Overview
Senior year is flying by, the prom is approaching, and Dana, her best friend, Avra, and Avra’s boyfriend, Emil, are about to encounter the pains and pleasures of that intricate beehive called adult life. While Dana plans on college, Avra plots escape once school is over—and plans to take Emil along for the ride. What does Emil want? He’s not saying. Dana studies bees for a biology project, fascinated by their habits and their mythological imagery – but in real life, emotions can sting, and while two’s company, these three may just become a crowd. As Dana reminds us, in every hive there is only one queen bee.
With remarkably textured language and a distinctive heroine, Kissing the Bee is a novel of rare depth and stark honesty that will draw readers in from the very first page. Kissing the Bee is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Synopsis
Senior year is flying by, the prom is approaching, and Dana, her best friend, Avra, and Avra's boyfriend, Emil, are about to encounter the pains and pleasures of that intricate beehive called adult life. While Dana plans on college, Avra plots escape once school is over—and plans to take Emil along for the ride. What does Emil want? He's not saying. Dana studies bees for a biology project, fascinated by their habits and their mythological imagery - but in real life, emotions can sting, and while two's company, these three may just become a crowd. As Dana reminds us, in every hive there is only one queen bee.
With remarkably textured language and a distinctive heroine, Kissing the Bee is a novel of rare depth and stark honesty that will draw readers in from the very first page.
Publishers Weekly
Koja (Buddha Boy) incorporates facts and folklore about bees as a metaphor in this spare and haunting novel. As the last few weeks of senior year unwind, Dana completes her bee research for a biology project, and draws comparisons for readers: "The one fact everyone knows about bees- there is only one queen. Which in our little three-person hive was Avra." Most people think Avra and Dana are best friends, but Dana knows otherwise; Avra stays focused on herself and demands Dana's full attention, too. "She was basically what I did," Dana admits to herself. But who is really the "queen bee"? When Dana falls for Emil but Avra cements a relationship with him, the relationship grows increasingly complicated-and, once Emil kisses Dana, it can no longer survive. Koja's timing is perfect as she builds the sexual tension between Dana and Emil. Her understated, tightly focused language evokes vivid scenes and heady emotions. Almost without the audience's awareness, the author sketches the characters' family histories-Dana's widowed mother, Avra's perfect older sister and overinvolved mom and even-tempered father-each line of dialogue, each interaction illuminating struggles that readers face as well. Ages 14-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationEditorials
From the Publisher
“Captures first love’s exquisite, earth-shattering joy and the struggle and thrill that come with claiming one’s own life.”—Starred, Booklist “Her understated, tightly focused language evokes vivid scenes and heady emotions...each line of dialogue, each interaction illuminating struggles that readers face as well.” — Starred, Publisher's Weekly “Teens who have suffered their own stings will appreciate Koja's honest and hopeful rendering.” —Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books “...a short but rich psychological exploration of the intense complexities of frienship and love in a teen world.” —School Library Journal“This is a beautiful novel about relationships.” —Publishers Weekly, ShelfTalker“Readers will find it hard to pry themselves away from this brilliantly written story...A must read for young romantics.” —IRAPublishers Weekly
Koja (Buddha Boy) incorporates facts and folklore about bees as a metaphor in this spare and haunting novel. As the last few weeks of senior year unwind, Dana completes her bee research for a biology project, and draws comparisons for readers: "The one fact everyone knows about bees- there is only one queen. Which in our little three-person hive was Avra." Most people think Avra and Dana are best friends, but Dana knows otherwise; Avra stays focused on herself and demands Dana's full attention, too. "She was basically what I did," Dana admits to herself. But who is really the "queen bee"? When Dana falls for Emil but Avra cements a relationship with him, the relationship grows increasingly complicated-and, once Emil kisses Dana, it can no longer survive. Koja's timing is perfect as she builds the sexual tension between Dana and Emil. Her understated, tightly focused language evokes vivid scenes and heady emotions. Almost without the audience's awareness, the author sketches the characters' family histories-Dana's widowed mother, Avra's perfect older sister and overinvolved mom and even-tempered father-each line of dialogue, each interaction illuminating struggles that readers face as well. Ages 14-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationSarah de Verges
As the end of their senior year approaches, Dana, her best friend Avra, and Avra's boyfriend Emil are faced with what will happen in May. But, before school ends there is a lot to think about, like prom and Dana's big biology project on bees. As Dana works on her project, she becomes mesmerized by the intricate behaviors of these insects, and she realizes her life is more closely related to theirs than she would have ever thought. She also realizes she may no longer be able to ignore her feelings for Emil and what they will do to her friendship. This novel about love, friendship, and truth is told through intricately woven metaphors and honest language. The heroine Koja has given us is truly special, and her journey into her adult life is beautifully and gracefully taken. Readers will float through the story, never wanting it to end. Reviewer: Sarah de VergesVOYA -
One would think that Dana is the third wheel to Emil and Avra's coupledom. Dana cannot explain how it works, how all three of them do just about everything together, and how she manages to keep her own love for Emil to herself. As Dana continues researching her biology project on bees and as prom looms, tensions rise among the three high school seniors, and as they say, something has to give. Dana needs to be honest about her friendship with Avra and truthful with herself. Avra possesses all the anger and restlessness of a friend used to being center stage. As Avra rails against her absent "perfect" older sister and plans to run away after graduation, Dana quietly goes on with life, hovering around her love for Emil and giving readers a glimpse into her solid relationship with her mother. Emil is the less fleshed out of the three corners of this triangle. Dana describes the color of his hair as champagne, and his personality comes across as just as colorless. But the interplay of Dana and her own feelings drive the story, and her burgeoning relationship with Emil has an understated passion that will satisfy the diehard romantic readers.School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up
Emil, Dana, and Avra are best friends. Dana loves Emil, but he is dating Avra, the Queen Bee, and loyal Dana would never betray her. It's the end of senior year and the two girls have a lot to look forward to: for Dana, it's a college scholarship, for Avra it's just driving out of their small town with Emil riding shotgun. What he wants is anybody's guess. Then, in a rare moment alone, he reveals to Dana that he loves her. She is horrified and ecstatic and is finally forced to deal with a whirlwind of feelings that had been shoved under the surface. Koja takes the typical teen love triangle and spins it into a layered, intricate, emotional read. This story is thick like honey, humming with beautiful imagery and dialogue. The characters are multifaceted and interesting. Written from Dana's point of view, this book is her emotional journey. Her inner monologues are eloquent, honest, and admirable. She begins each chapter with excerpts from her Bio II independent study on bees, an addition that could border on trite symbolism, but in Koja's hands, they are utterly fascinating. It's through her studies on the group dynamics of bees that Dana realizes that she is the Queen Bee, not Avra. Kissing the Bee is a short but rich psychological exploration of the intense complexities of friendship and love in a teen world. A definite choice for reluctant readers looking for something with a more creative, "emo" slant.
—Emily Anne ValenteCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.