Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult

43 reviews

cryfest's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Reading this as a trans queer non-binary person who has loved Jodi Picoult (one of the authors of this book) since high school -  I was a little apprehensive because I wasn’t sure if I trusted Jodi with my trans siblings, and while heart breaking, a lot of nuance to trans identities was explored compassionately, with the genius and lived experience of Finney Boylan of course. I definitely would encourage non-trans folks to read this as a small slice of insight to one fictional trans person’s experience/journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Hate crime, Mental illness, Outing, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Pedophilia, Abortion, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Mass/school shootings

sarahemhavens's review against another edition

5.0

This book has so much depth. So much to learn about every single person in this book, so much to educate yourself on; and when you think you know, do you really know? The talk about bees, and all the different motifs and symbols - blows my mind. I have SO many highlighted passages from this book. So many clues I picked up on, (or things that were so vital but such small lines), and so many words that really moved me. Highly recommend reading this book for so many reasons!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Self harm, and Toxic friendship

transphobia, outing, deadnaming

courtneys317's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I’m so glad I read this book without having much knowledge on what it was about, especially the plot twists. I didn’t see either coming (hated the last plot twist and still trying to make sense if the book really needed to include as part of the ending. I think I somewhat understand  what the authors were trying to do, but personally felt like it took away from the story). There were so many tough topics included that it felt like it could have been stronger if certain parts were left out and overall felt it could be shorter. I think the authors did do a great job including bee facts and created some strong storylines at points, but some parts felt wordy and unfocused. I was also getting a little lost at who was not talking to who and for what reason, so in my opinion, as much as I appreciated the change in narratives and timelines, I found myself wishing they simplified things at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing

Minor: Toxic friendship

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Shockingly, this is only the second Jodi Picoult novel I've read! But I understand her broad appeal: she writes compelling and relevant narratives and here, with co-author Jenny Finley Boylan, has crafted a rich, interesting set of characters. It dragged somewhat in the middle for me (which may just be a symptom of reading it over the course of a month!), but stick it out for a powerful courtroom ending. Good stuff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Transphobia, Grief, Outing, Murder, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Deadnaming, and Toxic relationship

latashman's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Child death, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Deadnaming

corriejn's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia and Pregnancy

hschlecht's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

bnelson13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Well I don't know what I was expecting from this book, but it wasn't THAT. Absolutely amazing read, several plot twists that I DID NOT see coming, although the ending I kind of did. Definitely an engaging read, and I'm super excited that there are actual recipes at the end of the story for the ones that were mentioned IN the story itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, Outing, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Abortion, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Violence

maregred's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Blood, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Grief, and Death

Minor: Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

caitmacd's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Alcoholism, Bullying, Infertility, Abortion, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Outing, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Violence