Publishers Weekly (starred review) Tightly plotted and elegantly characterized, this is a striking debut. Through this atmospheric setting, Eagar sustains a sense of wonder and longing for small things (bees, seeds, stories) to respond to big human needs. 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.Įagar 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. 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. 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. At first, Carol avoids prickly Grandpa Serge.

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. Things are only impossible if you stop to think about them. 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.

Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar