Take a photo of a barcode or cover
laurenperezsilva 's review for:
Mad Honey
by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
I felt weird at first when the legal bits start and the main character, Olivia, talks about her brother Jordan as a private defense lawyer. She clearly respects and reveres him, and we're supposed to be on their side, but as a lawyer, Jordan defended a school shooter.... which is morally indefensible.
However, I guess this is a large point of Mad Honey - that no one person is all good or all bad. Jordan defended a school shooter (bad), but is also fiercely protective of his family (good, generally). The book heavily explores this theme, showing the bad and good sides of Olivia and Asher as well.
Generally, the book is a classic Jodi Picoult read, with added educational passages (re: queer and trans identities). The ending left something to be desired.They went after Asher so quickly with a murder charge and even floated a manslaughter plea deal, but then quickly drop the case when the truth is revealed about Maya's involvement. We get a brief explanation from Mike Newcomb ("Some bad things that happen are just accidents, Liv."), but there is such a discrepancy between the reactions that this explanation feels disingenuous and meant only to avoid a continuation of the story.
Also for so long I thought that Dirk did it, that someone would find his English paper in Lily's room and figure it out, especially since he's a known creep towards Lily. Red herring, though, I guess.
However, I guess this is a large point of Mad Honey - that no one person is all good or all bad. Jordan defended a school shooter (bad), but is also fiercely protective of his family (good, generally). The book heavily explores this theme, showing the bad and good sides of Olivia and Asher as well.
Generally, the book is a classic Jodi Picoult read, with added educational passages (re: queer and trans identities). The ending left something to be desired.
Also for so long I thought that Dirk did it, that someone would find his English paper in Lily's room and figure it out, especially since he's a known creep towards Lily. Red herring, though, I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting
Moderate: Outing
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy