The Big Sting

December 15, 2022
A story full of mystery, adventure, and personal challenges that will have readers buzzing. Eleven-year-old Leo and his younger sister, Lizzie, are staying with their maternal grandfather on Heron Island, British Columbia, after the recent passing of their grandmother. Originally Leo's parents were also staying there, but when a booking opens at an exclusive nearby spa, Leo's city-loving father seizes the opportunity to go somewhere with reliable Wi-Fi under the pretense that the kids' mom needs to unwind from her stressful job. Leo and Lizzie stay with their grandfather, a choice that ultimately proves to be vital when the farm's 12 beehives are stolen. The hives originally belonged to Grandma, but after her death, Grandpa learned how to keep bees, and he is desperate to get them back. The trio embark on an adventure to discover the culprit, learning more about each other along the way. A subplot in which Leo is distressed about his results from an online personality test matching users with career paths that his father constantly talks about is nicely woven into the story, demonstrating how labels can limit people as well as define them. Readers who love adventure will enjoy the overall plot, but while the mystery is solved--and Delaney plays fair with the clues--the pacing will make it difficult for armchair sleuths to discover who stole the hives before the grand denouement. The overall story makes up for this minor shortcoming, however. Main characters read White. A sweetly engaging novel exploring family relationships. (Fiction. 8-12)

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January 2, 2023
When their parents interrupt a family trip by heading to a spa, 11-year-old Leo and nine-year-old sister Lizzie are unexpectedly left with their cantankerous, recently widowed maternal grandfather on Canada’s Heron Island. The kids’ father, who is changing careers and obsessed with personality quiz site Fatefinder.com, has dubbed cautious, curious Leo an “Auditor.” And it’s true that Leo prefers the orderly world of virtual farming game Applewood Acres to Grandad’s dilapidated barn and overgrown field, but he’s also peeved about being pigeonholed and attempts to embrace the shifting situation. “Adventurer” Lizzie, meanwhile, is ready for anything. The theft of their late, pun-loving apiarist grandmother’s dozen hives soon plunges the unlikely trio into a mystery. They set out on an unexpected adventure to track down the beeknappers, with their grieving Grandad declaring, “No. Puns. Allowed”; Lizzie embracing a barn kitten she calls Mayhem; and Leo, true to his careful nature, assessing possible risks along the way. This character-forward beekeeping mystery from Delaney (Alice Fleck’s Recipes for Disaster), considers the limitations of labels and the authentic messiness of IRL adventures. Ages 8–12. Agent: Amy Tompkins, Transatlantic Agency.