"Little Bee" by Chris Cleave

Chris Cleave is a Novelist and a Journalist. He lives in London with his wife and three kids. His second novel, “Little Bee,” is a New York Times #1 Bestseller. After reading this book, I can truly understand why it is a bestseller.

I had never heard of Chris Cleave. When I saw the title on the Bestsellers List, I really had no interest in reading it. However, I heard so many good things about it so I decided to give it a try. I am so glad that I did. This novel blew me away.

Little Bee is a teenage girl from Nigeria who finds herself in an immigration detention center in London. She has experienced so much pain and suffering during her short life. The atrocities that Little Bee and her family have had to endure are almost unimaginable. Cleave paints this picture very well. He is masterful at keeping the reader on the edge of his seat. During the entire first half of this novel I understood that something terrible had happened in Little Bee’s life – but what was it? I eagerly turned every page to find out what happened.

On the other hand, Little Bee is connected to the O’Rourke family in London. They met on a beach in Nigeria. The O’Rourkes were on vacation, but it was no vacation for Little Bee and her sister. The events that occurred during that meeting at the beach changed their lives forever. Again, Cleave builds suspense and keeps the reader wondering about what those events were.

This novel is more than just suspense, though. This story stirred emotions in me. It caused me to ask myself, “What would I have done?” It made me question how far I would be willing to go to save the life of a fellow human being. How do you really know what you’ll do until you are in that situation?

Cleave helps readers explore how we are all connected as human beings. No matter where we live in the world, we are all connected. We belong to the human family and we can help each other. What a heartwarming thought! “Little Bee” is an entertaining, thought-provoking story that anyone would enjoy.