Tell a Tale: Little Bee

You know how sometimes great things come in small packages?

Well, this book one of those~

“A scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived.”
― Chris Cleave, Little Bee

Summary (from Amazon):
Sarah Summers is enjoying a holiday on a Nigerian beach when a young girl named Little Bee crashes irrevocably into her life. All it takes is a brief and horrifying moment of crisis — a terrifying scene that no reader will forget. Afterwards, Sarah and Little Bee might expect never to see each other again. But Little Bee finds Sarah’s husband’s wallet in the sand, and smuggles herself on board a cargo vessel with his address in mind. She spends two years in detention in England before making her way to Sarah’s house, with what will prove to be devastating timing.

Chapter by chapter, alternating between Little Bee’s voice and Sarah’s, Chris Cleave wholly and caringly portrays two very different women trying to cope with events they’d never imagined. Little Bee is experiencing all the fullness and emptiness of the rich world for the first time, and her observations are hopeful, charming and piercing: “Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl,” she says: “Everyone would be pleased to see me coming.”

Sarah is more cynical and disheartened, a successful magazine editor trying to find meaning in the face of turmoil at home and work. As the story develops, however, we learn about what matters most to her, including her fierce, protective love for her funny little son. Sarah is trying to find herself as much as Little Bee is — and, unexpectedly, each character discovers a ray of hope in the other.

Review:
Simply an absolute must read. There are parts that will tear your heart out and make you cry but there are other parts that will remind you that there is goodness out there in the world. This would've been a challenging book to write in so many ways but the author creates clearly distinct voices for all the characters involved. You won't like everyone in the book, but you will fall in love with Little Bee.

This is not an easy read.  It's very emotional and deals with some very serious issues.  But, it's beautifully written and when you get to the end, you'll be proud to put this on your bookshelf.

                         

Have you read this book or any other Chris Cleave books?  Would you judge book by its cover?  This book has two different covers, which one would you pick up?