Bee (Beatrice) isn’t too happy that her father’s new girlfriend Jazzi is spending so much time with them. Bee talks back to Jazzi and insists to her father that they have their own father/daughter time together. It’s not until Bee goes with Jazzi to visit Harley, Jazzi’s mentally disabled brother and until now a secret, that Bee begins to slowly accept her. Lib notes: There is a scene where Bee walks into her father’s bedroom and Jazzi screams and pulls up the sheets, plus the scenes where Bee is disgusted by the affection and kissing. But nothing graphic. Some may object to Jazzi sleeping over. ( )

Bateson, Catherine. (2006). Being Bee. United States: Holiday House.

Bee doesn't like Jazzi, her dad's new girlfriend. Although Bee's mom passed away many years ago, Bee doesn't understand why her dad would want to date any one else. Why can't it just be Bee and her dad? After spending time with Jazzi and sharing certain secrets, Bee starts to realize that maybe Jazzi is not as bad as she first believed. Jazzi even lets Bee meet her brother Harley, who is mentally handicapped. Bee thinks this is very special that Jazzi allows her to meet Harley, but (because of her age) she also doesn't seem what is so wrong with Harely and why Jazzi hides him. Bee also starts receiving secret notes from her beloved guinea pigs, which she enjoys very much. She thinks it is her dad who is writing the notes, but she comes to find out that it is someone else.

I found the characters in this book very realistic. The character of Bee was very endearing and relatable because she is a young girl who is trying to understand adult relationships. She is also trying to deal with another woman moving into her father's life. This novel was so realistic that it was hard for me to imagine what types of readers it would appeal to - young readers who have had to deal with new parent figures in their lives may relate to the story. ( )

While this story is set in Australia by an Australian author, it is not rooted in place - Bee's difficulty adjusting to her father's new romantic partner could be sympathetic to any reader. Bee and Jazzi's struggle to get along for the sake of Bee's dad changes when Jazzi has to tell Bee a secret.
The characters in this story, especially Bee and Jazzi are easy to like, you can see how hard they try, and exactly how they'd rub each other the wrong way. The conflicts aren't silly - when Jazzi accidentally throws out Bee's box of mementoes it is a truly awful thing, and you can feel Bee's heart breaking. The resolution at the end is stronger because it isn't pat - the characters really have to work hard to build a new family.
I would recommend this because it doesn't trivialise the changes that occur when forming a step family, and because the characters are very real. There are lovely moments of humour, like the letters to and from the hamsters, that ease the tension, and keep the story enjoyable. ( )

Lovely, moving story set in the Dandenongs. Bee and her father ( and the two Guinea Pigs Lulu & Fifi) have coped after her mother's death by themselves until Jazzi comes into their lives. Bee is upset at first at the prospect of having a stepmother ( she is taunted by her friends at school) but when Jasmine lets her in on a secret ( a secret even her Dad doesn't know) things start to change. Sometimes funny, sometimes gut-wrenching ; a lovely story about adults and children.
p.12-17 "Teething problems" Bee is told by her friends she is eccentric and then her Nan tells Bee to grow up. ( )