Review: The Last Beekeeper by Pablo Cartaya
Quick Info:
Book type: Chapter Book
Target age: 8-12 years old
Recommended age: 8-12 years old
Plot: In a dystopian world where there is little wildlife left Yolanda and other farmers struggle to make ends meet with their crops. Yolanda has no interest in continuing caring for her late parents’ dying strawberry farm and instead wants to become a nerolink surgeon but her sister can’t afford the final class so Yolanda takes up a loan and forgets to read the fine print. Desperate to pay off the loan she and her sister dig through her grandmother’s journals and find out about “killer insects” called honeybees. Could honeybees be the answer to all their problems?
Review:
I enjoyed the first half of the book but wish there could have been some more world building as some things just didn’t make sense. Yolanda’s whiny and defiant character is hard to like in the beginning but you warm up to her in the end. It gets a little cheesy at the end, I think a late elementary aged child would like it. There is Spanish dialogue throughout the book and you can sometimes infer what is being said but there isn’t an immediate translation which may be annoying for non-Spanish speaking readers. There are a few references to “human evolution” and enhancement but it isn’t glorified.
Opinion:
I would recommend this to a child between the ages of 8-12 . The theme is basically “save the bees” and very pro-nature conservation but I would have a conversation with your child about “enhancing” the human body through technology and the concept of “Mother Nature” being Allah swt’s creation and not a creator.
Content:
Minor themes of “evolution of humanity” through technology (Nerolinks, humanity “evolving” without the use of nature)
Speaks of man made created animals
Yolanda’s sister has a male love interest it is mentioned that she has feelings for him. They interact and hug in the end. Mentioning of “googly eyes” but nothing more.
Arelis calls her older brother “Stink Face” (in teasing endearment)
Robotic augmentation on humans (some cyborg like limbs but the more complicated things like half-human half-robots as super soldiers)
Excerpts:
Excerpts from books are a glimpse of the content that is found and are not every instance of un-Islamic and/or “iffy” content.
Context:
The concept of a “nuerolink” is mentioned frequently in this book. It is basically a futuristic brain implant. While the main character wants to become a nureolink surgeon but at the end of the book decides that it is evil.
Context:
A few times in the book they mention “man made animals”.
Context:
Some of the bad guys have “robotic augmentation” that make them into these superhuman cyborgs. Following a theme of “human evolution”.
