Hour of the Bees by Linday Eager - ADVISABLE

Eager, Lindsay Hour of the Bees, 360 pages. Candlewick Press, 2016. $16.99.

Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G. 

After driving three hours south from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Carol and her family arrive at her Grandpa’s sheep ranch in the desert. Her Grandpa has dementia and they are there to pack him up, sell the ranch, and move him to an assisted living facility. Carol has left her friends and a summer of fun for a summer of cleaning, packing, and babysitting not only her little brother but also her grandpa. She quickly learns that there is a story her grandpa needs to tell and as she listens, she finds out what the black tree stump in the yard really was. Could it really give immortality to those who lived in the village surrounding it or is it just grandpa’s dementia? And what’s up with the bees that only she sees? 

This book started off a little slow in my opinion but as Carol sat and listened to her grandpa tell his stories about life when he was young it drew me in and actually ended up being a nice little story. I was confused about the bees but in the end the author puts it all together. I think 7th and 8th graders would enjoy reading this and it might perk an interest in them to find out more about their own ancestral roots. 

MS - ADVISABLE. Reviewer: CW