Amazing novel. Honestly, I wasn't convinced I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. Hands down, it's my favorite book thus far. Move over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, while you're hilarious and fun to read, The Secret Life of Bees touched me in ways you failed to. I was sad to turn the last page.
The characters were brilliant and consistent. Nearly all of them were loveable; honestly, I've never thoroughly adored every character in a novel the way I did in this one. Even T. Ray, the asshole father, tugged at my heart strings. That's not an easy feat. I felt sorry for the man, and at the end I saw him a little bit differently.
The main character, Lily Ownes, lied and cheated and she stole, but it was difficult to hold a grudge against her because of it. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that. Rosaleen was hysterical. August was the kind of wise god mother figure every little girl (or boy, I guess) should have. May broke my heart. And I couldn't help but root for Zach and Neil. I cherished each and every one of them.
It was mildly slow in the beginning, but as soon as Lily and Rosaleen begin their journey it becomes impossible to put down. Had it not been for work and other responsibilities, I would have remained in bed to read it from cover to cover. It was that good. Even the ending was satisfying!
I've heard other reviewers and critics mention books that had a "true Southern voice." I never knew what that meant until I began to read this one. The accent -- that smooth, almost lazy talk was so clear in my head, which I think just added to the story. It didn't even bother me that it was written in first person!
Kidd did an amazing job. I just...it's my favorite. My new favorite novel. I borrowed it from the library. Now I have to look on Amazon to buy it. I just can't not own the thing.
*sigh* Really sad to know it's finished though. Now I have to watch the movie.
The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle is next.
3 comments:
I just wrote this up and then closed the window before sending it. win.
Anyway, I LOVED this book. I thought it was wonderful and the movie, although they changed bits of it of course, was relatively decent too. I wasn't so sure I'd appreciate some of the actresses they had chosen but I think they did a decent job. I didn't dive into the book at first though. It took me a bit to get into it but once I was in, I was in, and I loved it to the end.
oh, this was such a great book! Such great characters.
Katie--
Agreed. I'm so glad I read it. It's definitely one of my favorites. (: Great book all around. It was difficult for me to find something to complain about. ;)
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