A beautifully written debut novel that weaves together magic and reality, about a girl's relationship with her mentally ill grandfather. This powerful debut novel delicately blurs the line between truth and fiction as Carol unravels the fantastical stories of her mentally ill grandfather. When she and her family move to his deserted ranch in order to transfer him to a care home, Carol struggles to cope with the suffocating heat and the effects of her grandfather's dementia. Bees seem to be following her around, but the drought means this is impossible. She must be imagining things. Yet when her grandfather chooses her as the subject for his stories - tales of a magical healing tree, a lake, and the grandmother she never knew - Carol sees glimmers of something special in what her parents dismiss as Serge's madness. As she rethinks her roots and what she thought she knew about her family, Carol comes to the realization that Serge's past is quickly catching up with her present. A stunning coming-of-age story.

 

This book was recognised in the Fiction - Older Readers category by the Waterstones Children's Book Award.

This book has been graded for interest at 11+ years.

There are 368 pages in this book. This book was published 2016 by Walker Books Ltd .

Lindsay Eagar is the author of Race to the Bottom of the Sea and Hour of the Bees. A classically trained pianist and un-classically trained rock guitarist, Lindsay lives in Utah with her young daughters. Visit her on Twitter @lindsaymccall