Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult was a great, fantastic read that I couldn't put down. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Loved the characters in the story. Five stars!

Jodi Picoult is back! I missed the style, taste and feel of her older books and this one brings that back. Jodi Picoult is one of those authors who's books I read without knowing what they are about. I just sink my teeth into them and expect to read a book that is well researched and full of well crafted characters. Mad Honey meets this criteria and also tackles a controversial subject with care and finesse and court room drama (how I have missed these from her books).

The story is told from the perspectives on Olivia, Asher and Lily. Olivia is a single mom raising her son Asher in her hometown. Asher is a teenager and in a relationship with Lily. Lily is found dead and Asher is the prime suspect. Lily is new to the town and has a secret past which complicates that case against Asher however Asher has secrets of his own.

The story is told in present and past tense so that we get important background information about about characters. This is a story about love. The love between parents and children. Young love and the love we have for ourselves. This story is one that needs to be told. One that people can learn from. There are twists and turns and heartbreaking moments. This book will be a sensitive topic especially for those who don't have an open mind. Those of us who do will be thankful that writers like, Picoult exist and write stories that are important to social issues of our time.


* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mad Honey is the story of Olivia, a bee keeper, Asher, her son, and Lily, the girl he falls in love with. When Lily is found dead with Asher at her side he becomes the number 1 suspect. Written beginning with the present and then time going backwards I was drawn into their lives, their secrets, and how their past plays into how they handle their present. This book makes you think about the judgements we make, the desire we all have to be loved, and the things we keep hidden even from people we love. I highly recommend it. #MadHoney #netgalley

This book brought was so engaging. I loved every minute of the story and couldn’t put it down. I am from NH but now live in the PNW so all the New England and Seattle references hit me hard. I might have to try cheese on a slice or apple pie now. I also served on a jury for a first degree murder charge in NH. The defendant was a teenager thus this story brought me back to that time in my life. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

MAD MONEY BY Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Lilly and Asher were madly in love . They had what most would say appeared to be a typical teenage romance.
There was nothing typical about this romance however and Lilly ended up dead.
I have always loved Jodi Picoult and loved her books and this was so amazing! I've never read the co author Jennifer Finney Boylan but will be looking her up!
A wonderful book .. Best book I've read this year!

Thanks to Netgalley and RandomHouse and Ballantine Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan.. Two mothers move with their teens away from their fathers for entirely different reasons. But whatever the reasons, fate seems to seal the lives of their two children Asher and Lilly.

Lily was born a boy and from a young age she knew that wasn’t what she was meant to be. . She always thought of herself as a girl. Her dad however, could not accept it and wanted his boy. He tried sending Lily to an all boys school. When that didn’t work; he tied her to a chair and shaved her hair off after slapping her around. That was when her mom, Olivia, got up and left and moved across the country. Asher’s father was very abusive and his mom took him and moved also.

In this new town Lily and Asher are a great couple. Nobody knows about their past and they are living a normal teen love life until Lily ends up dead, and Asher is blamed for her murder. Thus, with Olivia’s brother Jordan defending him,, the story continues with a back and forth of their lives and the trial.

I found the mystery to be very page turning because I wanted to know if Asher was guilty. Was he like his father and an abuser? I also was intrigued by all of the honey making. Olivia has bee hives and the information was very informative and entertaining. There is also a lot of information about Lily's transition from boy to girl. What makes people think this way and what happens to them in life?

Thanks you Netgalley and Random House publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved this book, Mad Honey! I have been a fan of Jodi Piccoult and have seen her on a handful of occasions for book signings. Her books are a must read for me. I was so pleased to get this ARC from NetGalley. So, unfortunately I spoiled this book for myself by reading the Author Notes after browsing the recipes...ooops. However, even with being spoiled, this book was so captivating and had me wondering where it was going to go next. The switching POV is excellent and you get drawn in a little more with each chapter. The background of bees was interesting as well. You can tell this book was meticulously researched. Well done!

Wow, this book is so hard to review without giving away the plot or secrets. I will try my best to be generic! I will say that this book is best going into sight unseen - without knowing too much about the back story. Jodi Picoult is great at delivering that twist and if you don't see this one coming, your jaw will drop.

That being said, I will describe the plot as follows: After a fast and furious highschool romance between Lily and Asher, Lily turns up dead. Olivia, his mother, will stop at nothing to prove his innocence, once Asher has been questioned by the police. But Olivia has her own backstory that makes her pause and wonder, what if Asher was really involved in Lily's death?

Jodi Picoult sure knows how to tell a story, I will give her that. This book definitely had me thinking about it while I wasn't reading it, which is a mark of a gripping novel. That said, this book read more like a lecture to me on society than anything else. Every. single. character was a representative of some sort of marginalized community, whether it be battered women, LGBTQ+, etc. There are so many talking points here, so many victims. It was a little too preachy for me. Too many hot-button topics. It was almost eye-roll inducing.

2 stars because I liked the aspects about the bees, learning about the bees, and the honey references throughout the book. The book was long, and slow at parts. As a lawyer, one part at the end was especially maddening, and it has to do with a certain someone NOT being charged with obstruction of justice and perjury. I will leave it at that.

Overall, unless you want a lecture on all the ills of society, I would pass on this one. I will go back and pick up an older Picoult book that is far less political and polarizing.

Special thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by these popular authors and it won’t be my last.
This had me at the beginning and held my interest till the last page. The story had something for everyone, parts family drama, mystery, current issues surrounding a persons right to choose who they want to be, redemption and finally first love.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review the fantastic book.

This ARC was provided to me digitally from Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review.

I have no words for the way this book made me feel. This was the first Picoult and Boylan book that I've had the pleasure of reading, and it certainly won't be my last. The writing style throughout the story was poetic and extremely gripping, and the plot was so engaging that it was difficult for me to put it down.

Mad Honey is written about Asher Fields, a typical high school kid, from the viewpoints of his mother and his girlfriend. It's not what it sounds like--Asher's girlfriend Lily dies at the beginning of the story and Asher is accused of her murder. We follow Asher's trial through the eyes of his mother and we learn all about Lily's life prior to her death. Picoult and Boylan did an incredible job making me think exactly what they wanted me to believe when they wanted me to believe it. Throughout the story, I had many theories about what happened to Lily, but was left in utter shock when I found out the truth.

I connected very easily with each of the main characters in this book and the plot twists allowed me to connect and sympathize with them even more. I especially love how this story included lots of representation, including trans and lesbian rep. as well as representation of victims of domestic violence. These characters taught me a lot about what it is to be human and accepting of others.
There were many characters who I also grew to hate over the course of this book, which just shows what incredible writers Picoult and Boylan truly are.

The only part of this book that I disliked was the order in which the chapters were written. All of Olivia's chapters were written in chronological order, starting before Lily's death to after the end of Asher's trial. Lily's chapters, on the other hand, were written in reverse chronological order, starting with her death and tracing back several months. I found it very difficult to keep up with the plot until about the 50% point. I could never remember what had already happened in Lily's life and it was difficult for me to read backwards over time.

I'd recommend this book to anybody interested in deep social themes, murder mysteries, and anybody who is eager to learn more about transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community. This book will certainly stick with me for a long time.

Jodi Picoult never fails to provide a great story. In Mad Honey she collaborated with Jennifer Finney Boylan. Together they have produced one of the best books I have read in a long time. In Mad Honey we have a mystery to solve. As we learn more about each of the individuals, we also learn about the history of honey, beekeeping and the strategic way the hive, the queen and the workers all have their assigned jobs to keep the hive going. We are also given insight into the world of the transgender and the many issues faced by transgenders. Through the stories of Olivia and Lily, we see how the past of each of these women had an impact on their future. Each of these ladies have a past that continues at times to haunt their future decisions. It is a lovely, but at times a sad, story. I enjoyed the book very much. With a tentative publishing date of October, I have already advised all my reading buddies to plan to get the book, read it and enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley for advanced copy.

For my thoughts and opinions read my review on goodreads.

Mad Honey is a collaborative effort by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. Sensitively portraying the real emotions of teens and their mothers as they navigate the microcosm of high school. I won't give away the plot twist, but I felt like after reading it, there was enough foreshadowing to make it seem realistic. This novel strays when it takes a preachy, moralistic tone at certain points. The subject matter, teen dating, domestic violence, divorce, murder, teen sexuality are quite heavy, so I give grace for the paragraphs of terminology explanations and background information. A decent read. If I had a teen reading this, I would think it would be a good conversation starter about transparency, consent, dating violence and secrets versus privacy.

Not a fan of her co author, I’m pretty sure that’s why this book took the tutorial/lecture style it did. Absolutely love other work from Jodi but this book was a no for me. Can they think of one more controversial topic to discuss possibly and maybe you’d like to give a full lecture about this for like 10 chapters!! If I want to read about these controversial things I’ll read the newspaper.

Thank you for this ARC! Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. It was way too long, could have told the same story in half the words. It really dragged for most of it, but then there were 3 sudden, unexpected twists that came out of nowhere. Despite all this storytelling I did not feel any attachment to any of the characters and found them all to be kind of whiny and annoying.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the opportunity to read Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan; it was an honor. This a remarkable book. An important one. I'll be placing copies into many hands.

ARC BOOK REVIEW

Mad Honey
by Jodi Picoult and Jenny Finney Boylan

Publishing Date 10/4/2022

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up to 5!

Olivia and Lily both know what its like to  start over.
Olivia is divorced, living in her childhood home,  raising her teenage son Asher and taking care of her late fathers honey bee business.
Lily is the new girl at school....again. She seems to have trouble  fitting in wherever she goes.  But she feels this new town is the fresh start she needs.

Lily and Asher meet at school and begin dating. Lily feels accepted and appreciated by Asher and this is something she has always struggled with.   As Asher and Lily grow closer,  Olivia can see that her son has fallen for Lily. (In a good way!)   But everything changes when Olivia gets a phone call from Asher-Lily is dead, and he is at the police station being questioned.

Olivia instantly believes this is a GIANT misunderstanding. IF Lily is dead, Asher obviously didn't do it....but she's always been concerned that Asher would inherit  his fathers abusive tendencies and anger issues.

As the case against Asher evolves, we quickly learn Asher and Lily were both keeping secrets....


REVIEW:
Wow. This is hard review to make because there is a pretty LARGE twist that takes over the entire book around 40%( I think thats where it was, don't quote me exactly)  I do not want to give any spoilers so I will dodge around the BIG reveal that marjority of the story unfolds around. And I didn't see it coming..AT ALL.

I will admit, this is my first Jodi Picoult book and MAN. It was good. It was a JOURNEY. The POV and timeline change each chapter so we learn about the story from Lilly and Olivia's point of views.

It was really fantasitic. It was suspensful- I was shocked, I was educated. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. I even cried at numerous places.

There are several trigger warnings and if you are concerned, you can ask me!

I'm so thankful I was given the chance to read this arc. Add it to your fall tbr list! Ypu won't regret it!!

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the chance to read this beautiful story!

Wow! There are not enough words to describe my love for this book. I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult's books for nearly 20 years. She is an author that I automatically pre-order the book as soon as I see a new one announced. With that said, I always have extremely high expectations. I always enjoy them, but this one far exceeded any expectation. The characters were raw and I felt for each one. After finishing the book, I just had to sit there for a minute, in complete awe. This is by far one of her top 5 best books that she has ever written. I feel honored to have gotten an early edition.

WOW! Jodi Picoult has done it again. She brought a timely issue to Mad Honey and taught me a lesson or 2.
This story centered around a high school couple who seem to have it all. Both live with their mothers (fathers for reasons that I won't divulge are absent), who have fulfilling careers in a small town in New Hampshire.
Asher is the captain of the hockey team, a well rounded athlete, helpful and considerate, well liked by all.
Lily is new to Adams, but readily accepted into the high school and is befriended by Maya, a girl who Asher has known since they were 6 yrs old, The girls become best friends and, of course, Asher enters into the relationship.
In typical Jodi Picoult fashion, she sets up the school, the people in Adams, and all the main players. It really feels that these teenagers are in love. However, something that Asher does leads Lily to stop communicating with him and Maya (as a go between) tries to get them to reconcile. Neither one budges though, and Asher in his frustration, goes over to Lily's, finds her front door ajar, opens it and sees her at the bottom of the stairs apparently having fallen.
Believe it or not, Jodi Picoult brought honeybees into the story, providing insight and information into their behavior and relating it to the events of the story. I learned much more than I ever thought I needed to know about bees, but appreciate the depth that it gave to the story. She also provided some recipes with honey at the back of the book.
Her co-author wrote the parts about Lily and Jodi wrote about Asher. They wrote this book through Zoom, based on a dream that Jennifer had and instagrammed it.
This is a book that everyone should read - therefore the 5* rating. In my opinion, this was a thoroughly researched, with well developed characters, and education about a timely issue which I was in the dark about.

Thanks to Net Galley for the e-ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have loved Jodi Picoult since I read Nineteen Minutes. Her books are always thoughtfully researched with lots of new and interesting information on nature and current events. The way she weaves the nature element into current events is amazing and captivating.

Mad Honey is a story about starting over. Olivia McAfee and her son Asher have moved back to her hometown in New Hampshire to start over. Asher meets Lily Campanello and the two quickly become more than friends. But then one day Lily is dead and Asher is being blamed. A story of suspense, starting over and unforgettable love make this a riveting novel.

Overall I enjoyed Mad Honey. The information about bees and honey was an interesting vein throughout the story. Since the copy I read was electronic I did find it a little bit disorienting that each chapter flipped back and forth between the past and present. It was a little difficult to keep track of the timeline and in a hard copy book I could easily flip back and forth. Minor nit-pick. The story was compelling and the twist near the middle caused me to do a double take. Did not see that coming but that's the fun of Jodi Picoult novels.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Jodi, current events and/or legal thrillers.