Lily Owens’ mother died when she was a little girl. Ever since, her father, T Ray, has been abusive towards her. When her caregiver Rosaleen is arrested for attacking (spitting on the shoes of) a white man, teenage Lily helps Rosaleen escape the hospital and the two go on the run together. Lily found a picture of a black Madonna in her mother’s belongings along with the name of a small town in South Carolina. When they get there, they get taken in by the Boatwright sisters, August, May and June. They learn about beekeeping, the black Madonna and honey. And most importantly, Lily learns about her mother.
This book is set in 1964 when the country was still fully segregated. Rosaleen, a woman of colour, wishes to register to vote and the white men of the town try to bully her out of it. Because she spat her chewing tobacco on the shoe of one of them, Rosaleen is arrested and beaten up in jail.
Lily is a white girl and it’s frowned upon that she moves in with the Boatwright sisters, because they are African American. Lily falls in love with the boy who helps August out with the bees. He intends to become one of the first Black lawyers.
I loved this book, the women are fabulous role models for Lily, and Lily loves them dearly. When T Ray finds Lily and Rosaleen, he threatens to take Lily home with him and I was shouting “noooooo!”
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 24: A book with a happily single woman protagonist
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
