Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

136 reviews

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

One evening Olivia gets a phone call that no mother wants to get, her son, Asher, is being questioned for the sudden death of his girlfriend Lily. He is adamant that he is innocent. 

This is such a beautiful story. As we flip between Olivia and Lily's POVs shocking secrets are revealed. Olivia is torn between believing her son and her fear that he could be like his father. We see how her own baggage and ignorance influences how she sees the world and her son's trial.

We follow Lily as she struggles to navigate not only her new relationship but her own identity and secrets. She has had extensive trauma and struggles to trust people.

She is nervous to let Asher know her true self but, as we see in the flashbacks, he is actually able to handle it with maturity. He shows a deep love for Lily.

There were some twists in this book that shocked me, in a good way. I love the direction this book took. This is such a heavy topic that was approached with incredible sensitivity and care. 

My only qualm is the ending,

I felt that it was rushed and that Maya's confession came out of nowhere. There was no real indication of her jealousy throughout this book. It was shocking the she allowed her "best friend* to go through the trial knowing he was innocent and when she finally confesses there are no consequences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia and Pregnancy

finnmiles's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.75

A beautifully written book with so much you can learn from it. The story telling was astounding and the education given about trans and nonbinary people is unlike another book I've read. It wraps love, grief, suspense, hope, loss, and learning all in one wonderful package. I would recommend this book to just about anyone I would meet. Be sure to take a look at content warnings as well. The book deals with many heavy topics, including but not limited to transphobia and domestic abuse. 

As soon as I learned Lily was trans, everything she had went through made so much sense to me. Reading this as a nonbinary person was so life changing in a way. Seeing the way trans people are spoken about and the education this book brings is something everyone needs to witness. I love Lily, I love the fight she put up to win her life back, and I will always think of her.

The biggest thank you to Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan for this collaboration. The world needs more humans like you and books like Mad Honey in it. I will absolutely be buying my own copy of it. <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, Sexual content, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

wackly93's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Dysphoria

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Deadnaming and Pregnancy

licalee73's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I love everything about this book.  The characters and the story.  Beautiful and devastating.  Eye opening and informative.  Like a typical Jodi Picoult book, chapters have two different points of view and story lines that are written perfectly.  I highly recommend.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

rhireadz12's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Grief, and Suicide attempt

aleighc's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Murder

hschlecht's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

bookishboujeeandbossbabe's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is an absolutely heartbreaking story told in dual POVs of Lily and Olivia. Lily is a young woman facing many of the same issues we all did growing up, but her life is cut short when she is murdered. Through her POV, you get to learn about her life - about how strong and brave she was. 

Olivia is still healing from a life she left behind, full of abuse from her ex-husband. Her own past and pain clouds her judgment when her son is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Lily. Her desire to protect her son, like she did during the height of her own abuse; but she struggles to separate in her head her son and the pain of her own past. 

This book was a mix of my favorite things - mystery, dual POVs, and courtroom scenes that felt so real. The characters were so well done, and the way they unravel the story about both women was captivating. 

I’ve seen quite a few negative reviews about the fact that one of the character was a trans woman, and that they felt it was ‘glorification’ of early transition. Why should a transgender character need to be listed as a trigger warning? I’m hoping the more stories we have about the trans community help to educate those that still don’t understand that they’re people looking for validation to be who they truly are- just like the rest of us. We all seek validation in some shape or form. 

You don’t have to agree with me, but I do ask that you be respectful of the fact that my page is a safe space for anyone that needs it. Hate has no place here.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Eating disorder, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

bwill214's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Outing