The Music of Bees – Eileen Garvin

100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: Jake is a teenager paraplegic struggling to find purpose. Henry is a social outcast who needs stability. Alice is young widower struggling to find joy. Together they form an unlikely family while tending to hives of honeybees in rural Oregon.

Expectation: A quasi-cozy romance with enough sass and drama to keep you interested but a firm ground in reality.

Reality: A sometimes far-fetched but utterly engrossing story of chosen family. I was surprised by the emotional depth of the characters and how their journey unfolds.

Recommended For: Fans of J. Ryan Stradel or stories about real people overcoming challenges — but with a sure thing happy ending.

Why I Read It: Stradel gave it five-stars on Goodreads, and I’m a fan of honeybees.

My Take:

Like most people, I have a soft spot for bees. Not all bees mind you, just the “furry are friends” kind that produce one of the best treats nature has gifted the world – honey.

The environmental risk to pollinators has been well-documented in recent years, and Eileen Garvin helps elevate it in “The Music of Bees,” which offers reader/listeners a tidy — if somewhat predictable — story about second chances, chosen family and following your passion.

I’m a fan of J. Ryan Stradel’s brand of storytelling — multi-generational, hardworking people overcoming what life has dealt — and I found this story solely because he gave it five stars on Goodreads. You know there will be drama, but people will overcome, and it will all go down like the honey added to tea to soothe a sore throat — refreshing, familiar and warming.

I’ve been in a reading slump for weeks, and this was exactly the type of story I needed to snap out of it. It’s not perfect by any means — at times I felt it was too long and meandering — but I choked up frequently as we learned more about the characters and cheered for each of them to find happiness.

Speaking of the characters, each of the three leads feel like people you know, even though their circumstances aren’t fully relatable.

Jake, becomes a paraplegic while a senior in high school, effectively giving up on his passion, music, because his parents aren’t a strong support system. He watches his friends move on from their small Oregon town and contemplates ending it all.

Alice, is in her mid-40s working a thankless job in local government, but finding escape in the hives of honeybees she keeps on her property. And, she needs to keep her mind distracted due to frequent panic attacks after the loss of her husband and parents.

The two literally collide one evening on a dark road, and recognizing the difficult situation Jake is in, she offers him a job helping tend to the bees even though it’s not accessible with a wheelchair.

Eventually, Henry, a mid-20s social outcast with a rap sheet finds his way to Alice and the unlikely trifecta form a family. Alice provides the boys with the stability and support they crave, while they give her the distraction and purpose she needed.

Okay, I teared up a bit writing that last part! That’s how well Garvin — who’s also a beekeeper — captures their voices and personalities.

Each character gets its own subplot, and frankly some are more interesting than others which made the last half of the story drag a bit. Each chapter starts with a tidbit about bees that made me like them even more and that ultimately plays into a plot point in that chapter.

Garvin is clearly sharing her passions — writing and beekeeping — with us, and she’s delivered an affirming and positive story in a time when it feels like the world has lost its humanity — to each other and to nature.

As an audiobook, it’s perfectly acceptable. Thérèse Plummer builds a distinct personality for each character, but she sometimes falters when they interact with one another. Knowing what I know about the story now, I probably would’ve read this one to immerse myself even further in the journey.

Debut authors can be a mixed bag, but I would gladly pick up another story of Garvin’s. While “Bees” probably won’t win any major awards, it’s certainly a crowd pleaser.   

Rating (story): 4.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): 3/5

Formats: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: April 30 – May 4, 2021

Multi-tasking: Good to go. I mostly did yardwork and cleaned.