I was lucky enough to read an advance copy from Netgalley of this amazing book. Now on to my review!

Wow. It's been awhile since I have read a book that I couldn't put down. Mad Honey really is THAT GOOD.

First let me say that I greatly enjoyed The Book of Two Ways and Wish You Were Here. In fact, they may be two of Picoult's best works yet. That being said, longtime fans of Jodi Picoult will enjoy this return to her courtroom and family drama format. Frankly I was ecstatic when I learned we were getting to reconnect with our old friend Jordan McAfee. It's not that I only want Picoult to write courtroom dramas, it's just that I know that when she does I'm going to have the best time reading it.

Something Picoult is a master of is getting us inside the characters' head, and she did this so completely with Olivia, the mother of the boy at the center of the murder trial. Olivia is a complex character who I was rooting for the entire book, who at times frustrated me and at other times made me want to just give her a big hug. Also, she taught me a lot about bees.

But Lily,. The character of Lily. Whew. I can't even write about her without tearing up. This is where I will say, Jennifer Finney Boylan, I will now read anything you ever write. I've been a fan of Boylan's since I saw her speak at the University of Maine in the early 2000s when she had just published her memoir. I loved that book, but I have never read Boylan's fiction. And yes I know this was co-written but still- I was absolutely blown away by Lily's chapters. There is one scene of Lily walking home alone that I won't spoil but it has stayed with me. I love Lily so much, like SO much, I feel like she's my little sister or something, .And the way the chapters move backward in time from her perspective was so interesting and entertaining. Bravo.

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. I will be reading this one again. This book publishes in October so get your preorders in now!!

I mean I just love Jodi Picoult books! Such interesting topics and great writing. I love books with intriguing storylines and flashbacks like this one has. Definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Jodi Picoult/Jennifer Finney Boylan!

LOVE This book so much!! The writing is amazing and the characters will stay with you long after you put it down. Highly recommend this unique work of fiction!

A wonderfully written book on growing up, young love, trauma, and more. The twist and turns of the love story between two teenagers was beautiful with stark moments of doubt and worry for the main characters. And a plot twist in true JP fashion. I did enjoy reading this book! A few notes though. It did feel as though there were too many hot button topics put into this book. And not subtly but almost jarring call outs that didn't further the plot line. I also found the story hard to follow in terms of flashbacks/timelines. I think it could have been organized a little more clearly.

Overall, I do recommend this book. The insight it gives into a marginalized group of people was extremely touching and well written.

Jodi and Jennifer make a great team with Mad Honey. True Jodi fashion with this one weaving a real world issue, the legal system and the world of bees. So much to learn with this novel and I'm so grateful for the nsight.

This is not one of my favorite books by the author, because of the subject matter. It is a "YA" book, but it could be considered a book for all ages. Not wanting to ruin the main subject of the book, I'll just say that it's something that is more "open" in our society and should be addressed no matter what your views or thoughts. (The profanity is not needed, especially the "gd" word.

I enjoyed this book, but it is not my favorite of Jodi Picoult’s. It was too much bee talk for my liking but the storyline was good as always. I also enjoyed revisiting some old characters. I will recommend to my peers for sure.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to read this book early. This book made me think and I really appreciated the plot twist. The ending was different than what I had guessed, which made this a read that kept me turning the pages. I am so incredibly grateful for the early opportunity to read this one!

You know when you sit down to read a Jodi Picoult novel you are going to learn a lot about one very specific topic. This one is so much more than that. The way Picoult and Boylan use beekeeping as metaphors for life is astounding, but there are so many more things to learn about in this book. Beekeeping, music, fencing, living through abuse, starting over, living with secrets and being your true, authentic self. This book is one of Picoult's best.

I loved the last books this author did and this one didn’t disappoint. Definitely had all the elements I was looking for in a book. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone. It was amazing

Highly readable, highly enjoyable. The subject of LGBTQ is approached with sensitivity and respect. Did not disappoint.

‘Mad Honey’ is a collaboration between Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finley Boylan. I am a huge fan of all Ms. Picoult’s books ( this one no exception), and now I will definitely pick up one of Ms. Boylans prior books. ‘Mad Honey’ combines, murder, romance, transgender struggle and yes, beekeeping/honey-making lessons, all set in Adams, New Hampshire.

I have read every single one of Jodi Picoult’s books. I was a little apprehensive that she was writing with another author as I was unsure how it would go. This books packs a punch. It faces social issues of today head on and explains in great detail reasons for and consequences of someone’s action. Meanwhile, teaching the reader all about bees! Admittedly, I never read any reviews before reading this eARC from @netgalley, so I was completely taken by surprise the turn the book made at about the halfway point.

This is a very important book to have in every high school library.

Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, blew me away. Not just by the writing, the clever staging of the timeline, and the major "mic drop" moment at the halfway point, but primarily because of the triumphant theme of acceptability and love that flows throughout the story. As always with Ms. Picoult's books (and probably with Ms. Boylan's, although I am not as familiar with her work) I learned a whole host of new things. The lessons learned from a beekeeper's craft are things I never knew...especially the role of the queens' protectors and the remaining hive, as well as the healing powers of honey and the deadly power of mad honey. Although that's all good to know, the totality of the novel centers on a portion of the human population in need of a larger and more appreciated voice. And, because of the aforementioned "mic drop" I am not going to say what that is. Believe me, though, every bit of this book is worth reading, understanding and will hopefully assist the reader in opening his or her mind to new and different things of major significance and importance. Bravo to Ms. Picoult and Ms. Boylan. Yes...please write another book together. Individually you are both magnificent writers, together you are brilliant.

Wow. I have not felt like this after reading a Jodi Picoult book in years. This book had all the twists and her signature detailed prose that I feel like has been missing in some way in some of her recent books. I am sad that I finished this book so quickly but happy with how great it was. My only criticism is I felt like too many current issues were packed into the book, but it was done in a mostly seamless way. I also LOVED the return of a character from previous novels.

Ok....this is a tough one for me. I love a book with a courtroom procedural in it. This is one of the reasons I fell in love with Jodi Picoult years ago. Many of her books have similar scenarios with complicated, multi layered cases. Mad Honey had those same things that drew me to it. I can handle the plot twist in the story as I am used to Jodi's novels wrapping public issues into them. The issue I have with this story is the over the top details about so many topics! We had domestic abuse, transgender culture/medical/personal issues, teenage romance, teenage suicide, and on top of that, more information than I ever needed to know about bees and bee keeping. I skimmed SO many pages that this book likely could have been condensed to at least 100 pages less. Jodi and her co-author Jennifer Finney Boylan really needed to self edit much more extensively than they did here. Maybe their editors were too concerend with offending them to really step in and say whoa whoa whoa, way too many details here. I could have used less preaching about society as well. Without giving any spoilers, I will say that I certainly did not agree with many of the decisions Ava (Lily's mom) made with her daughters health. I understand that she was fearful of causing her daughter any additional self harm, but more should have been written about any counseling services Ava provided to her daughter before she made such a life altering, permanent change to her body.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the authors for this advanced reader edition of this novel. All opinions are my own.

I love Jodi Picoult books and this one did not disappoint. I always feel like I learn something new. Lilly and Asher were a teenage couple. The story kept unfolding in different directions keeping me guessing.

Excellent view of a small town tragedy that only Jodi Picoult can provide-I highly recommend to anyone who has enjoyed Picoult's work in the past. I think that the addition of Jennifer F Boylan as a writer made this story even better as they were able to work together so well.

You can pretty much count on a Picoult novel to keep you engaged to the very end! It has the requisite twists and turns and dives into a timely topic. Sometimes I wonder if she puts topics, places, and characters into a fish bowl and then picks them out and combines them. She does a good job of it. The ending came as a true surprise for me and I think most readers will be quite satisfied by how it all comes together.

Make sure you clear your calendar once you start this, as you are going to lose hours and not want to put it down. I love a Jodi Picoult read. You know you are going to learn something and have an experience you won't forget. Go in blind if you can. I read a few reviews and even with that and knowing some things about where this story goes, I still found myself blindsided. I absolutely love those moments, because they are few and far between especially when you read a lot of books. This one makes you think, and feel, and wonder what you would do. It makes you question your own perceptions and judgments. What more can you ask for?