Honeybees and Frenemies

Gr 4–7—It's the summer before eighth grade, and 12-year-old Flor faces much uncertainty and unease. Instead of the fun, relaxing summer she was imagining, Flor must deal with her best friend Brooke spending the summer away at Band Camp (and likely finding new besties), while she is stuck working at her family's mattress store dressed up as a giant mattress. To make matters worse, it's Honeydale's 50th annual Honey Festival, and all prior Queen Bees are expected to compete for this year's title. This pairs Flor with her arch enemy, Candice, who has despised her since Flor won the coveted title when they were in third grade. Candice and Flor are forced to work together to develop a talent for the show, while also performing community service for mysterious hermit Mr. Henry. Curmudgeonly Mr. Henry has the girls assist him with his plentiful, but ill, bee hives. Throughout the summer, Mr. Henry thaws, and Candice and Flor find they might just get past being frenemies and become real friends. Candice and Flor both want the prize-winning money for being Queen Bee, even if it means learning all about bees and having Flor wear a "bee beard" for their talent. If they win, Flor might just convince her parents to stay in Honeydale, rather than moving away to New Jersey and abandoning their suffering mattress business. Wientge has created spirted, realistic characters that readers will root for and identify with. Each chapter begins with a fascinating random bee fact.