Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult

10 reviews

kelseyreads94's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? No

3.5

When I started reading this I was confused, having been a Jodi Picoult fan for years, because it seemed to so closely parallel The Pact. I actually thought she wrote a book piggy backing an already successful novel. Anyway- it grew on me and has pieces so unexpected I couldn’t stop reading. 

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amesnotamy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0


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kcbas1's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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


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ahsinggie's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative sad tense 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

3.5

There’s such a powerful beauty in the plot and format of story telling. Character to character POV is not new but there was something so experimental about having two strong authors collaborate on a piece together, bringing together this really significant representation and hope for women’s and LGBTQ+ issues. 

The  rating however, comes from this deep sense of frustration with the formatting, I struggled to follow from Lily to Olivia, sometimes getting so sidelined
by the ‘fun facts’ so characterised by each of their obsessive natures over their hobbies/livelihoods. Domestic abuse and murders of trans persons are very real issues and in reality, most often do not get closure. But I found myself grasping at any and all signs of Asher’s thoughts and emotions, Braden’s disappearance/infidelity, and Ava’s departure from the town. I just wanted TO KNOW. I didn’t even find Mike and Liv’s relationship particularly plot adding. Maybe just slightly soothing to the fact that it all will work out in the end. I knew Maya was iffy from the start.

AND

OMG the court proceedings were such a pain to read through. The jury system pisses me off. Asher closing up the treehouse also did not quite feel like the right closure for a traumatic experience such as being trialed for murder that you did not commit and having your whole world and social circle turn on you overnight.  


It’s a good book, but I struggled to achieve personal satisfice from the long winding format. But I did learn quite a lot more about honey and the trans experience. I did think the book does encourage that live can start over all the time, with will and determination. For love, for career, for education, for death, and more.

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wackly93's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn't know anything about this book besides that it was by one of my favorite authors.   I'm glad I didn't because it made the story more surprising and exciting.   I highly recommend it.

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rachelmerrie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

So so so so so necessary.

Hated part of the ending: (VAGUE SPOILER)
Why did she get a slap on the wrist when he would’ve had his whole life taken from him? 

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catreadbook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

4.75


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aecy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Okaaay. I can’t read another book without reviewing this one first. I’ve read many good reviews about this novel after it came out, and I decided to read it when it was @bookclubbabes.pod’s pick for February’s book of the month. I thought this would be an easy read, and boy, was I wrong?

‼ SPOILERS AHEAD ‼

Reading the first few chapters, I thought the pacing was too slow and that it was going to be the usual whodunnit story where the least obvious one is the murderer, but I’m a sucker for whodunnit tropes so I continued reading. Then, the bomb was dropped halfway through the book. I was utterly shocked, but I liked that the plot developed the way it did because, in my case, it opened so many inner conversations. And story-wise, it raised a plethora of questions, which made the book so much more interesting and relevant.

After the revelation that Lily was a transgender woman, I knew that the prosecution would paint Lily’s death as a hate crime. I was still suspicious at this point about whether or not Asher killed Lily, but as the story progressed, I found myself wondering if it was even really murder in the first place. Events that happened in the past unfolded very slowly, but it was good that the authors did it that way because it almost felt like Lily was opening up to me. Everything was her story to tell, and I felt like I just had to wait until she was ready to reveal her truth. There was this thing that Lizzie told Olivia about learning the difference between secret and private, and for me, that was one of the main points of the book.

I pride myself on being an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, but my concepts about their struggles were challenged, and I came to realize that I really didn’t know the full extent of the discrimination they face. As written in the book, "If you want to understand something, you first need to accept the fact of your own ignorance."

When it was revealed that Asher did not, in fact, murder Lily, I was relieved but slightly annoyed that Maya did it and wasn’t charged at all. Although I understand that Ava may not be able to survive another trial while still grieving for her daughter. I also think Ava believed Asher harmed Lily because her grief was so intense, and she could only assume the worst knowing Lily had gone through so much simply because she shared her true self with the world. But if I’m really being honest, I was annoyed because I had guessed the "murderer" wrong, lol. I had my eyes on Braden the whole time because he’s proven to be violent.

The real heroes of this book are both mothers, Olivia and Ava, who did everything to protect their children. Overall, I rate the book 4.5 stars out of 5 only because the story pacing was a little slow for my liking. Now, I rest my mind and hope to find another book as good as this one.

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tabchasse's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.25


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