Hour of the Bees

Starred review from December 7, 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.

March 1, 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 Munoz 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

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2016
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)

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Starred review from February 1, 2016
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Like her friends, 12-year-old Carolina eschews most of the Mexican side of her Mexican American culture, shortening her name to Carol and flat-ironing her wild hair. But now she is being forced to spend the summer before her first year of junior high in middle-of-nowhere New Mexico, as her family prepares to move her ailing grandfather, a man she has never met before, off his land and into a home for people with dementia. At first, the summer is as dry as she thought it would beher father, who hasn't been home in 12 years, is strained; her mother is stressed; and her older half sister is sullen. Then Grandfather Serge begins to tell her stories that sound half-crazed, about her grandmother's wanderlust and his own rootedness, and about a lake in the desert and a tree that made it so no one would ever die. In spite of herself, Carol is drawn into these stories, learning more about her family history, and becoming increasingly uncertain about the truth. 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)