Books and the Readers who read them

"Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved."

Gene and Izzy are dead. No one must know.

The Death of Bees begins with a prologue that doesn't drop hints, hoping you'll get the point. It comes right out with the truth. Lisa O Donnell spends every chapter weaving a tale of two young girls left alone to fend for themselves, saved by the friendly old man next door, a sneaky ice cream van driver, and a surprisingly upstanding drug dealer.

This was a quick but enjoyable read, written in the rambling tone of two teenage girls- one too much of an adult for her own good, one in desperate need of raising and parenting, something she'd never had, even when her parents were around.