The Hive by Melissa Scholes Young

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Title: The Hive 
Author: Melissa Scholes Young
Release Date: 6.8.21
Publisher: Keylight

Publisher's Summary
A story of survival, sisters, and secrets.

The Fehler sisters wanted to be more than bug girls but growing up in a fourth-generation family pest control business in rural Missouri, their path was fixed. The family talked about Fehler Family Exterminating at every meal, even when their mom said to separate the business from the family, an impossible task. They tried to escape work with trips to their trailer camp on the Mississippi River, but the sisters did more fighting than fishing. If only there was a son to lead rural Missouri insect control and guide the way through a crumbling patriarchy.

After Robbie Fehler’s sudden death, the surprising details of succession in his will are revealed. He’s left the company to a distant cousin, assuming the women of the family aren’t capable. As the mother’s long-term affair surfaces and her apocalypse prepper training intensifies, she wants to trade responsibility for romance.

Facing an economic recession amidst the backdrop of growing Midwestern fear and resentment, the Fehler sisters unite in their struggle to save the company’s finances and the family’s future. To survive, they must overcome a political chasm that threatens a new civil war as the values that once united them now divide the very foundation they’ve built. Through alternating point-of-views, grief and regret gracefully give way to the enduring strength of the hive.


My Review

I was drawn to this novel because it's not often I see the phrase "crumbling patriarchy" in a summary. I was also intrigued with the story's location: rural Missouri, near Hannibal, which is the halfway point between where my mother and my father live. I'm familiar with this geographic area and I'm familiar with the way of life that author Melissa Scholes Young depicts in this story. The Fehler parents, Robbie and Grace, are Catholic Republicans running a business in a small town and raising four daughters. Maggie loves the pest control business and wants to bring their services up to date so the business can survive into the future. Jules wants nothing to do with the business or her family's political ideals. Kate is the people pleaser who doesn't want to cause any disruption, most notably not wanting her family to know about her sexuality. Tammy's teen pregnancy broke my heart. While it was supposed to show strength, it just gutted me because I know firsthand how hard that is and I saw so many other young women experience it in my rural communities. The chapters of this novel rotate through the female characters but Robbie's imprint is heavy. The women are facing financial ruin after his death and they won't be able to hang onto the business much longer. In their grief they each must decide on their own paths and figure out how to move forward as a family. If you like feminist fiction and/or character driven novels about families, I highly recommend this book.