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You know what else I love about this reading and giving away??
It motivates me to read more. I hadn't read two books in the past year, and now I read two books in one week. Just so I can have the fun of sharing them here and passing them on!!

So before I'd even sent off my copy of The Glass Castle, to the lovely Jen of Stickyfeathers, I'd finished up an even better great book... The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and couldn't wait to share this one as well.

I know I'm probably one of the last people on earth to read The Secret Life of Bees, but man, was it worth the wait.

The story is about 14-year-old Lily, who has spent her life on a South Carolina peach farm with her neglectful and abusive father after her mother's accidental death when she was just four years old. Lily is looked after by her not so proper African-American "nanny", and Rosaleen seems to be the only person in the world who loves Lily.
Amid the racial tension in the south during this year of the Civil Rights Act, Rosaleen goes into town for her first official vote, gets attacked by the worst racists in town, and gets thrown into jail herself. After a particularly hurtful "last straw" kind of a bout with her father, Lily decides to finally break away from him, breaking Rosaleen out of jail along the way, and the two "run away" across the state to search for a new life.
They are eventually taken in by three beekeeping sisters and surprisingly find themselves loved and encouraged among a circle of wise and colorful women. It is on this bee farm, where both Lily and Rosaleen find wholeness and validation and a new perspective on life and on what really matters. I really don't know what else to say without giving away parts of the story except that there are some amazing twists and turns along the way to help point out the importance of love, forgiveness, conviction, salvation and the meaning of home and "family" in our lives.
Ahhh, I loved it.

Hehe, this is kind of fun... I haven't given a book report in at least 15 years!! A little outta practice, but it's kind of fun.
I do have to say this is probably one of my absolute favorite books in the last few years.

And because good things are meant to be shared, I'm giving it away. Free. Even shipping. Just ask Jenny.
So if you want a slightly used paperback copy of The Secret Life of Bees, leave a comment and say so before Thursday, February 14th when I draw a name. Yes, it'll be a Happy Valentine's winner!

So... who wants it?

**ETA: Congrats Christina!! Enjoy!**