Reviews

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

becka1125's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jess_mango's review

4.0

I'll admit that it almost made me cry at the end. Why do I always get to the tear jerker parts when I am on the train???

lindsayaunderwood's review

4.0

This is one of those rare stories that I couldn't put down because it was so engaging, but that was also incredibly heartwarming and important. So so good. Highly recommend this one.

spookydook's review

4.0

Little Bee is not the usual book that I would pick up to read but Im glad I gave it a chance. Little Bee is a story of a Nigerian Refugee who met a English couple vacationing on a beach in Nigeria while being chased by hunters hired by oil companies to kill her, what happens that day goes on to haunt Little Bee as well as Sara and Andrew the English couple forever. Later Little Bee unites with Sara after spending more then 2 years in immigration detention outside of London. They go on to help each other understand what happened on that day at the beach. While this book didnt wow me, i truely enjoyed the good read. It kept my attention to the end.

abbywebb's review against another edition

2.0

Intrigued by the description insert, although it really wasn't descriptive. But I think that's what it seemed intriguing in the first place.

Alas, intriguing the story was not. A little slow, perhaps. A tad winding, maybe. Confusingly anticlimatic, definitely.

This was the story of two women: one widowed British mother of a 4 year old "Batman" child and one young illegal refugee from Nigeria. You think you could take two such characters and create an interesting and perhaps even thought-provoking story, but I think Chris Cleave missed the mark.

Oh yah, and when I expected funny and witty it was simply not. The cover jacket fooled me on this.

Not altogether terrible, but certainly not something to recommend to the local book club. Read it if you want, just don't come complaining to me if you end up drawing similar conclusions. This book is meant for some and not others. I fall in the latter category.

leannecoppola's review

2.0

Hmmm...I couldn't put this down, but it's a tough subject matter. At times very gruesome and nightmare material. Not sure if I can recommend this book.

tishywishy's review

4.0

Riveting novel. The characters are engaging and the story line is about as realistic as it gets. It highlights the ongoing human struggle to live freely, without fear, the consequences of our actions and what happens when those on the outside of those newspaper headlines are thrown into the lives of those whose needs are based on survival.

aideenwalshe's review

emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

taymac_and_cheese's review

challenging informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

lastpaige111's review against another edition

4.0

Do I EVER read anything that ISN'T DEPRESSING??
Gorgeous little book. Excellent assignment for high school juniors/seniors or even an intro to lit class at college level.