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Bee

by Emily Short profile

About the Story

The story of a home-schooled girl preparing to compete in the national spelling bee, dealing with various small crises with family and friends, and gradually coming to terms with the clash of subcultures involved in belonging to a family like hers.

Page Update History

v.22: 28-Jan-2024 02:21 - JTN (Current Version) - Edit Page - Normal View
Changed development system, description
v.21: 06-Sep-2022 09:14 - David Kinder
Changed download links
v.20: 04-Sep-2022 11:47 - Emily Short
Changed version number, license type
v.19: 04-Sep-2022 11:46 - Emily Short
Changed download links
v.18: 04-Sep-2022 11:45 - Emily Short
Changed download links
v.17: 04-Sep-2022 11:45 - Emily Short
Changed download links
v.16: 04-Apr-2021 15:44 - MathBrush
Changed external review links
v.15: 04-Apr-2021 15:43 - MathBrush
Changed external review links
v.14: 03-Oct-2020 07:59 - Nomad
Changed development system
v.13: 31-Jan-2016 12:17 - blue/green
Changed download links
v.12: 31-Jan-2016 11:41 - blue/green
Changed Web site URL, download links, external review links
v.11: 20-Jan-2016 12:11 - blue/green
Changed download links
v.10: 20-Jan-2016 12:09 - blue/green
Changed download links
v.9: 12-Jan-2016 19:22 - blue/green
Changed Web site URL, download links
v.8: 04-Mar-2014 07:16 - Emily Short
Changed external review links
v.7: 23-Jun-2013 19:02 - Emily Short
Changed external review links
v.6: 15-Jun-2013 21:13 - Emily Short
Changed external review links
v.5: 04-Jun-2013 16:25 - Emily Short
Changed external review links
  v.4: 17-Feb-2013 07:00 - Edward Lacey
Changed external review links
v.3: 24-Jul-2012 02:38 - Emily Short
Changed external review links
v.2: 16-Jul-2012 12:02 - Emily Short
Changed external review links
v.1: 05-Jun-2012 07:52 - Emily Short
Created page

3 Off-Site Reviews

Scatmania
What�s so inspirational about this story is the compelling realism from the characters. Initially, I found it somewhat difficult to relate to them: I know next to nothing about the US education system, don�t �get� spelling bees (apparently they�re a big thing over there), and certainly can�t put myself in the position of a home-schooled American girl with a super-religious family background! But before long, I was starting to really feel for the character and beginning to see how her life fit together.
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Games That Exist
Parsing Interaction in Emily Short's Bee
Bee is engrossing because it never resorts to explicit, over-the-top, �beady-eyed religious fundamentalist� characterizations. The weirdness of the narrator�s environment reveals itself with subtlety. The characters� religious fundamentalism is a matter-of-fact, even endearing, part of their complex personalities, preventing them from being reduced to one-note caricatures. The parents are devout, controlling and paranoid, but never cruel. The annoying but beloved younger sister is allowed, if not always encouraged, to be strange and to draw strange things.
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PC Gamer
A great example of how interactive fiction can work without a big dramatic concept ...
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Game Details