Review by rjreadsnwrites - Mad Honey

rjreadsnwrites 's review for:

Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult

3.75

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

it was like reading an episode or two of Law and Order SVU except you follow the mother of the accused and flashbacks of the person who died. The court room scenes are very compelling and I loved the relationship between Olivia (the mom) and her son as she navigated this terrible thing. I really enjoyed the twists and mystery elements of this book while other aspects really hit such a lull that I almost drowned out what was happening. I'd love to read more from both of these authors to kind of redeem this one in my eyes (I'll get deeper into that below). All that being said there is one distinct reason I can't give this book a full 4 stars let alone 5, reading about teens having sex while intersplicing stories of how truly boardline volatile their relationship was especially through Lilly's eyes is crazy and not something that I like reading about. I'm not against smut, just against smut under the backdrop of a murder investigation. Finally, I really did like this book and think that for mainstream audience appeal and social commentary it is enticing and excellently written.

⚠️⚠️⚠️SPOILERS: I did not believe in Lily's and Asher's relationship in slightest. It felt surface level and unjustified for either of them to feel so intrinsically in love. And the way they speak about love is more on par for poetry of two people who grow old together. I also felt like the conversation this book is trying to have about being persecuted against as a woman, or as someone who is trans, or as someone who is even POC is basic. It's surface level explanations for people who have never felt nor understand being persecuted in their lives. It's not deep although the verbiage wants it to be, it's lack luster and moderately "woke" for people who are allies but have not ever felt prejudice yet in their life. While as a black queer individual myself, the deepest most popular quotes highlighted in the book were just everyday knowledge that you have to explain to a white cis counterpart over Thanksgiving as they dismiss gender identity by saying "I just don't get it." I would love to read more from both of these authors but especially Jennifer Finney Boylan, I think in other stories she could really breakdown the nuance of gender and expression that goes further than mainstream talking points.

Content Warnings