The Bumblebee Flies Anyway is the fourth of six novels for young adults written by Robert Cormier. The latest novel, entitled Fade, explores the absence of an uncle from a family portrait.

Dealing with three generations of a single family, the novel reflects Cormier's abiding interest in family life.

All five novels before Fade occur in or around institutions: Trinity High School in The Chocolate War and its sequel Beyond the Chocolate War, a mental institution in I Am the Cheese, a military complex in After the First Death, and an experimental hospital for the terminally ill in The Bumblebee Flies Anyway.

In addition to the institutional settings, these five novels all involve a teenage protagonist trying to make sense out of life in an environment that is either negative or downright hostile. Each novel also explores variations on the theme of betrayal. Although some of...