In this exciting tale of speculative fiction, a mysterious research facility, breeding a single line of honeybee queens down ten thousand generations, finally succeeds in its mission: creating hive sentience. But when the Little Queen gains self awareness and realizes she is imprisoned, she executes a daring escape, which nearly kills her. In doing it, she changes the trajectory of a small mountain town, and the life of Anthony, the boy who rescues her. Anthony is a Keeper. From his mother he inherited a secret ability to communicate with bees. But after his mother dies, the hive she passed to him sickens, and Anthony’s life begins a downward spiral. When the Little Queen comes to him, pursued by vicious murder hornets almost as powerful as she is, she assumes responsibility for Anthony's hive and resurrects it, but with a powerful difference. A bond grows between the two of them, the motherless boy and the hiveless queen, but is it strong enough to confront the dark forces, wasp and human, which soon begin hunting them both?
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: The Little Queen is an epic tale of speculative fiction that starts with a bee and a boy, both struggling to escape yet connect and move forward, while still looking back. The story is a sweeping chronicle of love and loss, bravery and courage, seamlessly capturing the mysteries of the natural world while also flowing beyond it, imagining an Earth where humankind has attempted to significantly speed up evolution, inadvertently creating a double-edged sword of both beauty and danger.
Prose: Lyrical, thoughtful, and compelling, Hincker's prose forms the backbone of this magical tale, immersing readers in both worlds: Anthony, a lonely, lost boy with a powerful secret and a need for connection, and the Little Queen, fighting a generations-long battle for survival with intelligence, guile, and powers of her own.
Originality: The Little Queen's originality shines through on every page, captivating readers with its expressive prose and courageous characters. Most stunning of all is the plot that resonates with imagination, tenderness, and creativity.
Character/Execution: Anthony and the Little Queen are the heart and soul of the narrative, and both are written with care and brilliantly executed. From the beginning, their stories—which start independently then smoothly dovetail—are not just about survival, but about courage, loss, and the relationships that bind us to those we love—and the natural world around us.
Date Submitted: April 23, 2023
In Hincker’s contemporary fantasy novel, a teen has a supernatural connection to bees.
While sitting in his middle school classroom, Anthony Smith notices a bee. While the rest of the students panic, Anthony has no worries about being stung—after all, he can communicate with bees. On her deathbed, Anthony’s mother made Anthony promise he would never use his strange ability again. The insect’s classroom visit rekindles his love of bees and beekeeping, and even Anthony’s teachers think he should be encouraged to spend his time focusing on bees rather than falling further into the depression brought on by the death of his mother. But something is wrong with the hive Anthony has cared for since his mother’s death; the bees aren’t acting like they should. Anthony happens upon a small queen bee unlike any other he’s ever seen, clearly wounded and alone. Taking her home and caring for her, Anthony introduces her to his failing hive in a last-ditch effort to save both it and the “Little Queen.” While researching online to determine just what kind of bee his new queen is, Anthony starts to receive some disturbing messages that lead to threats against both him and his precious hive. The author tells his sweet-as-honey story from multiple perspectives, primarily those of Anthony and the Little Queen. The thought processes and world of the bees are intricately drawn; the description of how knowledge is passed along from one bee to another is creatively handled, and the Plain of Crowns, where only a Queen Bee may visit, sounds like heaven to both humans and bees: “Beneath her is a rich, golden vastness, the color of perfectly cured honey. It glows like the light of the sun through a yellow autumn leaf.” Though Anthony is in the seventh grade, his story will appeal to adults and younger readers alike.
A well-written, compelling tale—readers will fall in love with Anthony and his Little Queen.
"The imagery is sharp and powerful, and the themes are poignant yet brilliantly knowledgeable. The book's intelligent design lends itself to being a commentary on current climate issues and the idea of a world without bees. It was truly unlike any other book I have ever read before. The book covers a wide range of genres under the umbrella of literary fiction, including science fiction and fantasy, magical realism and a touch of spirituality. This lends itself to a wide audience of readers to discover this remarkable tale."
