Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult

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

malvavisca's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Self harm, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Suicide attempt

angela_mayer's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Death, Bullying, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Deadnaming, Pregnancy, Body horror, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Cursing, Child abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Death

emmalyn_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

It took me a few days to process this story and I think I am finally ready to write my review. 
This was a HARD story to read with a serious nod to some pretty heavy topics such as domestic abuse, transphobia, suicidal attempts, death, bullying, sexual assault, physical abuse, self harm, child abuse, abortion (briefly mentioned) and murder. 
I really, really enjoyed this book. I found it very thought provoking, mysterious, gripping and educational on

trans experiences.

I went into this book VERY blind (I didn't know what category to set it under lol) and I was very impressed to learn that it was cowritten and you couldn't notice the "hiccup" in the styles what so ever. This is the first Picoult book I wrote and I am happy to say I will return to her. 
This very gripping, emotional and dark book covers a lot of dark things, as mentioned above. 
I loved the back stories as well. I loved seeing how Olivia, through trauma colored glasses, could see her son doing those things to Lily. Trauma often clouds our perception and what's in front of us in all future relationships and seeing that so broadly shown, unabashedly, was strongly appreciated. I feel that was portrayed well with Olivia and even Lily and even some in Asher. 
Things that I really hated about this book that cost it a star: the END. Almost everything about the end of this book pissed me off. 

You are REALLY going to wait til the last chapter to show that it was Maya that caused Lily's death and then have her picked up, questioned and AQUITTED. Where tf was Asher's acquittal?? Why did HE get sentenced and tried? Also, why did it take them SO long to get a second opinion on her death certificate? Wouldn't that have been step one? To rule out any underlying medical conditions that might have been missed? Also, I can't help but feel this was a set up to get Mike and Olivia talking, which is just *shudder*.

So overall, a very moving, dark, challenged, sad read but one I thoroughly enjoyed; until the last chapter anyways. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Abandonment, Death, and Hate crime

Minor: Abortion

internationalreads's review against another edition

fast-paced

2.0

SO PROBLEMATIC

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Content Warnings

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

proceduralbob's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Deadnaming

Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Death, and Murder