Little Bee

I started Little Bee by Chris Cleave before vacation. Not wanting to carry along multiple books, I opted to leave it unfinished (horrors!) at home and return to it upon my return. This book was recommended by a blogging lady who read a book a day for a whole year. Maybe you didn't know, that's 365 books! My paltry numbers (20 so far!) don't hold a candle to that but I figure if you read that much, you must know what you're talking about. That's why you all love my book reviews. Right?

Anyway, Little Bee is the tale of a Nigerian teenage refugee in England. Little Bee is finally able to leave the detention center she's been held at (because she's illegal) for two years. In England, she is in search of a couple she met on the beach at a horrible time in her life. The book is set in 2007, during an oil war in Nigeria where many were massacred. Little Bee is also told by Sarah, the wife in the couple Little Bee met on the beach when they were on holiday in Nigeria. The circumstances of their chance encounter are horrifying and they will be forever beholden to each other because of this tragic event.

I'm sorry that's not much of a synopsis. I was taking a page from the book jacket which has even less of a synopsis than I've just given you. I really enjoyed this book, even though it was filled with sadness and tough topics. Cleave's creation of both Little Bee and Sarah is so thoughtful. If you're looking for a book that is pretty heavy, check out Little Bee.