About The Bee Tree by Kenneth Fenter Novel suitable for all ages Target audience, young adult The sequel to The Ruin begins a week after Cliff emerges from the Anasazi cliff dwelling with a sense of purpose and dignity to resume his place on the family farm. He resumes his duties on the family farm with a new sense of ownership and purpose. Cliff is approached by his former foe, Hector Rodriguez, who admits that he can't read. He blames part of his antagonism in the past on that and envy on Cliff's ability. He asks if Cliff will tutor him in exchange for Hector's help on the farm. After a year of solitude, Cliff is eager to make friends. He reaches out to a neighbor, Angelina Martinez, who has befriended him in the past. Their mutual interest in bees leads to the capture of a monster swarm from a bee tree. As they monitor the tree and prepare to capture the swarm, Angelina tells Cliff of her coming of Age ceremony, the Quince Años, and jokingly asks him to be her escort. He accepts in the spirit of the invitation. However, Cliff's father refuses to let him attend because it is a religious observance. In anger, Cliff returns to the cliff dwelling. While there, he is warned in a dream that Angelina is being stalked and is in danger. The stalker, Larry Harris, briefly introduced in The Ruin when Cliff is a child, has returned to Summit Ridge as a 22 year old. Spurned by Angelina's older sister as a teenager, suffering from bouts of mental disturbance from his Korean war experiences, he begins to obsess over Angelina. Cliff's newfound confidence, survival instincts, spiritual concepts and personal values are tested to the limit as he struggles to keep Angelina away from a man who intends to destroy them both. The Bee Tree explores turning negative relationships into positives, young adult exploration of spiritual values, and cross-cultural interactions.
About the Author: Kenneth Fenter lived on the farm in SW Colorado in the early 40s-50s, roamed the canyons of Summit Ridge, searched for bee trees and Indian Ruins where the novels The Ruin and its sequel The Bee Tree are set. He was bullied in grade school. As a high school language arts teacher for nearly 30 years, Fenter worked with students struggling with illiteracy, family issues such as dating, religion, bullying, cultural and mental illness- issues in both The Ruin and The Bee Tree. Although these novels are not autobiographical, he writes about what he knows best. Kenneth Fenter is the author of three non-fiction books: a series under the heading An American Family in Japan -Gaijin! Gaijin!, MoIchido: Once More, and Stained Glass. The Ruin and The Bee Tree are his first novels. All of his books deal with cross-cultural situations. Fenter is a retired high school language arts teacher who lives in Bend, Oregon with Lora his wife of 50 years as of 2011, and Jack Russell terrier Beau. Fenter divides his time writing, publishing and helping others aspiring to tell their stories.