Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult

37 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

kebbe7's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Self harm, Gaslighting, Medical content, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia

jakirby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Bullying, Death, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Hate crime

sunnydale's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense 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

3.5

the first jodi picoult book i've read (albeit only half-written by her). her style is easy to glide through, and the characters are authentic and compelling. the plot involves some heavy subject matter that could be triggering, so i recommend checking content warnings. the ending was a little rushed and felt too satisfying—i think a lack of resolution actually would have fit the themes better. 

the audiobook has two voice actors, and they both do an excellent job. i also like the inclusion of recipes at the end!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Outing, Transphobia, Grief, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Gaslighting, Abortion, Hate crime, Medical content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Suicide attempts:

Lily and Asher both cut their wrists to attempt suicide.

Transphobia: Two scenes described in detail.

Both are from Lily's perspective. In the chapter "Lily 6," Lily is publicly humiliated at a school dance, then attacked in the parking lot. This event is referenced in later chapters. In "Lily 10," Lily is bullied at an all-boys school, then is physically abused by her father.

Domestic abuse: Many of Olivia's chapters include flashbacks to moments when she was abused by her ex-husband. Some of Lily's chapters also include descriptions of physical or emotional abuse. Domestic violence is a significant part of this book.

joey1914's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Emotional abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Self harm, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

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

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

staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Violence

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

I'm just so tired of the mere existence of trans people being a "shocking plot twist."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Abortion, and Alcoholism

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

caitmacd's review against another edition

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