What are you reading? "Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan"

Noelia's contribution 

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Amazon

I would definitely recommend Mad Honey. It begins as a teenage love story between Lily and Asher, but it becomes much darker when Lily suddenly dies in what seems like an accident. Asher is quickly blamed for her death; at this point, the story explores important topics like motherhood, domestic abuse, friendship, sexuality, and identity.

What I liked most about the book is the way the story is told. It’s written in the first person from two points of view: Lily’s and Olivia’s, Asher’s mother. Each shares a version of events, slowly revealing new details and showing how the same moments can look very different. I thought this dual perspective worked really well because it kept me questioning what I believed.

The trial is one of the most interesting parts of the novel. It is really well written, feels perfectly researched, and it adds a lot of tension to the story. Through the trial, the author explores some of the most complex issues, such as nurture, identity and family violence.

However, the book is not perfect. There are some parts which are boring and, at times, unnecessary, as I see it. For example, there are long passages about Olivia’s work as a beekeeper. Personally, I don’t find this information particularly interesting, and I felt that it sometimes slowed the story down without adding much to the main plot.

Although some parts of the story are quite predictable, the novel still manages to surprise you. Some astute plot twists completely caught me off guard. I genuinely didn’t see them coming, and they were definitely some of my favourite reading junctures.

Overall, Mad Honey is a fascinating and thought-provoking read. Despite some slow and predictable points, its strong characters, multiple perspectives, and all the topics I mentioned at the beginning of the review make it well worth reading.

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Amazon

Jodi Picoult is an American bestselling author known for her thought-provoking novels, which often explore complex moral, social, and ethical issues. Born in 1966 in Long Island, New York, she studied creative writing at Princeton University before beginning her writing career. She has published more than twenty novels, many of which have become international bestsellers and have been adapted for film and television. Her works frequently focus on family relationships, justice, identity, and difficult moral dilemmas.

Wikipedia

Jennifer Finney Boylan is an American author, professor, and LGBTQ+ activist. Born in 1958 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, she is best known for her memoir She's Not There, which explores her experience of gender transition and became one of the first books by a transgender American author to reach a wide mainstream audience. She has also written several novels and nonfiction works and has been an active advocate for transgender rights and equality.