Lisa O'Donnell
A riveting, brilliantly written debut novel-a coming-of-age story with the strong voice and powerful resonance of ,Swamplandia!, and ,The Secret Life of Bees,â€”in which two young sisters attempt to hold the world at bay after the mysterious death of their parents.,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.,Marnie and her little sister Nelly are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they arenâ€™t telling. While life in Glasgowâ€™s Hazlehurst housing estate isnâ€™t grand, they do have each other. Besides, itâ€™s only one year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both.,As the new year comes and goes, Lennie, the old man next door, realizes that his young neighbors are alone and need his help. Or does he need theirs? But heâ€™s not the only one who suspects something isnâ€™t right. Soon, the sistersâ€™ friends, their other neighbors, the authorities, and even Geneâ€™s nosy drug dealer begin to ask questions. As one lie leads to another, dark secrets about the girlsâ€™ family surface, creating complications that threaten to tear them apart.,Written with fierce sympathy and beautiful precision, told in alternating voices, ,The Death of Bees, is an enchanting, grimly comic tale of three lost souls who, unable to answer for themselves, can answer only for each other.
Fiction,Young Adult,Contemporary,Young Adult,Coming Of Age,Mystery,Family,Adult Fiction,Cultural,Scotland,Adult,Literary Fiction
The Death of Bees