A review by jencolumb0
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

emotional hopeful 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

A surprisingly meaty coming-of-age book about relationships, love, and finding oneself. I love (love, love) Babalola's use of language. She has an absolutely phenomenal talent for packing detail and nuance into a single sentence without it spanning pages. I also love her broad and varied cultural references. Know that those two things (appropriately, given Kiki Banjo's character) conspire to move the reader through this work at Babalola's pace, not theirs. It took me a bit to catch on to that reality so, after the initial exhilaration around how she crafts a sentence died down, it was a little bit of a struggle to find the pacing of the book. I got there, though, and it was a worthwhile effort.

Also know that she does some unpacking of patriarchal gaslighting, the use of revenge porn, and related abusive relationship tactics. These subjects are taken on with such astute care and compassion that it was healing and not triggering, but those with particularly recent experiences with those things may prefer knowing that it's a topic discussed in this novel. There's also a bit about parental infidelity, in case someone needs a heads up about that.
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