I received an arc of Bosco and the Bees from Atmosphere Press via NetGalley, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75-4/5 stars

Bosco and the Bees is a wholesome story illustrating the life of Bosco, a young fairy living under a Queen’s edict and struggling to discover a passion he is willing to pursue for the rest of his life. He piques interest in bees, which are seemingly disliked by most fairies. The journey to acceptance is aided by friends and family, who guide Bosco throughout his coming-of-age adventure.

This book is a middle-grade novel and reads accordingly. I appreciated the juvenility of the writing, as well as the engaging writing style. These aspects kept me engaged for the story’s duration.

The plot struck me as the story of Tinkerbell with a ‘save the bees’ movement twist. This combination created a heartwarming story which delivered an impactful message concerning the importance of bees in the environment, as well as the general conservation of the species.

I enjoyed seeing the interactions with family and friends, as their words offered messages and lessons which could be applied to everyday life.

I found the ending to be sweet, although I felt the conclusion could’ve been a little stronger. I also feel side characters such as Mirror could have been fleshed out a little more, as well as her plot line. However, the story as a whole was enjoyable and magical. I would highly recommend this book to those of all ages who wish to experience a fairy tale filled with kindness and nature.

4/5

A fun, eco-focused fairy story. The main character Bosco has to choose his life's calling by the age of ten or be summoned to the court of fairy land. Along the way to finding his calling he begins to learn about bees, despite his fellow faries' objections.

Good:
- The main character is male. Every single fairy book I've read had had a female main character and if makes are present they're fairly minor. I love that Bosco and the Bees breaks that stereotype and has good gender balance in the supporting characters too.
- The ecological theme to the story is well told and simple enough that children reading this book would understand and be able to go forward and do their own research. I especially liked the parts where different pollinator friendly plants were named.
- The friendship elements were appropriate for children and also covered areas such as grief and peril.
- The bees and the factual information in this book were great. The author has clearly done their research and made sure all aspects of the bees are portrayed accurately.

Could have been better:
- The pacing felt off at several points. Sometimes the book was meandering then at other points the action felt rushed and over too quickly.
- Occasionally problems were resolved too easily. Even for a children's book, sometimes the resolutions seemed too convenient and the characters not challenged to resolve problems.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any young readers with an interest in fantasy, bees and their role in the natural world or fairy stories with a twist.