The Last Beekeeper by Pablo Cartata

The Hook: 

The world has almost been destroyed by climate change, and farmers are barely surviving. Their farms will not produce much of anything. Yolanda (Yoly for short) is not as worried as her sister, Cami, who took over the family farm after their parents disappeared. Yoly’s plan is to study and become a doctor. When she graduates, she will make sure she and her sister will never struggle financially again. Her focus is school, not the farm. But the income from the farm pays for Yoly’s tuition and with only a few classes left, Cami must tell Yolanda she cannot continue. They do not have the money to pay for her last few classes. 

Mayor Blackburn offers to help Yoly by providing her with a scholarship. Cami begs her not to take it. She does not trust Mayor Blackburn. She says everything comes at a price. If Yoly accepts the scholarship, Mayor Blackburn will expect something in return. Against Cami’s warnings, Yoly takes the scholarship and sure enough she is now required to work that debt off. After she finishes school, she will have to work in an area beyond the wall of town called The Wasteland. Many that go there do not come back alive. Yoly realizes she has made a horrible mistake in trusting Mayor Blackburn and accepting the scholarship. 

Cami begs her to drop out of school and work with her at the farm instead. Yoly does not even want to consider it. Being a doctor has always been her dream. But she begins to help around the farm by cleaning out the old barn. There she finds her deceased grandmother’s journal. It describes the insects that used to live in the area and helped pollinate the plants. Most have become extinct due to climate change but during Yoly’s exploration she finds the last-known beehive. She realizes these bees can pollinate the fields and thus reduce people’s dependence on the mayor and his greedy hold on the town. Can Yoly and Cami bring down the whole corrupt government system? You will have to read the book to find out. 

This book is in our library. It is also in Sora and Axis 360 as and eBook and audio book. It is 9 AR points. 

My Thoughts and Recommendations (Careful! There Could Be Spoilers): 

This book has a complex plot with Cami and Yoly’s relationship, the disappearance of their parents, the grandmother’s journals describing the importance of plants and bees, the horrible effects of climate change, as well as the evil Mayor and his sister exploiting the townspeople to benefit their own selfish and greedy capitalistic goals. 

At the beginning of the story Cami and Yoly are not close.  Cami’s pushes Yoly away and will not discuss her past or the farm’s financial problems. Cami thinks she is doing Yoly a favor by not burdening her with her own personal hardships but instead it causes a rift between the two sisters that is difficult to mend. Only when Yoly goes against her sister’s wishes and accepts the scholarship from Mayor Blackburn, do they open up to each other and mend the riff. From that moment on Yoly realizes her mistake and the two sisters become a team. It highlights the importance of family, communication, listening and considering other’s perspectives and working together for common goals.

When Yoly finds her grandmother’s journal the story talks more about climate change and how people, animals, insects, and plants are all interconnected. It warns about a possible future if we do not work together to preserve nature and tackle climate change.

There is a twist in the end where you see the mastermind behind the mayor’s evil plan is really his sister. In fact, the mayor is barely human at all, more like a puppet the sister controls. I did not see this coming until around 3/4 of the way through the book so I think this will lead to a great discussion during book club, a class discussion, or a small group, say a parent and child if you are reading the book together.

It is a strong plot that gives the reader a lot to think about. I like that the setting of the story is a world destroyed by climate change in that it allows us to reflect on what we today are doing to our own planet and our shared responsibilities in protecting the environment.  

Because of the complexity of the story, I would recommend this to 6th-8th graders. I liked this story very much, but it was not one I could not put down. I have reflected on it some after reading so the story has stuck with me. A solid novel our top readers at our school (5th and 6th) will enjoy. 4.0 stars.