MAD HONEY by @jodipicoult and @jenniferfinneyboylan is hands down a must read novel. I’ve long been a fan of Jodi, and am SO glad to be introduced to Jennifer’s writing as well. This book was incredibly wonderful and heart-wrenching. I had NO clue what I was walking into, and somehow that made it all the more special and eye-opening. I see this book educating and entertaining all types of readers, and being quite the conversation starter - in the absolute best way. I highly recommend preordering now, because this book is NOT to be missed! 🐝

I enjoyed this Jodi Picoult book. I always look forward to her books, and this one did not disappoint. I did have a hard time with the multiple storylines at first, but by the middle of the book I was fully invested!

The joint writing effort of Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan creates an unparalleled view into two lives connected by a son/boyfriend. It is a novel worthy of your time that will enrich your mind and touch your soul.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

No matter how many times I read Jodi Picoult’s books (and I’ve read them all, some over and over) I will never cease to be amazed by her ability to lead you down one path before completely pulling the rug out from beneath you.

Mad Honey is a return to everything you’ve ever loved about Picoult’s stories and writing style. The characters, the inclusion of current events told in a way where you can empathize with her character’s struggles, their pain, their choices, the investigations, and the courtroom drama. While I’ve enjoyed Picoult’s recent novels, these are the elements I’ve missed.

This story is told with dual POV — Olivia McAfee moving forward in time and Lily Campanello moving backwards. Longtime fans of Picoult will also be thrilled to see the return of a favorite defense attorney! It took me much longer than it should have to make the connection with Olivia’s last name.

I have and will always admire Picoult’s ability to take current political and social issues and craft them into nuanced stories that explore diverse experiences and opinions. She is almost omniscient in the way she is able to craft fictional tales with so many relatable characters at exactly the moment there seems to be a nationwide reckoning with those aforementioned issues.

This book is truly Picoult at her best and reminiscent of earlier novels like Nineteen Minutes, Mercy, Salem Falls, Small Great Things, and The Pact. Mad Honey will tug at your emotions, throw twists you truly don’t see coming, ask you to analyze your biases, and prompt answers for question you haven’t considered. This book is exactly the story we need.

I would be remiss in not mentioning Professor Jennifer Finney Boylan in this review. This novel would not exist if not for her dream and humorous Twitter post. While the issues this book tackles may have eventually appeared in a novel with Picoult’s byline, it would not be this book. Professor Finney Boylan’s personal lived experiences provide much needed truth to the events fictionalized in this novel. Additionally, her writing style is so similar to Picoult’s that it is nearly impossible to distinguish between the two. I hope to see more of their partnership in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderfully written and classic Jodi Picoult. Takes a small town crime and connects it to the larger world in a skillful and clever way. Always kept me on my toes and I cannot wait to share with my staff and customers.

The book begins with the death of a young teenage girl, Lily, who is in a relationship with Asher, a strapping young man from her high school. Asher is immediately accused of murdering her, and thus begins a murder trial that lasts many months.

The real heart of the story is told in flashbacks, the vantage points of Lily and Asher's mother Olivia. Having survived the physical abuse and lies of Asher's father, Olivia wonders if Asher has inherited his father's traits. Much of the book is spent in self-examination-- Lily's story and reckoning of herself, her friends from her schools; and Olivia's musings on the love and hate intertwined in her marriage.

No spoilers here, but I can imagine it would be a daunting task for two exceptional writers to collaborate on a book. What a masterful job they both did, alone and together! Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

This was a very Jodi Picoult-y book, so make of that what you will. Personally, I enjoy her writing and the topics she dives into but find her plot twists a little much, which was pretty much the case here.

I actually thought the first plot twist was genuinely shocking, even though in retrospect it made sense. But the final reveal was treated as a huge shock when I saw it coming from a million miles away.

Also the way the story is structured, with one character moving forward in time, and one moving (mostly) backwards in time could be really confusing, especially at first. It was fine once I got the hang of it, but it could feel a little “we’re dancing around the big reveal that we already know about” rather than a natural mystery. It’s such a hard balance to strike because I do love an unreliable narrator, but when it’s done in a way that feels obvious it drives me nuts.

As always Jodi Picoult does amazing research for her books. This book made me feel empathetic towards the trans community. I enjoyed that this story was told from two points of view, one moving forward in time and one moving backward in time. This was an elegant book that I will recommend to others.

Oh man, Picoult can do no wrong and combined with Finney Boylan's new to me but obvious talent this was a real killer. I loved loved loved how they managed to do so much explaining of what it's like to be transgender and answering of just really common questions, basically giving a primer. It can be really scary to ask questions sometimes with fear of being offensive or ignorant so to have so many topics covered in such an easy way is so important, and I can see this helping many to examine the way they think. The plot was so beautifully crafted, unsurprisingly, and I loved the nuances of the characters and how they all grew. The ultimate reveal was also helpful as I think I would have been annoyed if I hadn't exactly known what happened.

I definitely thought this book was about one thing and bam it was about something completely different. When I started it all I could think about was that Jodi must be running out of things to write about and took 2 topics she already wrote about and combined them… I thought it was a twist on the pact to be honest but it was anything but. Jodi still has the ability to surprise me and although this was t my favorite it was a great read and eye opening. Jodi does it again!

AMAZING! This book made remember why I started to live reading so much in the first place! This totally had the feel of an older Jodi book

Mad Honey is comprised of layers. The first layer is a beautiful story about a single mom raising her teenage son. The second layer is the relationship her son has developed with his new girlfriend. The third layer is the relationship between a daughter and her mother. The forth layer is a toxic abusive marriage that resulted in divorce when the wife had to protect her son before long lasting effects took hold. The fifth layer is a friendship between childhood friends. The sixth layer is the relationship between siblings. The final relationship is between a boy and his father. Each one of these components layer together to build a story about trust, lies, betrayal, and loyalty.

Olivia left an abusive marriage when Asher was eight years old. She moved them back to her hometown where she thought she would never return. She took over her fathers beekeeping traits earning a living selling honey. She had sole custody of Asher the bond between them was tight. They protected each other and took care of each other.
Lily and Ava recently moved to Adam’s to start a new life. Shortly after they moved there Lily met Asher where they began dating. Lily was friends with Maya who is also Asher’s best friend.
Both Ava and Olivia left abusive husbands. Both removed there children from a toxic environment. Both are protective of their children.

Buried deep in the story Jodi and Jennifer touch upon a controversial relevant topic. The way this topic folded into the story stirred up some emotional and powerful feelings. These authors achieved this by alternating time lines and transitioning between two points of views.
This is a thought provoking story. Considering the controversial topic I’m sure readers will form there own opinions on the matter. I thought both writers did a beautiful job illustrating this topic. The way they conducted themselves in there writing voices was professional and informative. The research backed up and validated the information provided.
Told in two different voices. Jodi Picoult the voice of Olivia; Jennifer Finney Boylan the voice of Lily. I hadn’t known this at the time. Nor did I know that they worked separately eventhough this was a corroboration of two writers. I did recognize Jodi’s footprints where she provides readers with informative details regarding beekeeping. If you’ve read Jodi before you too will recognize her writing voice in how she thoroughly researches topics that interest her. There’s extensive information to backup her solid interest in beekeeping. If you are as passionate about learning about beekeeping as Jodi is about providing that information then you are sure to enjoy those scenes.

A thought-provoking, twisty story that seamlessly mixes themes. On the human side, there is family drama involving well-handled sensitive societal topics. I especially enjoyed the trial portion of the book.

Also, learning about beekeeping, a beekeeper’s dedication to their ‘babies’ and the weather/predator implications were fascinating.

3.5 ⭐️

I have been reading Jodi Picoult novels for years and have always loved how well she researches her topics and I always learn something new. This was no exception. I loved all of the info about bees and beekeeping, just as much, If not more, than the actual crime and subsequent court case!

I also love that she co-wrote this with another author. You can really feel the different voices coming through on the page and I loved that.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really have a hit or miss relationship with her. I have really loved some of her work and other books I have skimmed or didn’t finish. This was ok for me. I would recommend giving it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC. Olivia is a single mom to Asher and moved to take over her family's apiary after running away from an abusive husband.
Lily and her mom Ava have just moved into town to get a fresh start after Lily's suicide attempt.
Lily catches Asher's eye and after 6 months dating they have their first big fight. Three days of Lily not answering Asher's calls, he decides to speak with her face to face when he finds the front door open and Lily dead at the bottom of the stairs.
Asher is soon arrested for her death. Coming from an abusive home, Olivia doesn't know if her son is guilty or not but she will fight to the end for his freedom.
As every Picoult book, this hits another hot and controversial topic. This one - gender identity. Picoult writes an incredible story with grace and understanding.
#MadHoney #JodiPicoult #JenniferFinneyBoylan #Oct2022

Jodi Picoult is back again with another fantastic read. I love how she always tackles such heavy topics in her books. This book focused on love, identity, and being true to yourself and finding someone that will love you back. I can't go into great detail until the book releases without spoiling it, but this book tackled a topic I know/understand very little about and I'm grateful that my eyes were opened. I will complete an more in depth review once this book is released.

I've always been a Jodi Picoult fan. I feel like her novels always have a realistic feel that I could imagine reading about on the news. Olivia was a character that one might connect with as a single mother and a domestic violence survivor - needing to raise her son. The idea of being a beekeeper was interesting because I've never read anything with that as a focus. The only downside was the backwards telling of the story - usually I read a couple of books at the same time but I felt I really had to focus on this one.

Oh, my goodness. I admit that I started reading this novel because, well, Jodi Picoult. I don't think I even read the synopsis! At first, I was a little wary because of the subject matter. I'm tending to a broken heart, and I wasn't sure I wanted to read about such a heart-wrenching topic. But as I moved forward, I wanted to know more about Olivia's life, how that shaped Asher, and not only what happened to Lily, but also the private details of Lily's life that she was hesitant to reveal to her boyfriend.

In addition to being a good courtroom thriller, this novel delves into what it means to be a woman. In true Picoult fashion, the novel works to "[untangle] the knots that society ties itself in."

Open the novel with an open mind. Embrace the characters with all their flaws. You may "know" these people.

And be sure to read the authors' notes at the end. I find the process of writing fascinating and how writers co-author a novel even more interesting. These women have written a compassionate, timely novel that will open minds and hearts.

Not my favorite Jodi Picoult. She has never disappointed me until now. This was lukewarm at best. It had some real good moments but it seemed like she was trying to touch every single hot button issue in todays world, which is typically a reason I love Picoult so much, but they just missed the mark. 3.5 stars