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aseel_reads's review against another edition
emotional
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
SO MANY FEELS. i cried during the middle and then used all my will power to not cry later on.
i thoroughly enjoyed this. i was a bit worried about all the hard topics this book dealt with but i think they were covered in a way where you felt the pain but you were not dragged through every excruciating moment, reliving it with MC. i liked the intersectionality of the book, dealing with the different identities and troubles it comes with. i liked emphasis on seeking professional for mental health/trauma, it was done in such a refreshing way. i really related to Grace tbh. the romance was super cute but a tad rushed and i liked all the friendships and found family.
i thoroughly enjoyed this. i was a bit worried about all the hard topics this book dealt with but i think they were covered in a way where you felt the pain but you were not dragged through every excruciating moment, reliving it with MC. i liked the intersectionality of the book, dealing with the different identities and troubles it comes with. i liked emphasis on seeking professional for mental health/trauma, it was done in such a refreshing way. i really related to Grace tbh. the romance was super cute but a tad rushed and i liked all the friendships and found family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
water_violin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
perpetualpages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
CWs: Intoxication, descriptions of depression and depressive episodes, anxiety, brief mentions of self harm, racism, toxic parental relationships, some scenes containing sex
Honey Girl is a love letter and a hand outstretched to lost millennials everywhere. It's a story that asks about what direction your life is supposed to take when you lose the "roadmap" of structured schooling and capitalistic ladder-climbing. How do we find meaning and purpose in living instead of producing? How do we learn to accept our mistakes as just part of ourselves?
These are just a few of the questions Honey Girl seeks to explore, and it does so in such a warm and heartfelt way. This is one of those books that makes me acutely aware of my own aliveness and my emotion, and that made Grace's connections and triumphs feel that much more powerful to me. There's such a strong element of found/chosen family, and how it's the people in our lives who help us get through the uncertain times by holding us close. Grace's friends—both those she has to begin with and those she meets along the way—are so full of life and love, and the way they support each other is truly special. And I appreciate how the story recognizes that sometimes we need to work through things with other people and sometimes we need space to work through them by ourselves.
Grace's struggles, I think, really speak to an entire generation of young people who are conditioned to believe that their value is based on what they can do for other people and the results they can produce. That's a narrative that's been so deeply embedded in Western society, especially, and what we fail to acknowledge is that it's a narrative that only works for certain people. Especially in a scientific field, Grace faces many barriers to access as a Black queer woman, and she's actively discouraged away from the jobs she's qualified to hold, and that is what ultimately breaks her momentum. Throughout the story, she has to relearn how she defines her own worth—not as the job she holds or the money she makes, but as what (and who) she truly loves and cares about, and how she can then take that perspective and factor it back into her reality.
I appreciate how the story also explores the importance of taking time for yourself, especially in a world that demands every single part of us all the time with little to no reward. It's not selfish to take care of yourself, to reassess what is right and needed for you, and that's a huge part of this "detour" Grace is embarking on. At the same time, she's learning to reclaim agency over her choices, especially when she's been following someone else's path for so long—not only the path her military father laid down for her, but the "traditional" path of adulthood that's been conditioned into her all her life. She's learning that life is not a straightforward path, and it doesn't have to look the same for every single person, and while that may seem frightening because it opens up a whole world of unknowns, what is unknown can also be empowering.
Another major theme in this story is loneliness. About learning to recognize your own loneliness, but also realizing the ways we are made to feel lonely in a world that seems to only reward certain people who follow certain rules—in a world that seeks to isolate those who are different and walk different paths. Grace are Yuki are both two very lonely people, and they're learning how to work through that loneliness and love each other as they are. Their love story is a heartfelt and tender one, and I was definitely moved by their connection.
My one "critique" is that Yuki does come off as a bit of a manic pixie dream girl. We don't know as much about her as we know about Grace, and at times she comes off as just a tad *too* "perfect" and "quirky," and I wish the story had a chance to really get underneath that. Other than that, I found this to be an earnest, warm, and beautiful contemporary story about finding what truly matters to you and being brave enough to own it. It's a very necessary story for our time, and definitely one of my favorites for this year so far.
Honey Girl is a love letter and a hand outstretched to lost millennials everywhere. It's a story that asks about what direction your life is supposed to take when you lose the "roadmap" of structured schooling and capitalistic ladder-climbing. How do we find meaning and purpose in living instead of producing? How do we learn to accept our mistakes as just part of ourselves?
These are just a few of the questions Honey Girl seeks to explore, and it does so in such a warm and heartfelt way. This is one of those books that makes me acutely aware of my own aliveness and my emotion, and that made Grace's connections and triumphs feel that much more powerful to me. There's such a strong element of found/chosen family, and how it's the people in our lives who help us get through the uncertain times by holding us close. Grace's friends—both those she has to begin with and those she meets along the way—are so full of life and love, and the way they support each other is truly special. And I appreciate how the story recognizes that sometimes we need to work through things with other people and sometimes we need space to work through them by ourselves.
Grace's struggles, I think, really speak to an entire generation of young people who are conditioned to believe that their value is based on what they can do for other people and the results they can produce. That's a narrative that's been so deeply embedded in Western society, especially, and what we fail to acknowledge is that it's a narrative that only works for certain people. Especially in a scientific field, Grace faces many barriers to access as a Black queer woman, and she's actively discouraged away from the jobs she's qualified to hold, and that is what ultimately breaks her momentum. Throughout the story, she has to relearn how she defines her own worth—not as the job she holds or the money she makes, but as what (and who) she truly loves and cares about, and how she can then take that perspective and factor it back into her reality.
I appreciate how the story also explores the importance of taking time for yourself, especially in a world that demands every single part of us all the time with little to no reward. It's not selfish to take care of yourself, to reassess what is right and needed for you, and that's a huge part of this "detour" Grace is embarking on. At the same time, she's learning to reclaim agency over her choices, especially when she's been following someone else's path for so long—not only the path her military father laid down for her, but the "traditional" path of adulthood that's been conditioned into her all her life. She's learning that life is not a straightforward path, and it doesn't have to look the same for every single person, and while that may seem frightening because it opens up a whole world of unknowns, what is unknown can also be empowering.
Another major theme in this story is loneliness. About learning to recognize your own loneliness, but also realizing the ways we are made to feel lonely in a world that seems to only reward certain people who follow certain rules—in a world that seeks to isolate those who are different and walk different paths. Grace are Yuki are both two very lonely people, and they're learning how to work through that loneliness and love each other as they are. Their love story is a heartfelt and tender one, and I was definitely moved by their connection.
My one "critique" is that Yuki does come off as a bit of a manic pixie dream girl. We don't know as much about her as we know about Grace, and at times she comes off as just a tad *too* "perfect" and "quirky," and I wish the story had a chance to really get underneath that. Other than that, I found this to be an earnest, warm, and beautiful contemporary story about finding what truly matters to you and being brave enough to own it. It's a very necessary story for our time, and definitely one of my favorites for this year so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Racism and Toxic relationship
Minor: Self harm and Sexual content
olivedean's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Cursing
macsenbesemer's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
I really enjoyed this book, I find that a lot of wlw stories tend to be a bit more YA style (not that there’s anything wrong with that!!) but this was a bit more complex. While at some parts the relationship between Grace and Yuki felt rushed, I did find myself rooting for them. I find that romances are often centered around younger couples and don’t really show how complicated relationships are, so I appreciate that Honey Girl is a bit more honest. Grace, even at 29 still struggles with navigating all types of relationships in her life and I find that to be more relatable than a charismatic, and extroverted main character.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
Minor: Misogyny, Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
hawkrose18's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
4/5 stars
I did enjoy my experience reading this book and am so glad that I was able to get my hands on a copy and get to it as soon as I did. However, I guess I was expecting there to be more romance in this book. There is romance, but I felt as if there wasn't enough to really classify this as a romance novel. There were some many sexualities, races, and gender identities present in this book and I am so glad that I got to experience the characters. The friendships were very much romanticized, which isn't necessarily a problem, but Grace (the main character) wasn't the best friend and was kind of toxic --she did learn and grow by the end.
I do not know if other readers would agree with me or not but I also felt as if the characters, who are supposed to be almost 30/around the age of 30, acted a lot younger. I am only 18 myself, but the characters, to me, acted as if they were <I>maybe</I> 5 years older than me at max. I guess people could still act that way when they are that age, it just seemed that the only way that I <I>really</I> knew they were as old as they were was because of education level and occupations, otherwise they read younger than what I was expecting.
I will probably pick up whatever else that this author ends up putting out because I did really enjoy this book, despite some slight issues that I had with it.
I did enjoy my experience reading this book and am so glad that I was able to get my hands on a copy and get to it as soon as I did. However, I guess I was expecting there to be more romance in this book. There is romance, but I felt as if there wasn't enough to really classify this as a romance novel. There were some many sexualities, races, and gender identities present in this book and I am so glad that I got to experience the characters. The friendships were very much romanticized, which isn't necessarily a problem, but Grace (the main character) wasn't the best friend and was kind of toxic --she did learn and grow by the end.
I do not know if other readers would agree with me or not but I also felt as if the characters, who are supposed to be almost 30/around the age of 30, acted a lot younger. I am only 18 myself, but the characters, to me, acted as if they were <I>maybe</I> 5 years older than me at max. I guess people could still act that way when they are that age, it just seemed that the only way that I <I>really</I> knew they were as old as they were was because of education level and occupations, otherwise they read younger than what I was expecting.
I will probably pick up whatever else that this author ends up putting out because I did really enjoy this book, despite some slight issues that I had with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Racism
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