The Secret Life of Bees

By Sue Monk Kidd

"There is nothing perfect," August said from the doorway. "There is only life."

It is 1964, the year of the Civil Rights Act, in a small town, Sylvan, in South Carolina. Lily Owens is a fourteen year old white girl who lives on a peach farm with her father, whom she calls T. Ray because he does not deserve to be called dad, and her black nanny, Rosaleen. Her mother, Deborah, died amid mysterious circumstances when Lily was four years old, and Lily has spent much of her life longing for her mother.

Rosaleen watches Lyndon Johnson sign the Civil Rights Act on TV. Filled with a sense of determination she heads into town to register to vote, but when she encounters three of the town's worst racists, Rosaleen ends up in jail.

Lily’s father is short-tempered and mean-spirited and has always tried to suppress Lily's chance for a bright future by discouraging her desire to read and write. To make matters worse, he tells Lily that she accidentally killed her mother. When Rosaleen is thrown in jail, Lily sees an opportunity to not only save Roseleen but also to finally escape her own father. She seizes the moment and springs Rosaleen from jail and the two set out across South Carolina in search of a new life. Their destination is the town of Tiburon, which neither of them knows anything about. However, in a box of her mother's belongings there is a picture of a black Virgin Mary with the words "Tiburon, South Carolina" written on the back.

Once in Tiburon they are taken in by three black beekeeping sisters, May, June, and August, who worship the Black Madonna. It is here, surrounded by the strength of the Madonna, the hum of bees, and a circle of wise and colourful women, that Lily makes her passage to wholeness and a new life. As she learns things from her past, including the circumstances around the death of her mother at the age of four, she also learns some of life's most important lessons. On her journey of discovery, religious ideology is brought to the forefront as she come across the Daughters of Mary, a wailing wall, Catholicism intertwined with Paganism and also face to face with a Black Madonna.

At first sight, the story can seem very dismal but it is in fact a very uplifting book with Rosaleen attempting to register to vote, and the consequences of this leading Lily and Rosaleen to run away from home. This is the story of how they found love and acceptance, and how Lily finally discovers that she is not such a bad person after all. It is a story I enjoyed immensely reading.

Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction

By Sue Townsend

'Dear Mr Blair,'

'You may remember me -- we met at a Norwegian Leather Industry reception at the House of Commons in 1999.'

Funny, funny, funny! An extremely easy read perfect for travelling.

The diary opens in September 2002 when Adrian Mole has reached the ripe old age of 34. However, he is still not quite connecting with the realities of life. The story starts with Adrian cancelling his holiday to Cyprus when he learns that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction that can reach Cyprus is 45 minutes. When the travel agent will not refund his deposit, he begins writing to Tony Blair telling him he needs proof of the weapons of mass destruction to show his travel agent in order to get a refund.

From there it is uphill in true Adrian Mole style. He now works in a second-hand bookshop run by an amiable old gent called Mr. Carlton-Hayes. Pandora is still in Adrian's life, of course, although not in the capacity he would choose.

In his spare time he is acting as chairman of a creative-writing group with only one other member apart from himself. During the nearly two years covered in this diary Adrian buys a home where he is locked in mortal combat with a vicious swan called Gielgud, faces financial ruin, endures the romance from hell with the ghastly Marigold, confronts the ageing of his parents, takes responsibility for a child, lets go of some long-held dreams and becomes romantically involved with Marigold’s sister, Daisy. Then, when his 17-year old son joins the army and is sent to Iraq, reality hits too close to home. Fearful for his son, we see a new empathic side of Adrian.

It is hard sometimes to know whether to laugh or cry at Adrian and the choices he makes, but for the most part it kept me smiling and chuckling, shaking my head at his lack of financial and romantic sense.