Thanks to @bloomsburypublishing and @gillianmcdunn for providing @kidlitexchange with an advanced copy of The Queen Bee and Me, due to be released on 3 March 2020.
This middle grade novel is delightful!
Meg is a quiet, anxious preteen who has been swept along in her best-friend-since-kindergarten’s wake. She found comfort and safety in their friendship throughout elementary school, but as they entered the angst-ridden middle school years, Meg finds herself becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the mean Queen Bee tendencies that Beatrix is exhibiting.
When Hazel moves to their small town of Willow Pond, Meg reluctantly realizes that her friendship with Beatrix is no longer what she believes it to be.
McDunn helps the reader see the parallels between a beehive and the social systems of a typical middle school. As Meg and Hazel’s science project about honey bees unfolds, Meg begins to recognize those connections. She struggles to figure out what role she wants to play in the middle school hive, and in life.
Watching Meg’s evolution is reason enough to read this book, but the other primary characters are also well-developed, and any female who has lived through middle school will recognize the character types, perhaps recognize themselves, and thank heaven that those days are gone 😂
Add this to your must-read list or gift it to your favorite middle-schooler. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author! #kidlitexchange
Gillian McDunn website
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