By Sophie Johnson, Social Media Editor

I’m gonna be honest,  I don’t read a lot unless I have to for a class. I also feel guilty saying this but the only reason I bought this book is because it was about bees, and I love bees. Turns out, I couldn’t put the darn thing down!

The book is begins to take place in New Jersey, but eventually the characters travel to North Carolina. Gloria Ricci was a normal teenager, but in High School she found out that she was attracted to females. Her parents found out and sent her to The Belmont Institute. The institute was to “help” her. It was sorta like a counseling camp but also had a prison vibe going on. There she meets Sheffield Schoeffler and eventually they run off to new York together but I’m not going to spill the whole plot to you.

You’re probably wondering where the bees come in, because I was wondering the same thing when I started to read this book. The bees follow Ricci throughout the whole book in very unique ways. Usually when she’s going through a hardship the bees come to comfort her. They symbolize someone that was very close to Ricci. He helped her through her struggles, but when he wasn’t around anymore the bees took his place.

I could relate to this book because I love bees just like Ricci does. It’s strange to think about how bees could calm someone, because our natural instinct is to swat them. I have honey bee hives at my house and when I go in them to check them out it’s so relaxing and interesting. So I can relate with that aspect of the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone. Maybe not kids under the age of 14 because usually they’re immature, but you know what I mean. Coming from someone that doesn’t read a lot, I couldn’t put this book down.

Michele Young-Stone is a local writer who has written two other book as well. Above Us Only Sky and The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors are her other novels which I plan on reading. After reading Lost in the Beehive, I actually enjoy reading now. I can get something out of every book I read and it’s better than scrolling through endless social media feed.

Lost in the Beehive teaches readers to learn from their mistakes, the places we go and the people we meet along the way. After reading this book I realized that even though I’m only 17, I can get a lot out of my life if I just pay attention.

Senior Sophie Johnson can be reached at johnsonso0628@daretolearn.org.