Scan barcode
hannahrogers's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit
courtnoodles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, and Misogyny
nytephoenyx's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Honey Girl spoke to me deep inside, where it hurts. I can’t begin to understand the occupational struggle, daily microagressions, or parental-induced trauma Grace deals with on a daily basis because my life is so much different than hers. Her feelings, though? I get it.
At first glance, Grace Porter seems like she has everything together. She has a PhD, she has a supportive group of friends, and she has A Plan. Honey Girl reminds us that our expectations and the reality of this world will never line up, and it is twice as hard for women of color. Four times as hard for gay women of color. Grace feels like she’s letting down everybody around her and she’s mad because things aren’t working out the way they are supposed to. In most ways, this is out of her control. It still hurts, it is still hard to handle, and throughout the course of Honey Girl, we watch her break down. It hurts if you know that feeling. For me? It’s another one of those cases of the perfect read at the perfect time.
Rogers digs deep into her character’s psyche and draws out the question: what do we do when our plan fails and we feel like we’ve lost control? There are moments when her writing feels like poetry, and as somebody who would rather say someone’s hair is “starlit sky” then just call it “black”, I absolutely adored this tone. The language evoked glittering images for me while the themes and questions dug into my own brain and heart and made me ask the same things that Grace was struggling with herself. At times, I felt uncomfortable hearing my own vulnerability laid flat in the pages in front of me.
If I took out my emotional response, Honey Girl is a different book. The “drunk wedding in Vegas cliché” is overplayed, and the relationship that follows is unlikely at best. I like the romantic nature of it, the way Yuki lays herself bare to Grace and lets her in so easily. I both adored the refuge Grace found in Yuki‘s arms, and noted it for the escape it was. As if the rash marriage wasn’t enough to lend pause, Grace’s financial situation would make any reader ask questions. For a girl who relies on her father to pay her rent, is a tea room server, and has eleven years of student loans to pay back, I don’t understand how she is able to just run off to New York City for a summer, or jump on a plane last minute to run away from a conversation. I guess Grace had enough problems to deal with without thinking about money, but it was something I had to keep telling myself to ignore. What is she contributing financially to the household? Was Yuki just feeding her and letting her go around town and do whatever on her dime? I don’t get the money situation in this book at all.
If you don’t think about the technicalities though, if you look at Honey Girl from an emotional place and open yourself to the story, it’s a tale of vulnerability and discovery. I adored Yuki‘s radio show wisdom and the orange grove in Florida. Honey Girl bruised my heart little, but I’m not sorry for it. If you haven’t picked this one up already, it’s an artistically written story about a girl who’s not ready to admit she’s lost, and who is going to discover that she can’t run away forever. I would read it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Alcohol
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Medical content, Abandonment, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Racism
Minor: Grief, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
anisyrah's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual content
toffishay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
I laughed, I cried, I related, I loved! I read this book in one day. It is definitely a romance, but it was much more an adult coming-of-age of sorts. An exploration of one woman who has achieved a dream and finds herself wondering what's right for her and where she should go next. I would have maybe liked a dual POV with the main love interest, but I still loved it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content and Emotional abuse
storykath's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was one of those books I had high expectations for based on the hype, and overall I was disappointed. The messages and themes were relevant and interesting, but the way they were executed through the characters fell flat. The characters were believably flawed, but their behaviour and the way they talked wasn't believable. Some of the writing is beautiful, but the prose doesn't slot into a believable narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Mental illness, and Sexism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual content, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
writingcaia's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Taking on the trope of ups we got married in Vegas while mega drunk on a ride through mental illness and queerness.
This book was intense, and sad, and filled with characters full of strength but lonely in their plights and fights, forced into facing adversity, sometimes even forced to be someone they might not want to be by their parents. This last part touched me deeply, since I struggled with that a lot and it led me to therapy for the first time.
It’s a book about love at first sight, but the struggle to be loved when you don’t love yourself and when the world made you feel small and unwanted no matter how hard you try, specially if you’re queer and Black.
It’s also about friendship and when to be there for friends and when you should take care of yourself so you can be a better friend.
It’s about mental illness, depression, anxiety, self mutilation, about being gay, bi, polyamory, it’s an open door to hearts and souls.
Loved every bit of it, even if it tastes kind of sad, if it is so true to the lonely lives we live inside ourselves with our traumas.
This book was intense, and sad, and filled with characters full of strength but lonely in their plights and fights, forced into facing adversity, sometimes even forced to be someone they might not want to be by their parents. This last part touched me deeply, since I struggled with that a lot and it led me to therapy for the first time.
It’s a book about love at first sight, but the struggle to be loved when you don’t love yourself and when the world made you feel small and unwanted no matter how hard you try, specially if you’re queer and Black.
It’s also about friendship and when to be there for friends and when you should take care of yourself so you can be a better friend.
It’s about mental illness, depression, anxiety, self mutilation, about being gay, bi, polyamory, it’s an open door to hearts and souls.
Loved every bit of it, even if it tastes kind of sad, if it is so true to the lonely lives we live inside ourselves with our traumas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Self harm, Racism, and Sexual content
bookedbymadeline's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Self harm
imaginingly's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ok i loved this book so much
the diversity of characters, the lgbtqia+ romances (including some polyamorous too!!), the reflections on how it is to be a black woman in certain careers, ugh i could go on and on. this is a MASTERPIECE!!!
i really enjoyed the development of grace’s character (MC) and how she was able to acknowledge that her feelings are valid and how she is able to bring that into her day to day life and i just found the entire process of said development to be quite inspiring
again, absolutely loved this book and would for sure read it again in a heartbeat
the diversity of characters, the lgbtqia+ romances (including some polyamorous too!!), the reflections on how it is to be a black woman in certain careers, ugh i could go on and on. this is a MASTERPIECE!!!
i really enjoyed the development of grace’s character (MC) and how she was able to acknowledge that her feelings are valid and how she is able to bring that into her day to day life and i just found the entire process of said development to be quite inspiring
again, absolutely loved this book and would for sure read it again in a heartbeat
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, and Racism
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Self harm