Words of a Bibliophile

"I realized it for the first time in my life: there is nothing but mystery in the world, how it hides behind the fabric of our poor, browbeat days, shining brightly, and we don't even know it."

In the summer of 1964, fourteen-year-old Lily Owens escapes from home with a black servant, Rosaleen, away from her cruel father. Seeking answers to the mystery of her mother's death ten years ago, Lily and Rosaleen ends up living with three black women who keep bees for a living and are named after the months of the calendar: August, June and May. What Lily finds in the bee farm is not only shelter and companionship, but also ultimately love and forgiveness. The language is simple but beautiful; I must have underlined a passage every few pages. A touching, heartfelt and essentially female novel.