We Were the Cuckoo Bees

by R.B. Shifman

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2026

About the author

R.B. Shifman (he/him) is an author of young adult novels and horror short stories, the latter written as Richard Shifman. R.B.’s coming-of-age young adult novel, PAPER AIRPLANE, BROKEN BONES, was named a FINALIST for the 2025 Somerset Book Award for Literary & Contemporary Fiction; the story is set in Fort Lauderdale in the 1980s and inspired by his experience with a progenitor of today’s Troubled Teen Industry. R.B.’s anti-fascist, YA dystopian novel, WE WERE THE CUCKOO BEES, was released in February 2026. His YA Contemporary novel, TAKING BACK AUGUST, will be released on June 23, 2026 (pre-orders soon). R.B. is a market research contractor by day and lives near Doylestown, Pennsylvania with his wife, who is also his partner in teaching ESL.

The SAVAGE SPELLS trilogy has been discontinued and is not currently available.

Reviews

[Jeanine Waldron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of this to review. This book is startling relevant as many people who work in libraries and education deal with these issues constantly. This book is dystopian , but yet is eerily real as we watch daily attacks on the free press, historical facts, and our citizens. I literally couldn't put it down.