The Danger of Small Things
Caryl Lewis
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published March 24, 2026
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About The Danger of Small Things
Set in a world where bees are at risk of extinction, this startling YA dystopian is perfect for fans of Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now and Sarah Crossan, described by the author as a love letter to her daughter.
Imagine a world where honeybees have died out. It’s a patriarchal world where famines are rife. It’s a world without art, without books, without plays. Girls are sent away from home, forced to pollinate crops by hand with brushes and to marry as soon as they can. Inhabiting this world is Jess and her friends Cass, Deva, and Ruth. But even if one fourteen‑year‑old knows that brushes weren’t invented for pollinating, can she really stoke a revolution?
Caryl Lewis: ‘As a beekeeper, I am acutely aware of the interconnectedness of everything and have long been frightened of how we, as humans, set ourselves apart from nature. We do not seem to understand that in destroying nature, we destroy ourselves. My daughter is growing up in what feels like a much more hostile environment facing climate instability, the rise of misogyny and the roll back of women’s bodily rights. I wanted to comfort and empower her and let her see that our greatest weapon in a floundering world is the imagination.’
My Review
I’m really fascinated by the fact that the author is herself a beekeeper, and that her experience inspired the story. Certainly, exploring the extinction of bees and its impact on global food supply is a timely one. In this story, Lewis connects this with a society that uses the food shortage to create a government system that uses its girls and women as labor before pressuring them into a life of raising the next generation of laborers.
Some elements of the story left me wanting more information about the larger world beyond the town where Jess lived. Where did the leaders go when they left the village? Who did they trade with?
I was a bit worried about Jess’s relationship with the guard. I think she was supposed to be thirteen or fourteen, and he was seventeen or eighteen. Nothing romantic happens between the two of them, though, and it doesn’t seem like Jess thinks of him in that way.
All in all, I think the concept of this book is very relevant. I could see readers who enjoy dystopian fiction liking this one a lot.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
References to kissing. Vague references to sexual abuse. (Not shown on the page.)
Spiritual Content
None.
Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to riots and political unrest. Some instances of homophobia.
Drug Content
None.
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