This is Rogers’ debut and it is FANTASTIC. If I were to print my highlighted sections, I would have 6 pages of highlights. It is at times hard to read

CW: Mental illness (main & secondary character, mentions of self harm (skin picking/scratching), codependency, strict military dad, troubled parental relationships

Honey Girl is not a romance, but it does have romantic elements. Grace, our main protagonist is a Sad Girl ™. The book opens up with her hazy reflections of getting drunkenly married the night before. The person she married is unknown to her but did leave some clues behind. Grace is trying to figure out her next steps in life as well as decide what to do about her wife.

What happened in Vegas is tucked away in her suitcase. It is under her shirt in the shape of a key. It is hidden in her hair with the last little bits of dried petals. It hides in the gold ring wrapped around her finger like a brand.

This is really a book about friendship and acceptance and overcoming hurts. Grace is surrounded by an amazing group of found family. I wanted every single one of them to be my friend. They accepted each other exactly as they are. They love each other deeply and unconditionally. At times it is a little codependent but also very relatable. This is something that Rogers tells us about Grace’s circle.

This is the thing: for as lonely and solitary as Grace feels, she is not alone. She has Raj and Meera. She has Agnes. To the very marrow of her, down to the studs, she has Ximena. Raj and Meera are her family, not blood, but flesh and spirit and heart. Agnes is her best friend. Ximena is who she will grab onto when the world ends, and they will watch it burn to ash before they follow. They are two Black girls with their backs against the wall, and on the very good days, Grace likes their odds.

And this-

“You good?” Ximena asks, and Grace nods. “Positive? You don’t have to be good yet.” She taps a finger four times against Grace’s pulse. Love. you. so. much. Love you so much it hurts.

Grace is LONELY although she is not alone. Her journey to discovering this is beautiful and very sad. Grace learns there is a lot she must deal with in order to move on.

Here is the thing about the tar, the sludge, the inky black poison. Once it starts its ascent out of your body, there is nothing you can do to stop it. It tastes like volcano ash and fire, and you must taste it, and gag on it, and ultimately, you must spit it out. There comes a time when you cannot swallow it down any longer. Everything that is buried will be unburied. Everything that is pushed down will find its way out. It is the way of the universe.

Please consider putting this on your TBR for 2021. If you like Sad Girl books (Beach Read, 99 Percent Mine) I think you would like this. Or if you really liked reading about Samiah’s job in The Boyfriend Project, I think you might like this. I think that readers who are looking for a book that does not center a character around whiteness would enjoy this book.

In summary- Rogers debut is fantastic. It made me cry more than once. I wanted to hug Grace. I wanted Ximena to hug me and tap out a message to me. I can not wait for more people to read this so we can talk about it.

Grade: A+

Honey Girl is such a refreshing story about a 29-year-old figuring her life and career out after finishing up her doctorate in astronomy. All of this is made more complicated by drunkenly getting married in Vegas. I really enjoyed following Grace's journey, but part of me was wishing for more romantic tension and development. Some readers will think it had the perfect amount of that, but I was wishing for a little more, I suppose. I would love to see a companion novel about Grace's roommates!

Man, what a book. The word that I feel describes this book to me is, Delicate, and I mean that in the best way. The way she intertwined these characters reminded me of the flowiness( is that a word?) of poetry and it was so beautiful. Beautiful writing, diverse cast, and so many layers of complexities. A beautiful expression of art.

I stayed up all night to read this book. I cried and laughed and saw a lot of relatable moments for Black girls at the end of their academic career and lost. I appreciated that none of the racial family or friendship dynamics were glossed over. The organic way everyone's racial makeup is woven into the story from Porter being biracial to Yuki being Japanese American to Raj and Meera being Indian. No one is allowed to default to being white, ever. I loved the visuals and way the language was able to appeal to all five senses. I loved the frank discussions of mental health and therapy, including interviewing therapists to find the right fit. It's just an all around good book, and I can't wait to share it with readers.