BOOK REVIEW: HOUR OF THE BEES by Lindsay Eager

HOUR OF THE BEES
Lindsay Eager
Candlewick Press
Ages 8 - 12

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.

MY REVIEW:

I received Hour of the Bees from the publisher in exchange for an honest review--and I honestly loved this book. It was reminiscent of Missing May by Cynthia Rylant and The Secret Hum of  a Daisy by Tracy Holczer. I found myself turning pages long into the night. A beautiful, heart-warming story about family and what it means to truly believe. Stays with you long after the last page has been read.