Everything that is being said about this book is true: it’s heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. It’s haunting yet leaves you loving the character of Little Bee. It’s a story of two women—Nigerian born Little Bee, and Londoner Sarah--who meet totally by coincidence, and whose lives circle back to each other several years later with profound consequences.

Little Bee is a totally engaging character—her strength and determination, her struggle to stay alive, to tell the truth, to create a life with meaning, to confront what life has dealt her—all these things made me care deeply about her and to worry about her at every turn. Through this 16-year-old orphan we learn the realities of immigration detention centers, deportation, and asylum seeking. At the same time, we learn about human compassion and the ways in which family (or strangers bound by mutual experience) save us from our deepest fears.

I’m recommending Little Bee because it is storytelling at its best. There are shockingly sad moments; I feel I must put that caution out there. But this is by no means reason to avoid the book. Within these pages is a story that makes us each more compassionate and informed about the world experience. To miss out on knowing Little Bee would be a big mistake. ~Wendee