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A review by criticalgayze
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
I always love being pleasantly surprised by a book. I went in knowing next to nothing other than I always stan when a queer book breaches the gates of the Target Books section.
When I entered the world of Honey Girl, I expected a romance. Then you have the initial premise established, and I assumed it would instead be a romantic comedy. However, what you really get is a journey of self-exploration in which the romance is just accepted and becomes one of a multitude of facets in the journey. (Side note: I found this idea of accepting the shotgun Vegas wedding to be an interesting plot point, and I actually found myself impressed with and appreciative of the choice that it was not played for a schtick or used on its own as a means for panic.) So, instead of "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood, you end up with something that has the ache and injustice of Brandon Taylor's Real Life with the earnestness and hope of Emily Austin's Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead. As a late 20s millennial, this new genre of aching millennial self-search is really doing it for me right now while also making me very sad every time I pick one up.
I also really appreciate the vast array of characters seen in this novel that feels akin to a Casey McQuiston cast.
While I was appreciative to find such great substance in a book that I did not know to expect it of, I did feel that it overstayed its welcome some in the languishing of emotional torment. In a novel surrounded by love and joy as a romance + a friendship story + a family story, it became cumbersome to have the main character both experience so little joy within herself and to be beset by so much critique from others, and I would have appreciated a little more levity in the narrative. I also found that there were some awkwardly millennial lines. For example: While true, the line "Consent is sexy!", feels very out of place in an otherwise deeply emotional story.
There is a lot to love and appreciate here, just be ready to sit in some intense emotions.
Quotes:
"It’s the second time you’ve said yes, but you don’t remember that yet. So, you say yes to this, to this replica lock in a replica city." (Page 5)
"'You need help,' Ximena says seriously, but doesn’t move when Agnes smiles and leans on her shoulder.
'My therapist would be thrilled to hear you say so,' Agnes says." (Page 13)
When I entered the world of Honey Girl, I expected a romance. Then you have the initial premise established, and I assumed it would instead be a romantic comedy. However, what you really get is a journey of self-exploration in which the romance is just accepted and becomes one of a multitude of facets in the journey. (Side note: I found this idea of accepting the shotgun Vegas wedding to be an interesting plot point, and I actually found myself impressed with and appreciative of the choice that it was not played for a schtick or used on its own as a means for panic.) So, instead of "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood, you end up with something that has the ache and injustice of Brandon Taylor's Real Life with the earnestness and hope of Emily Austin's Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead. As a late 20s millennial, this new genre of aching millennial self-search is really doing it for me right now while also making me very sad every time I pick one up.
I also really appreciate the vast array of characters seen in this novel that feels akin to a Casey McQuiston cast.
While I was appreciative to find such great substance in a book that I did not know to expect it of, I did feel that it overstayed its welcome some in the languishing of emotional torment. In a novel surrounded by love and joy as a romance + a friendship story + a family story, it became cumbersome to have the main character both experience so little joy within herself and to be beset by so much critique from others, and I would have appreciated a little more levity in the narrative. I also found that there were some awkwardly millennial lines. For example: While true, the line "Consent is sexy!", feels very out of place in an otherwise deeply emotional story.
There is a lot to love and appreciate here, just be ready to sit in some intense emotions.
Quotes:
"It’s the second time you’ve said yes, but you don’t remember that yet. So, you say yes to this, to this replica lock in a replica city." (Page 5)
"'You need help,' Ximena says seriously, but doesn’t move when Agnes smiles and leans on her shoulder.
'My therapist would be thrilled to hear you say so,' Agnes says." (Page 13)
"'Which god am I praying to?'
'Pick one,' Meera tells her, straightening her kurti as she steps out of the kitchen. 'Choose wisely.'" (Page 19)
'Pick one,' Meera tells her, straightening her kurti as she steps out of the kitchen. 'Choose wisely.'" (Page 19)
"Three is a good number against the world, it turns out." (Page 39)
"I think lonely creatures ache for each other because who else can understand but someone who feels the same dark, black abyss?" (Page 49)
"No one told her astronomers, the ones that publish research every few months and get tenured at universities and navigate programs at NASA, that those astronomers don’t have sun-gold hair. They don’t have sun-browned skin. Those astronomers don’t have ancestors that looked at the stars as a means of escape and not in awe." (Page 63)
"'I’m sure it was hard. It’s hard when you have a plan. Plans are so goddamn hard.'” (Page 103)
"'I thought I wanted to be out of my tank,' she confesses with a whisper. 'But the ocean is big, you know, and I am very, very small.'" (Page 121)
"It’s always the goddamn brains." (Page 180)
“'I told everyone I’m a lesbian,' she says. 'Maybe he thinks it’s a phase.'” (Page 261)
"I think lonely creatures ache for each other because who else can understand but someone who feels the same dark, black abyss?" (Page 49)
"No one told her astronomers, the ones that publish research every few months and get tenured at universities and navigate programs at NASA, that those astronomers don’t have sun-gold hair. They don’t have sun-browned skin. Those astronomers don’t have ancestors that looked at the stars as a means of escape and not in awe." (Page 63)
"'I’m sure it was hard. It’s hard when you have a plan. Plans are so goddamn hard.'” (Page 103)
"'I thought I wanted to be out of my tank,' she confesses with a whisper. 'But the ocean is big, you know, and I am very, very small.'" (Page 121)
"It’s always the goddamn brains." (Page 180)
“'I told everyone I’m a lesbian,' she says. 'Maybe he thinks it’s a phase.'” (Page 261)
“'I said yes to you once, and I haven’t learned how to say anything else, since.'” (Page 276)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Racism, Medical trauma, and Sexual content