Mad Honey, by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It’s complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25 Stars

Is there a difference between what is private and what is secret? When you are in love, at what point do you share details about your past that you have kept private? To what lengths will a mother go to keep her child safe? Hot Honey explores these questions through a two voice perspective.

One of the voices is Lily’s, a teenage girl who is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. And her story is told on a backwards timeline from her death. The other voice is Olivia, the mother of Lily’s boyfriend who is accused of killing Lily. Olivia tells her story moving through the trial of her son with flashbacks of her own life. Both Olivia and Lily have pasts they have kept private. Both have endured the harm of toxic masculinity.

Lily’s death broke my heart and I kept wanting to see a different story written for her that showed her vitality and spirit living into a future beyond being a teenager.

This is a book that deals with domestic abuse, transphobia, and suicide – it would be helpful to include resources for further understanding and responding. One of the things I appreciate is Jodi Picoult’s research that connects with parts of the story. In this case beekeeping (make sure to read to the end for the yummy recipes!). There is a transgender storyline that offers education primarily through one of the characters who works in the town. This is important education! “If you’ve met one trans person . . . you’ve met one trans person.” And at times, it felt a little heavy-handed and less integrated into the story. But again worthwhile for the insight it offers. I was a little underwhelmed with the final twist at the end but overall the book and the story were well done. I read this in a couple of days and felt attached to all of the characters. 

I was excited to receive the ARC of Mad Honey since I really enjoy Jodi Picoult’s books. And it wasn’t until I finished that I realized that the two voices in the book were each written by different authors – Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. They did a great job.

#MadHoney #NetGalley