The Secret Life of Bees Book VS Movie

The Secret Life of Bees, written by Sue Monk Kidd, was not only a New York Times Bestseller, but one of my favorite books! I read this book while on vacation and I couldn't put it down!  In this book, Lily Owens lives with her father, T. Ray, and their African American nanny, Rosaleen on a small country farm.  Lily's mother passed away when Lily was very small and the memory haunts Lily and her father.  Deborah, Lily's mother was accidentally shot by Lily when she was only four years old.   Lily and her father do not have a good relationship and he often uses very harsh types of punishments, such as sitting on grits.  Rosaleen is Lily's friend and she often confides her feelings and secrets to her nanny.  One day Lily and Rosaleen are heading into town when there is a scuffle between two dominant white men and Rosaleen.  When Rosaleen is beaten and taken to jail, Lily decides to break her out and head to Tiburon, South Carolina.  Lily and Rosaleen head to Tiburon, because one of her mother's few items that Lily still has, is a picture of a black Mary with Tiburon, SC on the back.  Lily and Rosaleen meet up with the the Boatwright sisters, who are also the honey makers.  The Boatwright sisters are August, May and June.  Here, Lily is adopted in to the family and learns about her mother and why she had come home that dreadful day. Lily learns so much from the Boatwright sisters and eventually becomes a member of the family, who lives in a hot-pink house.  
This movie was wonderfully directed!  I thought that Dakota Fanning portrayed an excellent Lily and Queen Latifah was a wonderful August Boatwright.  The book and the movie were very similar and I thought it went into even more detail and gave insight into the characters.  This was an excellent book and even better movie!