Hour of the Bees
Publisher: Walker Books
Carol's summer was supposed to be filled with pool parties and sleepovers - not helping move her dementia-wrecked grandfather from his drought-crippled ranch into a care home.
Initially wary, Carol grows to love the harsh landscape, her ageing grandfather and his magical stories of a tree, a lake and bees; and of his beautiful wife, Rosa, and rebellious son, Raoul, both desperate to leave.
Learning more about her family changes Carol. Her old life no longer seems to 'fit'. She's become the kind of girl who drives all night in her sister's car to tell grandfather it's finally raining in the desert...
Despite his confusion, grandfather's stories bring Carol's family history vividly to life and she starts to understand her father and her roots - and to love the unforgiving, beautiful desert.
