Book Talk: Hour of the Bees

Two of my colleagues and I thought it would be fun to read Hour of the Bees together and then discuss it for a blog post. Hour of the Bees, by Lindsay Eagar, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and as of this writing, it has a 4.23 rating on Goodreads.

Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar
Candlewick Press
March 8, 2016

Things are only impossible if you stop to think about them. . . . While her friends are spending their summers having pool parties and sleepovers, twelve-year-old Carolina "Carol" is spending hers in the middle of the New Mexico desert, helping her parents move the grandfather she's never met into a home for people with dementia. At first, Carol avoids prickly Grandpa Serge. But as the summer wears on and the heat bears down, Carol finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by the crazy stories he tells her about a healing tree, a green-glass lake, and the bees that will bring back the rain and end a hundred years of drought. As the thin line between magic and reality starts to blur, Carol must decide for herself what is possible and what it means to be true to her roots. Readers who dream that there's something more out there will be enchanted by this captivating novel of family, renewal, and discovering the wonder of the world.

Me: I thought the story was basically fine (I especially liked the folklore), but I really had issues with how the author described New Mexico, like the landscape, the houses in Albuquerque, and the size of Albuquerque.

Veronica: I agree, the author should have done more research on Albuquerque, but I like that she set the book in New Mexico, because I feel like we have a very unique culture here and that legends like this one do get passed down from generation to generation.

I thought that the main character, Carolina, was very mature for being twelve years old and maybe should have been older.

Me: Yes, I love it that a middle grade novel that's gotten a lot of hype was set in New Mexico.

Crystal: I agree with both of you.I enjoyed the folklore part of the story. But, I did not think that the description of Albuquerque was true to the city. I also wasn't really a fan of the interjections of the pamphlets throughout the beginning the story. I know the author was trying to get information across, but I felt like it could have been done different--possibly a scene from the past that shows the relationships between the family before they go to the farm.

Like Veronica, I also thought that Carolina was really mature for her age and she could have been a little bit older. I also could not quite believe that when she drove the car, she seemed to know exactly where she was going with little help from her grandfather or GPS or something.


Me: I agree with all of that. I also thought that the parents weren't as involved as they should have been, especially when it came to actually watching their kids. They sure did let Carolina's baby brother crawl around by himself a lot!

Crystal: This book emphasizes roots, but the only roots I saw were the grandmother and grandfather, and them living in one place for hundreds of years (if the folktale is true). There were no great-grandparents, or great-great-grandparent. And realistically, if these people were living off and running a farm, where there are no stores or civilization for miles, wouldn't they have much more than sheep on the farm, and more than a single child to help run it?!

Veronica: I liked the family and especially the connection between Carolina and her grandfather. I also liked the folktale/magical realism in the story.


Me: I think the folklore was my favorite part of the story, though I found it interesting that it was a combination of folklore and magical realism. I've not seen that done before in fiction, and I wonder if that would be confusing to younger readers.

Crystal: I agree, the folklore and magical realism was my favorite part, too. I think that Eagar did a great job of weaving magical elements of the folklore story in with the real life story. The bees that nobody saw but Carolina were a great foreshadowing element as well.

Me: So, it sounds like we're all pretty much in agreement: We loved the folklore and magical realism, but think other parts of the story could have been a bit stronger. Thanks for participating in our discussion, Veronica and Crystal!

Have you read Hour of the Bees? If so, what did you think about it? Let us know in the comments!

Mini-Reviews: My Favorite Summer Reads

Since it's summer, and I'm currently obsessed with all things beach/ocean-related, I thought I'd do a post about my favorite young adult fiction summer reads. To clarify: These books don't necessarily take place during the summer, although some of them do. As long as they take place in the summer or are set at the beach/on the ocean, I'm including them on this list.

The Siren by Kiera Cass

I am obsessed with all things mermaids right now. This book is just beautiful, from the cover to the writing.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

I can't have a summer reads list without including Sarah Dessen. A lot of her books are set in the summer and/or at the beach, and while this isn't my favorite Sarah Dessen novel, it's my favorite Sarah Dessen novel that takes place both during the summer and at the beach.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

I surprised myself with this one. I don't usually read fantasy, but I loved the cover and thought the story sounded good, so I decided to give it a try. The Girl From Everywhere will probably end up on my list of favorite books from this year. What I really love about it is that it can easily be a standalone, but it actually is the first book in a series. Initially, I wasn't too excited about that, but now that the cover of the second book, The Ship Beyond Time, has been revealed, I can't wait to get my hands on it. Just look at these covers (note: both images are from Goodreads)!

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

I also can't have a summer reads list without including something by Jessi Kirby. Moonglass is her first novel, and it is so, so wonderful. Crystal Cove is a beautiful setting, both in the book and in real life (confession: I went there just because it's the setting of this book). I've read it three times, and I fall more in love with Crystal Cove each time I read Moonglass. 

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

Reason number one why I love this book: diversity! The narrator is from the Caribbean. Reason number two why I love this book: It's set in a beach town. I love books set in beach towns. Reason number three why I love it: The story is wonderful. It's hard to go wrong with Sarah Ockler, and this is probably my favorite book by her.

What are you favorite books that are set during the summer or that have a beach setting? Let me know in the comments!

March in Review

I wanted to try something new with blogging. Instead of just talking about topics in youth literature, I want to talk about the books I'm reading. I love reading reviews of the books I read (after I finish them), so part of what I want to do is write mini-reviews for the books I've read in the past month.

Here's what I read in March.

Some of the Parts by Hannah Barnaby

I actually didn't think I was going to like this book. I thought it was going to be too similar to Jessi Kirby's Things We Know By Heart. I was wrong. Some of the Parts was less about finding organ recipients and more about grieving, and it was beautifully written. I'm so glad I decided to give this book a chance; I almost didn't read it.





The Siren by Kiera Cass

Confession: I didn't love The Selection series. I liked it well enough to read the first three books, but I haven't read the others. Because of that, I wasn't sure I was going to read The Siren, but I haven't read many books about sirens, and I love the ocean, and plus: THAT COVER. It's so pretty that I couldn't resist it. Needless to say, I adore this book. It is so much better than the books in The Selection series: the story is more interesting, the writing is fantastic, and basically everything about it was so good that I wish there was a sequel. Or a whole series. Anything that will let me stay in the world Cass created for a just a little while longer.

The Distance From Me to You by Marina Gessner

When you're a couple chapters into a book and you say, "This is reading like a packaged book," and you turn out to be right, it's probably not a good sign. That's what happened when I started reading The Distance From Me to You, and I ended up not enjoying the book as much as I would have liked. I love the idea of it: a teen decides to hike the Appalachians on her own, which could lead to so much self-discovery and learning how to be self-sufficient. At the end of the day, this book was more of a romance than a coming-of-age story, and that's why I was disappointed in it.

The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry

I had high hopes for this book. I love the cover, and a friend of mine liked the book. Unfortunately, the book didn't work for me, partly because of the instalove and partly because I just got bored about halfway through the book. I liked the idea of having Native American mythology in it, though, I enjoyed reading those myths, though there are some people who feel like the author didn't represent the mythology well. Overall, for me, this was an okay but not great read.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

I adore Morgan Matson. And I liked so much of this book. That being said, it is way too long for a contemporary novel. Halfway through the book, I said, "So, the story is over, then?" because it seemed like everything had been wrapped up nicely. I loved all the subplots of the book, but I felt like there was too much filler, which is why the book was too long and felt like it was over when I was only halfway through it. Overall, I liked the book, but it takes some patience to get through some of the less-interesting parts.



All the Answers by Kate Messner

I've been trying to read more middle grade fiction, and I thought this book would be good for when I visit schools to talk about our summer reading program. While I liked the story well enough, I thought the book was flawed in how it dealt with Ava's anxiety disorder. I don't want to say too much about it, because of spoilers, but I think how other characters responded to Ava's anxiety disorder could have been handled better.





Next month, I'm supposed to read poetry, short stories, plays, and screenplays for the reading challenge my sister and I are doing. So far, I'm planning on reading Buried Child by Sam Shepard, Our Town by Thornton Wilder, The Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, and Black Hawk Down: The Shooting Script by Ken Nolan, and I want to re-read Flying at Night by Ted Kooser. I have to admit, though, that I might sneak some YA and middle grade fiction into the mix, especially since I'm trying to read things that I can talk to kids about during my summer reading program outreaches.

Did you read anything you loved (or hated) this month? Tell us about it in the comments!