I loved this book, it’s a really emotionally charged story, but also really beautifully written.

If you love a sad story, with feel good vibes and endings this is the book for you.

I read this such a long time ago (2020!) and forgot to review.

Despite the elapsed time, I distinctly remember Meredith, the wonderful relationship with her Grandfather and the amazing honey bus. Such a wonderful telling of self-discovery, resilience and the bees providing an outlet for Meredith to cope with all the troubles and pain in her family life. I found this a very visual book - difficult to read at times with the mother's treatment of the children - but providing a real sense of hope overall.

Late review but I wanted to leave my praise for this book anyway. This title really hit home for me and I found it to be heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measures. I could totally relate to the author's experience of a mother who, for reasons unknowable to a child, retired to bed for long periods and just didn't bother with parenting at all. The grandmother is absolutely foul and the author is a victim of some pretty severe generational trauma and I found myself unable to give any of the adults involved, besides the saving grace of a grandfather, a pass. But there is also a lot of joy in this text. I loved all the bee stuff, about how they organize their community and work in harmony for the good of the hive. I found all that interesting in itself but it also functioned as a lovely metaphor for the recovery, growth and resilience of the author and it juxtaposed nicely to the dysfunction in her human family. I found the writing a little stilted at times but it didn't distract from the emotion laid out by the author. I love that she was able to heal and move on, though it seems the mother was never able to - which is sad, but I found her treatment of her daughter unforgivable. A very emotional read, but ultimately uplifting. I just hope the bees make it.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The Honey Bus is an incredible coming-of-age story full of adventure, heartache, and wisdom. It follows Meredith May, a young girl who is left to the care of her Grandpa after her parents abandoned her. Together they form a deep bond through a shared appreciation of the fascinating life of honeybees. Through the richly-drawn and lyrical nature writing, we gain an appreciation of how interconnected the world is, how family has the capacity to give us comfort, and the importance of protecting our environment. A beautifully told and touching story that is sure to resonate with many readers.

Omg......... this book was amazing I flew threw the pages with Olympic speed I was hooked from the very first page. I found it full of twists and turns threw out and it kept me on the edge of my seat all the way threw  I would defiantly recommend this book if you like a good book to keep you reading threw the night hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did

This memoir stays at the edge of a history and life of bees, and the story of a young girl growing up in a difficult and challenging environment. I think we learn more about bees than we do about the family, but analogies are inevitably made between the behaviour of both. As with most families care is taken not to push the blame too publicly(in the human family that is) and we finish the book feeling a little cheated on the details of what went wrong. Although the idiosyncrasies of insects is interesting, I didn’t need quite so much detail about the bees. The statistics of the declining population was fascinating though, and it made interesting reading, especially if it helps to change modern farming and over use of chemicals generally., which it probably won’t.

This is a tale of childhood neglect but not in the way you might think. Meredith and her brother Matthew are victims of a messy divorce and go to live with their grandparents where they are taught about the intricate lives of bees and how family is everything.
I found myself totally drawn in by the story of the bees and their way of living as well as learning much more about these fascinating creatures. The story of Meredith and her family are so far removed from how bees love that the two sides of the story are a stark contrast but it really works as a metaphor for how we can love our loves better.
A good solid read.

I really struggled to get into this. The style just didn't appeal to me and I didn't find it as engaging as many other readers.

Still, I persevered and did eventually come to enjoy it. It's not a bad book. This is really more a question of personal taste.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

This book taught me plenty about bees. Wasn’t sure about it but glad I gave it a chance. Nd I’m now rather fascinated by bees.

Just an absolutely beautiful book, charming and sweet and a total delight. Not just usual book to be honest and there are some heavy subjects discussed in it but I general it’s just beautifully written and I was totally in love with it, what a gem this one is and should be read by everyone!

This was a beautiful coming of age story exploring abandonment, family history, values and honey-bees. Beautifully written with a powerful narrative.

One of the most touching books I have ever read. It will stay with me for a long long time. As well as being biographical it is so informative about bees and how important they are to our survival. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Everyone should read it.

An absolutely magical journey as the author's relationships with her grandfather and the bees he keeps develop
May held me spellbound in this world that combines such a wealth of learning about the world of bees and a young girl's transition from childhood to womanhood.
This far surpassed my expectations and, although I rarely re-read books, this may well be one I return to in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ (Harper Collins Publishers) for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the giving me a copy of this!

This book really intrigued me and it did not disappoint. This isn't something that I would normally read however the cover and synopsis called my name and I am so glad that I managed to get the chance to read it!

My heart and feelings literally poured into this book. I'm so glad that I took a chance on this book because it truly was a beautifully written story about pain, grief, and the power of love despite coming from a dysfunctional family. I can't wait to be able to reread this book, I will be getting a hardcopy to go on my shelves.

Some of the topics that are discussed in this book are so hard-hitting, please take care when reading. However the said topics are so important to be discussed and done with such care.

Meredith beautifully interweaves her memoir about the complexity of pain, love, growth, forgiveness, strength, and grief through nature and honeybees. One thing I took from this book in particular is knowledge upon honeybees. I didn't think I would get this from this book and it was such an added bonus and it has me intrigued. I will be reading more.

I truly enjoyed this memoir and Meredith's story of her being saved by honeybees! Powerful and uplifting!!
100% recommend!

Really enjoyed this book. It was a great read and I would highly recommend it to my bookclub. Thank you net galley for the copy of the arc in return for a review.

This was a powerful account of growing up in 70's California. A chronicle about a young girl growing up, overcoming obstacles and moving forward. As a five year old May finds herself facing the trauma of having to move to the West Coast to live with her grandparents after the breakup of her parents marriage and having to cope with her increasingly unstable and neglectful mother. I absolutely loved the way May bonded with her (step)grandfather and the bees he keeps. He teaches her so much about the bees, how they communicate, eat, and protect their queen, providing May (and the reader) with a fascinating education and through the bees May learns to persevere and appreciate what she has. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

The Honey Bus - Meredith May

What the publisher said:

‘The bee is more frightened than you,’ he said.
‘Can you imagine how scary it is to be this small in a world that is so big?’
He was right.
When she was five years old, Meredith May was abandoned by both parents. Her father left for the other side of the country. Her mother disappeared into herself.
But when Meredith discovered the rusted old bus where her grandpa kept bees, her world changed forever.
Family duty. Compassion and sacrifice. Unconditional love. The life of a honeybee displays it all. As her grandpa showed her the sacrifices bees make for their colony and the bonds they form with their keeper, Meredith discovered what family really means.
A rich and lyrical coming-of-age story, combined with spellbinding nature writing, The Honey Bus is the extraordinary story of a girl who journeyed into the hive – and found herself.


My thoughts:

There really is a trend for absent and terrible fathers in literature at the moment. I’ve said previously that I wonder if this is a reflection of world leaders and the destruction of our natural world. That mother nature might be around but she can’t function properly because man is intent on trashing everything she has created, or just ignores it because he has no compassion for it.

The Honey Bus is another example of this. A story of a girl whose role model in life is her grandfather. Someone who is not her blood relative, really understands Meredith. Doesn’t treat her badly or like a child.

I really enjoyed the informative nature of The Honey Bus. How it explained the workings of a bee colony and as such that every bee is important. They all have a job to do and as a bonus we end up with a product so divine as honey.

Meredith’s grandfather helps to give Meredith purpose, he helps her realise that her mums illness isn’t his granddaughters fault. Lifting the burden from her. Allowing her to grow her own wings and become the queen she deserves to be.

We could all do with a grandfather like that, or at least our own Honey Bus.

A truly warming story where I was enthralled from start to finish.

Perhaps I just failed to connect with this and that fault lies with me because there are a lot of people getting an awful lot out of reading this book. I found it very interesting - all the information about bees was generally new and fascinating, and in a world where bees are struggling that is great. However, I felt that the author wanted to wrote a memoir and write a book inspiring readers to keep bees. Clearly for many people these two strands worked well together, but for me they didn't.

This is a beautiful memoir by a woman who lived through much and became a beekeeper because of the love of her grandfather. It is sad, funny, moving, annoying, heartbreaking - you name it, Ms May has achieved it. There will be no spoilers here but the journey from mixed up 5 year old scared of bees to a knowledgeable adult woman with skills and a love of our most important pollinator, is one you will want to share. She writes beautifully and she is honest about her relationship with her mother which I appreciate given mine was no ideal figure either. Recommended if you love memoirs of lives different to your own or if you want to learn more about the importance of bees to our culture and food chain. I have highlighted many passages and I will reread at some stage.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.