What I'm Reading: Our Only May Amelia & Hour of the Bees

I've been reading some great books lately! Here are two that I think everyone should read.

I regret that I missed out on reading Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm for so many years. I think I have a prejudice against what looks like historical fiction. I have no idea why because I have enjoyed many (Fever 1793, and The Mighty Miss Malone come to mind). But, for some reason I haven't read many of Jennifer Holm's fiction books, just all her graphic novels. I only began reading (listening) to Our Only May Amelia because it was an audiobook that was available on my school digital library system, Axis 360. I am so glad I did. Wha
t a treat! I laughed, I cried...and cried some more.
The story tells of May Amelia Jackson, a tomboyish Finnish-American girl who lives on an island in the Nasel River in Washington state. She is outnumbered by a bunch of brothers, and in fact is the only child who is a girl on the island.  May is always getting into trouble and doesn't want to be the 'proper young lady' that folks seem to think she should. I loved May Amelia's voice and her brightness. Although the story included hard times (I warned you, I cried), the story is full of the determination and hope of a young girl growing up in a difficult
time in history.

Then, I read Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar. I shared this with the other librarians in my district as a possible Battle of the Books title for next school year.  I'd heard good things about it (including from The Yarn podcast with Colby Sharp and Travis Jonker) and was not at all disappointed! It is realistic with a touch of magic; it reminded me of Tuck Everlasting and a bit of Echo, by Pam Munoz Ryan. 12-year old Carol forced to spend the summer with a fading grandfather she's never known while her family prepares for his move to a retirement home. Said grandfather Serge is a mystery from the first moment we meet him - confusing past and present, fantasy and reality. He shares with Carol stories about his past and the miraculous life-giving tree on the ranch, which Carol assumes are just stories. As the stories get stranger, Carol finds her loyalty shifting more towards Serge and the ranch, rather than her father, who wants to sell the farm. Soon, Carol finds that the wall between reality and story is thinner than she thought.