Set in 1964, it is a coming-of-age story about loss, betrayal, and the interracial landscape of the civil rights era of the American South.

In the fictitious town of Sylvan, South Carolina in 1964, 14-year-old Lily Melissa Owens lives with her abusive father, T. Ray, and her African-American maid, Rosaleen.

Then, after Rosaleen is arrested for pouring her bottle of "snuff juice" on three white men, Lily breaks her out of the hospital and they decide to leave town.

The two begin hitch-hiking toward Tiburon, South Carolina, a place written on the back of an image of the Virgin Mary known as the “Black Madonna,” which Deborah, Lily's mother, had owned.

There, they buy lunch at a general store, and Lily recognizes a picture of the same "Black Mary" but on the side of a jar of honey.

They keep a statue of the "Black Mary", or "Our Lady of Chains", which was actually a figurehead from the bow of an ancient ship, and August tells the story of how a man by the name of Obadiah, who was enslaved, found this figure.

Zach gets arrested after one of his friends, who they had met at the store, throws a Coke bottle at a white man, and none of them will tell who did it.

In that time, Zach is freed from jail with no charges, and black cloth is draped over the beehives to symbolize the mourning.

While Lily is coming to terms with this information, T. Ray shows up at the Boatwright residence, also known as the pink house, to take her back home.

However, right before T. Ray leaves the Boatwright house, Lily asks him what really happened the day her mother died.

The novel has many themes, including religion, labor, nature, racism, orphanhood and abandonment, mental health and suicide.

The novel mentions police mistreatment of Black people, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the controversy of interracial relations.

Although this is not stated directly, May exhibits symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (hyperempathy, restricted and stereotyped behaviour, speech abnormalities).

She not only grows up with Rosaleen, who is a surrogate mother to Lily, but she also meets the Boatwright sisters and the Daughters of Mary who enhance this symbol of power in a female community in relation to bees.

Bees can also symbolize organization or “living in a civilized community.” This can be connected to the black community and specifically the Boatwright sisters in this novel.

Once May took her own life, the Boatwright sisters, once again, had to learn how to move on and live with a loss and “missing bees.” Honey represents wisdom and knowledge.

Although the novel does include the underlying theme of the civil rights movement, USA Today felt the novel focused more on Lily's journey towards "self-acceptance, faith and freedom".

It was also one of Good Morning America's "Read-This" Book club picks, and was nominated for the Orange Prize in England.

[4] The world premiere musical adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees was held at the Off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company on May 12, 2019 in previews, with the official opening on June 13.

The musical is directed by Sam Gold and features Saycon Sengbloh as Rosaleen, Elizabeth Teeter as Lily, and LaChanze, Eisa Davis and Anastacia McCleskey as the Boatwight beekeeping sisters.