Free Speech Movement

The Secret Life of Bees

Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the

tale of Lily Owens, a 14 year-old girl who

has a connection with bees, which guide

her through her journey…

She sees racism around her and realizes that she has some racist ideas herself.

She must live with the guilt of accidentally killing her mother…

She now lives with her father, T. Ray, who says her mother abandoned her.

She must accept whether or not she thinks he is telling her the truth.

Was this true? Or did Lily’s mother really love Her?

She sets out to learn the truth with her nanny Rosaleen.

And finds May, June, and August Boatwright, who might hold her answers.

Will she eventually ask them about her mother and risk being rejected, or spend life living a lie?

Based on her initial short story “The Secret Life of Bees”, Sue Monk Kidd sold more than six million copies, spent over 2 ½ years on New York Times bestseller list, and published in 35 countries.

The author based her writing of this novel on her childhood living within the deep south and on the racial wounds and tensions of the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Throughout the book the reader is easily pulled into what living in the South might have been like during 1964.

Created by:

Ashley Dyer David Evans Megan Flores Deepa Floyd Dee Fuqua