Big Bad Bee is the personality of Blake when she has the confidence to take on anyone, when her girlfriend seems to be the most proud, and when she is hammered from consuming copious amounts of alcohol. The summer before college, Big Bad Bee is out to prove who she is to everyone, including members of the secretive and illustrious Serena Society, a tight knit group of women of color who attend Jameswell College, where Blake will begin school in the fall. Over the summer, pledges get to compete for the final invitation to the group but Blake’s lack of real confidence in herself is her downfall. She wants to be in the society because her two best friends are also pledging and are likely to get in but her family doesn’t have money or mothers who are also members. Drinking to loosen up and have fun with the “right” people quickly becomes the defense mechanism for Blake to maintain her cool. When one of her best friends expresses concern but Blake’s longtime girlfriend continues to encourage Big Bad Bee, Blake is caught between who she is and who she thinks she wants to be. This reader was triggered by Blake’s actions because of the tension between the poor choices due to alcohol consumption and the desire for Blake to be smarter. It wraps up better than I had predicted and will be one that should be checked out on the regular from our high school library.