Reviews

The Last Beekeeper by Siya Turabi

babs_reviews's review against another edition

4.0

While this was a slow paced book, I enjoyed the writing style immensely.

There are a variety of characters to connect with and enjoy. The story is set in Pakistan and is told from a teenage point of view (Hassan) who wins a scholarship but only wishes to help his mother and determine where he stands with the bees.

This felt like a coming of age story through and through. The choices one must make to define themselves while staking out who they are to the public. Hassan faces a difficulty we all must face in life and in turn then allow the consequences to play out. I enjoyed seeing him on this journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for allowing to read the e-arc.

309804490's review

adventurous mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

shinydiscoballx's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

joanjeffery's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

_throne_of_books_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

shanyeahh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What a read! This entire novel felt like a lyrical adventure. Following Hassan's journey, there were twists, consequences, and an important struggle on how we can be driven by all types of love - not just romantic but also familial, platonic, and even the love of nature surrounding us.

leafyshivers's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

4.25

jackidawson's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

aerith's review against another edition

1.0

Even for a book called The Last Beekeeper, there is an excessive amount of talking about bees. If you took out every reference to “being accepted by the bees”, “my mother’s eyes”, or “getting back before the floods” the book would probably be twenty pages long. Super repetitive and boring.

the_bookarazzii's review against another edition

4.0

PAKISTAN
1947


HASSAN is almost 14, loves forest, nature and everything about his village Harikaya in Pakistan. His mother’s eyesight is degrading day by day and his father and himself decide to get black honey from the forest such as to heal her eyes. But the honeybees are very wild, they don’t share the honey with anyone.

With strict rules and banned entry to forests by the government, it gets difficult for them to enter forests. Anyhow they manage to reach there but something drastic happens, his father gets arrested.

Now he is the only person left to help his mother and he vows to help her. His mother wants him to have a better life and asks him to leave for Karachi for better studies based on scholarship. He doesn’t want to leave her alone but he had to go.

In Karachi, he learns a lot about bees, beehives, the structure of beehives and so much more. Also, he meets Governor’s niece, Mariam and falls for her.

Now the question is will he stay with his mother or leave for London with Mariam?
If he stays, will bees help him?

The story has a strong portrayal of love and care for the family. How a small relationship or connection matters. The description of forests and countryside was amazing, I could feel everything happening. The book is very beautifully written, everything is amazing. But I don’t know why I could not connect much to Hassan.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book.