The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell is a very dark and different novel about two distraught girls, Marnie, who is almost sixteen, and Nelly, who is twelve. Marnie tends to make bad decisions and the people who she spends her time around do not help her in any way. She is into selling drugs and other activities a sixteen year old should not be involved in. Nelly is quite the opposite, she plays violin and is seen as an outcast by most people because of her odd behavior. Together these girls find their parents dead but their reaction is not like a normal one, instead of crying and being upset, they are relieved that their neglectful parents are gone and decide to bury them in their backyard instead of going to the police. This book was very unusual but every part fit together almost perfectly. The characters stayed true to themselves for the most part and the storyline was on a direct path except for a few times when it seemed a little random. Overall, it was fairly easy to understand, there were no tough words that had to be looked up in the dictionary. It was however, written as if it were in Glasgow, Scotland therefore some of the words were different from the everyday English words that we use. At times it was confusing trying to tell apart some of their characters and what their purpose was to the story because they would come in, leave, and then come back again at a later time which made it difficult to keep up with the plot at times. As the story went on it became more clear and easier to understand. I found it hard to finish the book and found myself skimming because it seemed boring at times. It was also very dark and had many aspects that our society fears such as rape, violence, drugs, sex, and neglect. This book was not for me but is a good book for the right person.