Monday, April 25, 2022

The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin...


The 3 main characters:

Jake Stevenson
sports the tallest mohawk in Hood River County. He's also a talented trumpet player. And he's a paraplegic. One year ago, just before he graduated from high school, he cracked his back in a stupid accident and now he's confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Now everything is messed up and he feels like he's "just killing time in the jail that was his life. This life (that) had replaced the life he was supposed to have--one of music and promise, the other life that now felt like something he had imagined."

Alice Holtzman is forty-four years old. She's a beekeeper, and still grieving the death of her husband. And recently she's been struggling with panic attacks. She tries not to let anyone see that she "was made of a million tiny broken pieces held together by cookies, solitary driving, and the sheer determination not to go crazy in public."

Then there's Harry Stokes, twenty-four, balding, and riddled with a paralyzing social anxiety. He struggles to talk to people, to find a job, to make decisions. He's good at writing lists, but his lists never seem to help him figure out life.

The rest of it:

These three characters are an unlikely trio of misfits that somehow form a family, first as Alice teaches Jake all about her bees, and then when they draw Harry out of his shell. They work together, and help each other; and when Alice's bees are threatened, they join with the community to try and save them. In the process, they find friendship, hope, newfound peace, and joy. 

What can I say? I loved this book. I loved all the quirky characters, and the bees, and the happy ending. The Music of Bees is poignant, touching, uplifting, and heartwarming. And I definitely recommend it. 

Happy Reading!




37 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good one. I always like beekeeping novels and it's good that these three misfits come together.

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    1. I've only ever read one other book about bees, I think it was called The Wedding Bees, but I really liked that one, too. :)

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  2. Sounds like a good, inspiring story with an interesting cast of characters too. Glad this one was a great read, Lark!

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    1. I do tend to like quirky characters in books, and these three definitely all have their quirks. :)

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  3. This sounds like an absolutely fascinating story. Beekeeping has long fascinated me.

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    1. I have a friend who keeps bees and I'm always very happy when she shares some of her honey with me. It's delicious! :)

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  4. I like it when a group of people with real world problems come together and make each other feel better. It's something about being able to sympathize with them and have it be believable that strikes a cord with me.

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    1. Yes! And that's very true with this book. I especially loved the interactions between Jake and Alice.

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  5. Great review, Lark, glad you enjoyed it :)

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    1. It's just a very heartwarming and fun read.

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  6. Now you make me want to push this one up on my TBR. I love the sound of it but have been putting it off. Maybe in May?

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    1. I totally know what you mean! I keep trying to 'push up' all the books on my TBR which really doesn't work too well. ;D

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  7. We have a small beehive in our backyard, so I'm always interested in Bee stories!

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    1. That's cool! Do you get a lot of honey every year?

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  8. Hi Lark, Glad you liked the book and these three characters have had it tough in life and so its great that they found each other.

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    1. And I love how they enter each other's lives and become a kind of family.

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  9. Reading how these unlikely characters come together sounds fantastic <3

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    1. Also, this is Verushka (Pop.Edit.Lit) — I don’t know why I can’t log in to leave my name 🤨

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    2. I don't know why you can't either. That's frustrating! I haven't changed anything, but apparently Google has and now you're anonymous. I'm sorry! I wish I knew how to fix it, but I don't.

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  10. This sounds like a really heartwarming read.

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    1. It really is. And humorous, too. So many of the interactions between these characters made me laugh.

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  11. These characters sound great! And the beekeeping aspect has me super interested. Glad you enjoyed this one, Lark! :)

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    1. It's a very heartwarming read. I think you'd like it. :)

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  12. The quirkiness of the characters make this book interesting reading I think. Thanks for the review.

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    1. I really loved the characters! Especially Jake. :)

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  13. I have a lot of respect for beekeepers. It's amazing how they are devoted to this, when it's obviously so risky and requires so much gentleness and patience. Glad that this book was good!
    ~Lex (lexlingua.co)

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    1. It was different from what I usually read, and I think that's part of why I enjoyed it so much. Plus, it's just really good. :)

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  14. Aw! This sounds like an amazing story that tugs at the heart. I might have to read this one.

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  15. You will like each of these three characters if you do. They're very memorable and likable. :)

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  16. Wait! Is this book set in Hood River, Oregon? I grew up across the river from H.R. and went there almost every day of my growing up years. If it's set there, I will definitely have to read it!

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  17. It does sound like an unlikely threesome of friends that really needed each other. Love the Hood River area! It's so pretty. :)

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  18. I have to admit, I like books with unlikely friendships like these. It makes their interactions so much more fun. :)

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  19. I can see why you loved this one, Lark. It sounds wonderful.

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    1. It was so good. I loved these three characters and their relationship with one another. :)

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  20. This sounds like such a wonderful book. I don't think I've ever read a book that featured beekeeping so I'm really intrigued by that.

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    1. I've read one other book with beekeeping and bees in it; I think it was called The Wedding Bees, and it was really fun, too. :)

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