Hour of the Bees
By Lindsay Eagar
Candlewick Press (MA), Hardcover, 9780763679224, March 2016, 368pp.
The Short of It:
A debut novel with a sweet story to tell.
The Rest of It:
I suppose this novel is considered Young Adult but the story really speaks to any age, young, old and anywhere in-between.
Carolina is like most teen girls, once summer hits, all she can think about is spending time with friends. This summer is a little bit different. She heads to New Mexico with her family to help her ailing grandfather transition into an assisted living facility.
The ranch has always been a part of the family, but the drought has caused the land to go to ruin, the animals to waste away and what was once a vibrant landscape, is now just a shriveled-up dust bowl. Grandpa Serge does not agree. Although battling dementia, he’s hanging onto the stories of his past, which include his deceased wife Rosa and the bees that literally took the rain away with them.
Carolina’s time at the ranch is short but from the stories Grandpa Serge tells and the curious bees that continue to circle her head, Carolina realizes the importance of family.
What a sweet story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. There is a little magical realism going on, which I tend to have a very low tolerance for, but here, it’s done well and with a very light hand. The author’s description of a land ravaged by drought is spot-on. This is the second book I’ve read dealing with drought and my poor Southern California self is really hoping this is not a trend but honestly, I didn’t mind too much.
If you like stories about family or ones where kids respect and even admire their elders, check this one out. Carolina is a sweet kid and her grandpa is quite the story teller. You’ll breeze through this one in a heartbeat.
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
Book Chatter 
I have this one but, I am not a big YA fan yet, your review makes me want to try it.
I think they marketed it as YA but the main character, although young, is not immature in any way. She’s a thinker which saves this from being sappy and predictable.
I just brought this one home from my library – I need to make it a priority to get it read. Since it is one from school, those tend to go to the bottom of my TBR stack.
You are probably done with it already. It was a nice quick read but with a little substance. I really liked it.
This sounds refreshing as we’re going through some respect issues with our daughter lately. She’s talking back and pushing limits hard now.
This does sound like a sweet story. I have a very low tolerance for magic realism, too, so glad to hear it’s well done. Might just give it a try…
This sounds sweet and a little sad.
It is. Very sweet with a hint of sadness but very well done. It’s gotten some pretty good reviews. I haven’t seen a bad one yet.
Bees that took away the water? Color me intrigued!
These bees are busy.
I love books like this!
I might just be willing to read YA with magic realism after all.
This is when I miss physical review copies because if I had one, I’d send it to you. This book was really good. You’d enjoy it. Especially since it focuses on family.
I do love a good book about families!
I put this on my list, since you mentioned it for the first time. I’ve got a feeling I will enjoy it quite a bit… However, at the moment, I’m neck deep into The Passage, which I also started reading because of you. All I can say is thank you and wow.
Oh! The Passage. How exciting! I am reading book three in bits and spurts. I got a review copy (finally). I’ve been asking for the darn thing for a really long time. I am trying to read it closer to its release date but I can’t help dipping into it now.