The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is assigned in US schools at grades 9–11, with a Lexile measure of 840L. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where The Secret Life of Bees is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Lexile
- 840L
- Grade range
- Grades 9–11
- Difficulty for grade
- Below the grade 9–10 band (1050–1335L)
- Age range
- Ages 14–18
- Pages
- 302
- Reading time
- about 5h 30m (est.)
- First published
- 2002
- Genre
- Literary Fiction
- ISBN-13
- 9780142001745
Reading difficulty: At 840L, The Secret Life of Bees reads below the typical 1050–1335L text-complexity range for 9th grade (Common Core Appendix A). It is an accessible read for the grade — often assigned for its themes and discussion value rather than for reading challenge.
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About this book
In 1964 South Carolina, fourteen-year-old Lily Owens flees an abusive father and the guilt of her mother's death, taking refuge with three Black beekeeping sisters who keep a Black Madonna. Amid the violence of the civil-rights era, Lily finds mothering, community, and the truth about her past. A common grades 9-11 text for its coming-of-age, motherhood, and racial-justice themes.
Why widely assigned
This Literary Fiction title, reads at middle-grade prose complexity, typically at grades 9–11. Written in the 2000s; pairs with curriculum units on family and race; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Themes
family · race · coming of age · motherhood · forgiveness
Content notes
racism · death of a parent · violence
Where this book is assigned
Similar grade-level books
Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury · 890L
The Diary of a Young GirlAnne Frank · 1080L
1984George Orwell · 1090L
The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald · 1070L
See all books like The Secret Life of Bees→ — matched on theme + reading level.
Common questions
- What grade level is The Secret Life of Bees?
- The Secret Life of Bees is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 9–11, with a Lexile measure of 840L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- What is the Lexile level of The Secret Life of Bees?
- The Secret Life of Bees has a Lexile measure of 840L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.
- How long does it take to read The Secret Life of Bees?
- It takes about 5h 30m to read The Secret Life of Bees (302 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 330 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- Is The Secret Life of Bees hard to read for 9th grade?
- At 840L, The Secret Life of Bees reads below the typical 1050–1335L text-complexity range for 9th grade (Common Core Appendix A). It is an accessible read for the grade — often assigned for its themes and discussion value rather than for reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.
- What curricula assign The Secret Life of Bees?
- The Secret Life of Bees appears on reading lists for AP English Literature & Composition. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- 840L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
- Grade band
- Grades 9–11 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.