The last beekeeper / Pablo Cartaya ; illustrations by Carlos Vélez Aguilera.

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Title:

The last beekeeper / Pablo Cartaya ; illustrations by Carlos Vélez Aguilera.

Author:

Cartaya, Pablo, author.

Vélez, Carlos, 1980- illustrator.

ISBN:

9780063006553

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

300 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Abstract:

To prove that she belongs in a place where only the smartest and most useful are welcomed, twelve-year-old Yolanda learns that her survival rests on the rediscovery of a long-extinct beehive that could be the answer to everything.

In a future shaken by climate disasters, Yolanda Cicerón knows that nature is something to be feared. From the crops that don't grow to the terrifying creatures that roam the countryside, Yoly's life in the Valley is brutal and harsh. She dreams of leaving her farm to live in Silo--the most advanced town for miles around. But first, Yoly will need to prove she belongs in a place where only the smartest and most useful are welcomed. Between her razor-sharp smarts and sheer determination, Yoly is well on her way to leaving her farm life when she discovers her family can no longer afford her schooling. Desperate for a solution, Yoly is forced to take matters into her own hands, but the closer she gets to securing her future, the more she uncovers the dangers lying inside Silo's walls--ones that threaten the entire Valley.

Reading Level:

Ages 8-12.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader AR MG 4.7 9.0 Accelerated Reader Quiz #517717.

Subject Term:

Climatic changes -- Juvenile fiction.

Survival -- Juvenile fiction.

Bees -- Juvenile fiction.

Beehives -- Juvenile fiction.

Climatic changes -- Fiction.

Survival -- Fiction.

Bees -- Fiction.

Beehives -- Fiction.

Dystopias -- Fiction.

Climat -- Changements -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Habiletés de survie -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Abeilles -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

Ruches -- Romans, nouvelles, etc. pour la jeunesse.

JUVENILE FICTION / Recycling & Green Living.

JUVENILE FICTION / Lifestyles / Farm & Ranch Life.

JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Insects, Spiders, etc..

Climate -- Juvenile fiction.

Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc -- Juvenile fiction.

Beehives.

Climate -- Fiction.

Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc -- Fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Juvenile Fiction Book Hardback	120791003115194	J CAR	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Jane Addams Children's Book Award for Younger Children Finalist

Texas Bluebonnet Award List 2022-23

Facing a world dually altered by climate change and those who profit from it, Yolanda Cicerón will have to fight to save the last known beehive from extinction in this stirring new adventure by award-winning author Pablo Cartaya.

In a future shaken by climate disasters, Yolanda Cicerón knows that nature is something to be feared. While life in the Valley is brutal and harsh, Yoly dreams of leaving her farm to live in Silo--the most advanced town for miles around. But first, Yoly will need to prove she belongs in a place where only the smartest and most useful are welcomed.

Between her razor-sharp smarts and sheer determination, Yoly is well on her way until she discovers her family can no longer afford her schooling. When forced to take matters into her own hands, the closer she gets to securing her future, the more she uncovers the dangers lying inside Silo's walls--ones that threaten the entire Valley.

As she cracks long-guarded secrets, Yoly, along with those closest to her, is put in grave peril, and the only chance of surviving may lie in the rediscovery of a long-extinct species--the honeybee. Can the last surviving beehive be the key to pulling the Valley out from under Silo's thumb, or will they destroy what remains of Yoly's future?

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4--6--Cartaya's latest is his first that's not self-narrated. Popular, Spanish-fluent Garcia should be an ideal choice, but her polyglot advantage gets occasionally overshadowed by an overemotive performance. That said, veering toward high energy is the better default for Cartaya's fast-paced climate change--informed dystopic thriller. Twelve-year-old Yoly learns early "there's always a catch" to "free" money. Yoly's a techno-wiz but her older sister Cami is the one who understands reality. With their parents missing, the pair struggle to keep the family's strawberry fields alive. Hoping to escape their finca, Yoly furtively accepts a scholarship for training to someday become a neurolink surgeon in technologically advanced Silo. When Cami ferrets out the real cost, Yoly must divert her prowess not only to save herself, but the lives of everyone they know and love. VERDICT Bestselling Cartaya's girl-powered adventure will draw plenty of audience; multiple formats will enable wider reach.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Twelve-year-old Latinx Yolanda "Yoly" Cicerón has never known life without the System that connects everyone and everything around her. After climate disasters plunged the world into darkness, Silo--"the most connected and technologically advanced town in the Valley"--rose up as a beacon of hope, keeping people safe from nature's brutal forces. Yoly dreams of living there, among the brightest and most privileged minds, instead of on her family's struggling strawberry farm with her overbearing older sister. But her ambitions are jeopardized when money becomes too tight for Yoly to continue her Technologically Intuitive Education. Determined to enroll by any means possible, she accepts a scholarship from the mayor that hinges on attending a deadly scavenging program, then stumbles into a bee colony--and a dangerous conspiracy. Cartaya's quick-moving plot pairs well with Yoly's lively voice, highlighting themes of resistance, communal and ecological interdependence, and a shared responsibility to nature that's sure to leave readers buzzing. Ages 8--12. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media. (July)

Horn Book Review

Twelve-year-old Yolanda Ciceron dreams of escaping her rustic life for the technology-enhanced metropolis of Silo, but earning a spot in the city requires an intense education and a lot of money. Yoly is close to reaching her goal: after she completes one final course, she can apprentice under a top surgeon, become a doctor, and make sure that she and her older sister, Cami, never struggle financially again. When she learns that Cami does not have the money to pay for the course, Yoly is devastated. However, a well-known benefactor alerts her to a scholarship that would cover her tuition. Yoly jumps at the chance, but she neglects to read the fine print. In accepting the scholarship, she unknowingly agrees to pay off her debt through two years of hard labor in the blighted wasteland beyond Silo's walls. Desperately seeking freedom from the contract, Yoly and Cami begin a life-altering adventure. They uncover schemes of capitalistic greed, expose Silo's evils, and learn that connectivity is interpersonal, not just technological. Cartaya (Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish, rev. 9/18; Each Tiny Spark) has created a portrait of familial and communal love set against a backdrop of a world destroyed by climate change. Perfect for readers interested in dystopian literature and climate fiction, this is a stirring exploration of the connections between technology, nature, and humanity. S. R. Toliver July/August 2022 p.113(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

In a dystopian future ravaged by climate change, a 12-year-old tech genius must save her community from an evil government. Raised on her family's strawberry farm in the Valley, Yolanda Cicerón, who has Cuban roots, aspires to become a neurolink surgeon, install computer chips in human skulls, and live in Silo, the most developed city around. But Camila, Yoly's older sister and her guardian since their parents' exile, can't afford the tuition. After Yoly secretly accepts a scholarship from Silo's Mayor Blackburn to fund her studies--against Cami's explicit wishes--she realizes the scholarship's terms require her to go on Retreat, a life-threatening mission in territory plagued by extreme weather disasters. Terrified, Cami finally shares secret family history that explains her mistrust of the mayor. Yoly belatedly understands that the System that purportedly keeps everyone safe from nature is actually oppressive and is spying on them. Looking for a way to pay off the scholarship and avoid the Retreat, Yoly and Cami discover a honeybee colony on their farm and recognize that the bees can pollinate fields and thereby reduce people's dependence on Silo. But questioning and innovation are dangerous under an authoritarian regime, and when people dear to Yoly are taken away, she must fight to save them and bring down the whole corrupt System. Readers will root for Yoly, who is as kind and brave as she is smart, in this page-turning story that deals with all-too-relevant themes. An insightful, action-packed, and thought-provoking adventure. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Award-winning author Cartaya has written a thrilling sf story set in a world almost destroyed by the effects of climate change. Yolanda Cicerón always planned on leaving behind the family finca and working at Silos, the most technologically advanced city. When the farm cannot produce ripe strawberries to sell and her sister can no longer afford to pay for Yolanda's tuition, Mayor Blackburn offers to help--but with the mayor, everything comes at a price. Soon after, Yolanda reads through her grandmother's journal and discovers what is now the last-known beehive. These pollinating insects may be the key to freeing her from the grasp of Mayor Blackburn and uncovering the dark truth about Silos and the disappearance of her family. The Last Beekeeper raises powerful questions about a possible future if efforts of environmental preservation fail. A middle-grade dystopian story with well-written female characters and interesting world building, this appealing title teaches readers that one person can make all the difference in creating positive change.