So, the great "new year, new me" ideas of a book a week didn't exactly happen then haha. I honestly can't believe we are now officially over half way through this year and I am only on review number 4, that is shameful,. My current excuse, mostly to myself, is that, at uni, my course is made up of so much reading that throughout the semester I didn't really feel like reading in my down time. And that isn't a lie. However, I am now 6 weeks into my summer break and, yes, I have been working just about full time, but I've also only managed to read one book, so I'm really hoping to increase it, because I really do love to read! The one book I have managed to read since retuning home is one recommended to me by my parents. It was given to my Dad as a birthday present and both my parents read it so I thought I'd give it a go. This wee review is also going to have to be written in a bit of a hurry, because I am exhausted from my 6am start at work, but want to get this up before I leave for holiday on Thursday!
Brief Summary: Lily is a young, intelligent, curious girl who lives with her abusive father and is cared for by her black nanny, who herself can be very outgoing, even when it puts her in danger. In one eventful day, Lily and her nanny run away from their hard lives and, along their way, meet wonderful people with whom they make very special bonds. But can the pair's new friends help Lily discover the truth about her dead mother's past?
Despite its rather misleading title, this book is not a non-fiction manual about caring for bees. In fact, I think the theme of bee keeping acts as a symbol for passion, love and teamwork throughout this novel.
The book is narrated by Lily, and this is very effective in the 'coming of age' style and target audience; her young mind, difficult upbringing, innocence and vivid imagination keep the book exciting and lively.
In fact, the characterisation was excellent in general - all of the characters were completely unique and for this reason felt real, as opposed to another version of someone I have read about previously. There were so unlike characters in every other book I've read and that is a difficult thing for an author to achieve.
I also liked how the book was about relationships, but not only romantic love or young love. It was about relationships between people of all ages: gossipy friends, strict father, kind old woman, sister, peer ....
The book was also set in a time of black voting registration in the USA and so, without going on and on, very successfully dealt with the topics of race and racism and integration, which I appreciated.
My one main criticism of this novel would probably be the pace, as I did feel that action moved very slowly and I think this was one of the reasons that it took me so long to get into it, and that it didn't really give me that 'hooked' feeling we crave when we read. However, that said, it is not to say that loads needs to happen for a book to be thought provoking, and this novel proves that.
I was also very slightly disappointed with the ending of this novel. Without disclosing any 'spoilers' I would just say that I don't know what I expected, which meant that I would have accepted any ending, and I suppose it means that it needed more of a spark to it, for me. In other words, the ending was fine, I wasn't annoyed or let-down, I just didn't feel as though any of the tied up pieces of the story were extraordinary either.
Overall, I think it's a really well written book and I'm glad I read it as it is almost definitely not one I would have chosen myself, but enjoyed. My Mum has recorded the film, so I look forward to watching that too!
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