Hour of the Bees

by Lindsay Eagar

Overview

What does it mean to be fully alive? Magic blends with reality in a stunning coming-of-age novel about a girl, a grandfather, wanderlust, and reclaiming your roots.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763691202
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	55,506
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Lindsay Eagar lives with her daughter in the mountains of Utah Valley, Utah. Hour of the Bees is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Eagar seamlessly blends a 12-year-old girl’s summer of change with a hefty dose of magical realism in this accomplished debut...Fairytale motifs (“No rain for a hundred years”) emphasize the stark physicality of the New Mexican mesa, with its oppressive heat, spindly sheep, and numerous dangers. Through this atmospheric setting, Eagar sustains a sense of wonder and longing for small things (bees, seeds, stories) to respond to big human needs.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Tightly plotted and elegantly characterized, this is a striking debut. Both Carol’s journey and Serge’s stories seem inherently true, and the juxtaposition of the two results in a moving, atmospheric novel of family, heritage, and fairy tales that are more real than not.
—Booklist (starred review)

The delicate magic of Serge’s story ties present and past together in a beautifully written, affecting story of forgiveness and understanding that enables Carol to move forward in her own life, resetting her values and claiming her own place in her grandfather’s story. Her sulks, fears, and desires render her credibly twelve, and the storytelling ably prepares readers for her less predictable decisions. Offering a compelling introduction to Latin American magic realism, this will have appeal for middle-school lovers of literary fiction.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Serge and Carolina's story is a touching reminder to "squeeze the juice out of every day" and remember where (and who) you call home. A poignant intergenerational story about finding and honoring your roots.
—Kirkus Reviews

Readers who enjoy Pam Muñoz Ryan’s novels or Jennifer Cervantes’s Tortilla Sun (Chronicle, 2010) will find Carol’s angst compelling and her wide-eyed brushes with the likes of magical bees and life-giving trees amusing.
—School Library Journal

Hour of the Bees is as grand as the landscape it springs from, an ode to family and heritage but also to living fearlessly. Forget about the middle-grade designation; everyone who reads this will be touched, and quite possibly moved to re—secure their family ties. Dreamlike while also gritty and real, this is a gorgeous work of art.
—BookPage

Lindsay Eagar has said that her novel “Hour of the Bees” first came to her as a title without a story, involving elements—bees approaching a man named Serge—whose meanings she did not know. Only after she had finished writing did it all make sense to her, which is a nice echo of what the reader will experience in this mystical, memorable riddle of a book.
—The Wall Street Journal

This is a deeply moving story on so many levels. The family dynamics are so real that readers will be drawn to the emotions and actions of each of the characters...The author does an excellent job of offering character struggles that most readers can relate to—Carolina with her sister Alta, and Carolina’s dad with Grandpa Serge. Bordering on magical realism, this book will leave its readers spellbound and is destined to be a favorite enjoyed by readers of all ages.
—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

★ 12/07/2015
Eagar seamlessly blends a 12-year-old girl’s summer of change with a hefty dose of magical realism in this accomplished debut. A past family rift means that Carol first meets her grandfather Serge when her family arrives from Albuquerque to sell his sheep ranch before settling him in a nursing home. Serge’s question to Carol, who uses an Anglicized version of her name, Carolina— “Why do you spit on your roots, chiquita?”—makes her ponder her heritage. Unexpectedly drawn to her grandfather, Carol finds that her woes (an obnoxious older sister, absent friends, endless chores, stressed-out parents) pale next to the questions and fears raised in Serge’s entrancing stories, which all begin, “Once upon a time, there was a tree.” Fairytale motifs (“No rain for a hundred years”) emphasize the stark physicality of the New Mexican mesa, with its oppressive heat, spindly sheep, and numerous dangers. Through this atmospheric setting, Eagar sustains a sense of wonder and longing for small things (bees, seeds, stories) to respond to big human needs. Ages 10–14. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

This magical tale of a girl’s reckoning with her mysterious and misunderstood grandfather will enthrall and move readers. Twelve-year-old Carol meets her grandfather for the first time when her family arrives at his ranch in the New Mexico desert. He is dark and mysterious, supposedly ill with dementia and in need of assisted living. She is not sure what to make of his recollections of the past and assertions that the bees have disappeared and that is why it has not rained. She is certain that she sees bees everywhere but eventually begins to question her own perceptions. Her grandfather tells her things she did not realize about her family, such as the fact that she is named after her grandmother’s sister. He tells her stories about an oasis in the desert with a lake and a tree that would give people eternal life. Carol is used to being overlooked and taken for granted in her family and finds the old man intriguing. As she grows to know him, she begins to understand herself and her own longings. Many young people know of or even live with a family member with dementia. This beautiful story uses this common social issue to underscore a thought-provoking relationship. Carol is never sure whether to believe what Serge tells her. Aging loved ones are often a window to our roots, but the disease of dementia distorts the view. Carol’s struggle to understand Serge is touching and well written. This is a recommended read. Reviewer: Victoria Vogel; Ages 11 to 18.

VOYA, February 2016 (Vol. 38, No. 6) - Victoria Vogel

03/01/2016
Gr 4–6—Eagar's debut novel follows 12-year-old Carol (not Carolina, she insists) as she and her family relocate for the summer to her grandfather's ranch in New Mexico, where Serge, the ailing patriarch, has been slowly progressing into dementia. As the family cleans, mends, and preps the property for sale, Carol gets to know her grandfather and family history for the first time, all while suffering through the identity crises that tend to accompany adolescence. Eagar makes expressive use of the hot, dusty, isolated setting, while Carol's struggles with her changing self-perception yield a few moments that anyone who's had to navigate middle school will find relatable ("the clothes fit fine. I just don't fit the clothes."). Readers who enjoy Pam Muñoz Ryan's novels or Jennifer Cervantes's Tortilla Sun (Chronicle, 2010) will find Carol's angst compelling and her wide-eyed brushes with the likes of magical bees and life-giving trees amusing, but Eagar's depictions of magic in the everyday often feel as dry as the New Mexico desert. A recurring storytelling motif adds technical interest, but the characters' relationships never quite reach the level of intimacy needed to justify it. VERDICT A sentimental but undistinguished coming-of-age story with touches of magical realism.—Abigail Garnett, Brooklyn Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-01-09
A 12-year-old Mexican-American girl moves in with her estranged grandfather, who tells her fantastic tales she thinks might be true. The summer before seventh grade, Carolina (she now calls herself Carol) can't believe her bad luck. Instead of hanging with her friends in Albuquerque, Carol moves with her family to the New Mexico desert to help her paternal grandfather, Serge, whom she's never met. Serge suffers from dementia and thinks "Caro-leeen-a" needs to learn about her roots. He tells her the area's drought is because of the lack of bees, but Carol hears buzzing and spots bees. While her parents prepare to sell Serge's sheep ranch and her older sister, Alta, complains, Carol bonds with Serge over his fairy tales about Sergio and Rosa's centuries-old love story sustained by a magical life-giving tree. With shades of Tuck Everlasting flavored with Latin American magical realism, the atmospheric story within a story shines. But the debut author is less skilled with characterization. Supporting characters don't evolve, and several details don't add up, such as Carol's calling Serge "Grandpa" instead of "Abuelo" or her mom's secret mastery of Mexican cuisine despite her use of Hamburger Helper at home. Despite minor flaws, Serge and Carolina's story is a touching reminder to "squeeze the juice out of every day" and remember where (and who) you call home. A poignant intergenerational story about finding and honoring your roots. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews