Review: The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden


The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden
Stephanie's Rating: 5 out of 5 bookmarks

Rachel Linden wrote a very thought-provoking novel when she penned The Enlightenment of Bees. Firstly, the book is not about bees. However, the main character of the book, Mia West, grew up on an organic lavender farm owned by her parents and is very comfortable with bees due to their abundant presence in the lavender fields. When she dreams of her future, she has visions of bees in which the behavior of the bees gives her guidance.

Mia has been living life trying to be what she thinks her aunt, whom she adores, wants her to be. When a breakup with a boyfriend of six years causes her plans for life to shatter, she ends up on a humanitarian tour with a desire to make a change, somewhere, somehow, for someone in the world. Through her experiences, and the people she meets, she comes to realize that she, and the group she is with, cannot effect change for the whole world. Mia slowly begins to understand that in order to effectually aid another human being, one needs to be a part of the same community and be a part of their life.

Upon arriving back in the US, Mia rejoins her family and evaluates her life again. She finally finds the place where "...the space [she] occupies in the universe is the space where her greatest passion meets the world's great pain".

To join Mia on her tour around the world, to find out what happens in her love life, and to finally discover where she was meant to be all along, you will have to read the book! Sorry, no spoilers here! This is NOT a Christian fiction book. However, I didn't find anything overly offensive. There is some drinking and partying on a mild scale, but that is certainly not the point of the book.

I would recommend that readers be 18 or older in order to be able to mentally grapple with the situations experienced by Mia and her group in real-world situations. Life is not always pretty, but a younger mind may find this book to be too "real" for comfort.






Stephanie Garrett is a busy homeschooling mom of three who somehow always finds time to read. She has been a voracious reader since childhood and even won a bicycle in elementary school for having read the most books! She enjoys learning and growing and never turns down an opportunity to try something new. Her first love is the Lord and service to Him, second is family, and third...is reading. She believes that anyone who learns to read with comprehension can go anywhere and do anything! She also enjoys music, theatre, sewing, and mathematics.



Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a free copy of this book for promotional purposes. This post contains affiliate links.

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