Book Review: The Hive

By: Travis Naughton

Seldom does one encounter a book set in the Midwest that depicts its people as anything more than the hackneyed stereotypes that live in the imaginations of residents of the east and west coasts. In her new novel, The Hive, Melissa Scholes Young paints an honest and stunningly beautiful portrait of life in rural America that readers from all walks of life will appreciate. The Hive is a story about the Fehler family of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, ostensibly led by patriarch Robbie, owner of a fourth-generation, family-owned, pest control business, husband of doomsday-prepper Grace, and father of four daughters who must balance their desire for independence with their loyalty to their adoring, yet chauvinistic, dad. As any beekeeper knows, a hive is not a patriarchy, and neither is the Fehler family. While Grace is the Queen Bee of The Hive, daughter Maggie yearns to prove to her father that she is ready to take over the family business, favoring innovation over the status quo that has landed the family in dire financial straits.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal