Sarah Crossan is not a new author to me. I’ve spent many hours transfixed within her YA verse novels and highly recommend them to all my high school students. I was eager to read ‘Here is the Beehive’, her first adult novel, and had high expectations, especially as her YA novels all more than hold their own for adult readers also.

‘Here is the Beehive’ tells the story of Ana, who learns that Connor, her lover, has died suddenly. It’s complicated. When they first meet, both Ana and Connor are already married. As readers, we are taken on a journey with Ana through her grief and the impact this has, not only on her, but on those around her. The story shifts effortlessly between life before and after the affair and with her characteristically sparing, but oh so powerful, prose, Crossan’s sentences pull you right into their orbit and illuminate the complex emotional lives of her characters.

Whilst Ana as a protagonist, and the relationship she chooses with Connor, may not instinctively garner much sympathy (at times I did want to shake her!), the story left me heartbroken for her, being cast adrift in an ocean of grief that could only ever remain unacknowledged.

Reading this book gave me ‘all the feels’ and I highly recommend you read it too. It is published by Bloomsbury and is expected out on 20th August 2020.

In the meantime, make sure you read all of Sarah Crossan’s YA novels!

Thanks to @Netgalley for my advance digital copy of #hereisthebeehive

Ana and Connor have been having an affair for three years but suddenly, one day he is gone. Ana must grieve for the relationship in secret, reach some kind resolution with Connor’s wife, and find a way to move on with her own life.

First person narration can sound glib or melodramatic, but Sarah Crossan’s signature style, poetic fragments of thought and memory, is incredibly intimate and authentic, particularly as Ana addresses her thoughts to ‘you’—Connor. Ana’s affair has forced her to keep secrets and compartmentalise her life, and this allows the reader to make assumptions about her and be blindsided by new information as she gradually allows it into her conscious thoughts.

From a situation that seems sordid and depressing, and a protagonist who doesn’t evoke much sympathy, Sarah Crossan distils pure pain in a cathartic, lyrical process that is somehow life-affirming and redemptive, as well as devastating. Exquisitely done.

Ana and Connor have been having an affair for three years and now comes the fallout.
Here is The Beehive presents a much- told tale almost as a painting, where the more you observe the canvas, the more you learn about it, but without judgement. Ana’s anger and frustration screams from the pages as she searches for a solution that isn’t there. And then there is nothing.
Here is The Beehive is compulsive reading with its unusual structure and passionate language.

I loved this book! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with short and snappy sentences like this, I loved how I finished it so quickly but still felt like I’d read a full novel.

I was excited to receive an advanced reader’s copy of Sarah Crossan’s first adult fiction from @bloomsburypublishing over at #netgalley. Her YA novel, Moonrise, was one of the first to get me into novels in verse and led me to many gems like Jasmine Warga’s and Kwame Alexander’s.
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#HereistheBeehive is narrated by a married mom of two lawyer, Ana Kelly, whose lover just died. And she talks about how she pines for him and how mad she is that she wasn’t given a chance to say goodbye. The timeline is fragmented and choppy as it goes back and forth between her younger years and her years with her lover.
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My initial reaction is unease, fearing this book will do nothing but romanticise cheating. But Crossan adds nuance by depicting how soul-destroying it can be to love someone and have to remain invisible, the extreme jealousy and insecurity it brings up in the people involved. And she also makes the protagonist utterly unlikeable as a person inside or outside the affair, so that helps dispel the romance too.
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Overall, a bizarre premise to enjoy, but Crossan is an automatic-buy YA author for me and I thought her first adult fiction was great, although I probably would not have went back for more had this been my first novel from her. That said, it’s still a worthy read because at the end of the day, whatever the circumstances, the raw sadness behind losing someone is a universal emotion. And Crosson does a great job humanising Ana without romanticising her deeds. Swipe for some extracts to see a piece of her writing and also a demonstration of how unlikeable Ana can be! 😅 Out in August 2020!
(Originally posted on @perusedpages)

I requested this book because I know the author is rated highly for her YA verse novels and I was intrigued; it's not as popular a form adult fiction as YA. I found it breathtakingly good. It is quite simply one of the best books I've read all year. It really got me in my guts and read like a thriller even though it was really about the narrator's unravelling from secret grief. The intimacy that Crossan was able to capture was astonishing - I felt like a voyeur at times - and I felt unsure whether I should be rooting for Ana or not. No easy answers. Lots to think about. This would be a great choice for a reading group and I'll be buying it for all my friends.

This is such a beautiful novel. Haunting and elegiac it is a work of art. I found myself reading aloud sometimes as the poetry of it really begs to be 'performed'. I really hope to see this on the A Level syllabus by the time my 10 year old reaches that stage!
I was once the other woman. I was much younger than Ana, and not married myself but so much of what Ana felt and said seemed to be taken directly from my own experience. I wonder if Sarah Crossan has ever experienced it herself as if she hasn't then she is incredibly insightful and well researched. I identified with Ana and was completely on her side until I, and Ana, remembered her children. I found it incredibly hard to stomach that a mother could spent so much time in hotel rooms and on weekend breaks when she had two young children at home. Crossan really pushes us to confront our own feelings about adultery and how motherhood is affected by that. My only slight niggle with the plot is that we didn't really get to know Paul so it was easy to discard his feelings and see things purely from Ana's view point. Could this have been deliberate?
Ana's growing... what? Friendship? with Rebecca was one of those read it through the gaps between your fingers while cringing and trying not to look. It was gloriously uncomfortable and like the rest of the novel there wasn't a single word wasted or out of place.
The final paragraphs made me gasp and want to read more. Crossan is very wise to have ended it there as it leaves so much to imagine and Ana is still firmly in my mind.
I really hope that this book is the first of many adult novels that she writes. Rating this book out of 5 just seems too stingy, this really is in a class of its own.

How does she get so much emotion into so few words? Sarah Crossan is a miracle worker. I'm a huge fan of her YA books but this proves she can move into an adult sphere too. Utterly original, meaningful, and accomplished.

3 Stars:

Here is the Beehive is a novel written in prose about Ana, a married woman mourning the loss of her married lover, Connor. They had been having an affair for a few years, and after his sudden death she is left with the burden of their secret.

I was worried the novel would romanticise cheating, but Crossan explores the nature of their affair with such careful nuance, delving into the toxicity of their relationship and the ways it destroyed not just their families, but the two participants themselves. To my surprise, Crossan actually made me sympathise with Ana, even if her actions were extremely morally dubious at times. Crossan's latest novel deals with themes like depression and anxiety, and I appreciate the honesty with which she writes.

Unfortunately, however, I personally couldn't adapt to her writing style. The line breaks often distracted me, pulling me away from the story. I'd definitely say this book is for people who are huge fans of poets like Nikita Gil, or Rupi Kaur, as they have quite similar styles of writing. However, I don't think Crossan's style of verse was entirely for me.

Still, it was a very addicting novel and I read it in entirely one sitting. Thank you to Sarah Crossan, Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of Here is the Beehive.

Interesting...but not a book.

The format of this story is very strange, much more like a poem than a story. Stilettos is obviously intentional and undeniably creative, I feel as though the story could have been fleshed out more. This reads more like a (very good) first draft, with all the salient facts in place but no real detail added. The characters have very little depth, there is no description of the setting it circumstances , just the thin thread of the narrative joining the very short scenes together. Whilst the premise of the story is very good and intriguing, I feel like the format let's it down. I am glad I read it, but wouldn't intentionally try something of this style again.

I am honestly not sure how I feel about this book! It is a story of grief (I think) , told from a single person viewpoint. It begins with a serious of questions and musings and the characters thoughts. It was written in clipped verse which I found difficult at first but soon came accustomed to. I found the main character quite dislikable to be honest though.
It usually takes me a few weeks to read a book but I started this on a Friday and finished it by Wednesday just reading at bedtime. I'm not sure if it that was because it is short or because I was enjoying it! It's different to anything I have read before and I would probably read something else from this author so I think I liked it!

I loved this. As with 'One', the clipped verse narrative took me a while to settle into - some lines are so lyrical that the more prose-like lines can seem jarring by comparison - but once I found my reading rhythm I was completely won over. A masterful exploration of grief and extra-marital obsession, beautifully told.

I read this book in one sitting - I could not put it down but I also could not decide whether or not I enjoyed it. It is the story of two individuals - Connor and Ana - and their love affair over a 3 year period. You learn of their background story gradually through the book and of their obsessive relationship and it’s implications for their other families. Connor dies suddenly and both women have to come to terms with their individual losses and learn to move on.

A hard story to read - very emotional and raw.

I read this yesterday evening, in one sitting, and was utterly gripped.
If, like me, you’ve not read anything by Crossan before you are in for a treat. Her writing style is almost poetic. The book is written in verse, with each line - each word - carefully chosen and deliberate.

The story follows Ana, who discovers that the man she has been having an affair with, Connor, has died. Thrown into a silent grief, the secrecy of their relationship means she has no one to comfort her and many emotions to battle with.

There is so much here that warrants space in this review, and I would be here a long time if I were to try to do it justice.

I loved the metaphor of the beehive and the bees as a comment on Ana’s relationship with Connor and her family, as well as her emotional state.
“Here is the beehive, where are the bees, hidden away where nobody sees”
Having spotted the sporadic reference to Anna Karenina throughout the novel (another book I love) I looked into how Tolstoy also explored relationships and emotions through nature - including bees. The link there is pleasing and echoes my thoughts of how Crossan has expertly crafted the novel and has woven in elements with great care and thought.

The subject of infidelity is dealt with in a way that doesn’t condone it, but shows the true cost of affairs and how the ripple affect can shatter lives and relationships, with the smallest hint at redemption at the end.
So a full five stars from me. I’m only sad that I don’t have a hardcopy to keep, so I’ll have to go and buy it on my next bookshop visit

I quite enjoyed this book and I really like the author’s writing style. I liked the way important details were gradually revealed as the plot progressed but I didn’t find the main character likeable and the more we found out about her the less sympathetic I felt towards her. Sarah’s books for children and young adults are very popular in my school but this book is definitely for adults (and marketed as such) so I won’t be stocking it. Still fairly enjoyable quick read.

I have never read this style of book before but i really enjoyed it. There were times when i was a little confused about who Ana was talking about but once i got into it, i got the hang of the style of writing and would recommend it.

* spoiler alert ** A short book,that never the less packs a punch.
Ana had my sympathies at the beginning,grieving for a man she's been having an affair with for three years,but not able to show it.
As the book goes on,and we get to know her situation more,it lessened.
Her behaviour becomes quite alarming and I just started to dislike her.
I very much enjoyed the writing style. Short punchy sentences,they draw you in for just a few more every time.
Definitely a one sitting read.

I was drawn to this book for its beautiful cover & title. But I'm afraid, although I finished the book I'm not sure I enjoyed it. I struggled with the style of writing - the short, clipped sentences. The flitting from time to time and person to person. It felt like a very short book and in my opinion had a very quick, sudden ending.

Written in Crossan’s signature style, this book will feel like a return to the intriguing format that this author is renowned for. Whilst her young adult novels tackle difficult topics, this one has a different feel however. It is colder. Harder to like the protagonist. More distant. I struggled to connect with it in the same way as a result, but am also conscious that this will have been a conscious decision to make for a book aimed at a more sophisticated reader. For me, it lost a little of the usual sparkle - the thing that will keep me reading in one sitting, and crying when it ends. But I’m still glad I read it because the interesting narrative styling is always something I will gravitate towards when Crossan releases a new book.

I really thought I was going to struggle with this book. I’m not sure why. I think the style was putting me off. However I’m really glad that I picked it up ahead of schedule and read it within a day…it was THAT good!

So let’s talk about that style. It’s something else. It’s a book of prose…but it’s also not. I switched to reading the verses in normal paragraphs for a bit and my brain adapted well…it still worked… However at the same time, it worked better in verse. Do not let this style put you off reading the book, because it’s beautiful and it flows just as well as anything else would.

it happened,
again and again
and
again and again and again.

Together
apart.
In love
in aching.

Tangled
unravelling.

This is Sarah Crossan’s first adventure into Adult writing – rather than her usual Young Adult. I’d never read any of her books before so can’t compare her genres – however I will definitely look to read more of her work.