I always look forward to the newest Jodi Picoult book. This one, however, is co-written with Jennifer Finney Boylan. Their voices blended together exceedingly well in this riveting story.

One thing I always looked forward to with a Jodi Picoult book is the realism she brings to her work. She’s not afraid to tackle tough subjects and bring them to life. I enjoyed how the authors told this story with the alternating narratives of two central characters. These characters gave voice to subjects that are often hidden and kept secret for reasons of their own.
There was a lot going on in this story, with many emotional highs and lows. But the courtroom drama stood out. It had a Perry Mason feel to it with all that added tension and twist and turns as two well matched lawyers tried to win their headline making case.

I think most authors strive to entertain and engage their readers from start to finish. But Jodi Picout and Jennifer Finney Boylan added another e word to their work. They educated their readers- whether it was all things bee keeping, to the medicinal powers of honey, its connection to Alexander the Great, certain word origins, or other topics I will not disclose to avoid any spoilers. The bottom line is this story will definitely make you experience a gamut of human emotions. So if you want to be entertained, engaged, and educated, read Mad Honey. You will not be disappointed.

An ARC was given for an honest review.

Carefully crafted by collaborating authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan who narrate the story through alternating chapters by Olivia and Lily, this novel quickly engulfs the reader. Both women have moved to Adams, New Hampshire to have a fresh start. Olivia has divorced her husband and taken over her families bee farm with her son, Asher. Asher is a well-rounded senior at the local high school when he meets new senior, Lily. They quickly begin a relationship that ends tragically a few months later when Lily is murdered. Asher is found holding Lily's lifeless body and is charged with her murder. As Olivia shares her story in the present and future, while Lily tells hers in the past leading up to her death. This is a novel the reader will not want spoiled. The characters are fully fleshed out and readers will be empathetic to the plights of Olivia, Lily, and Asher. This book is stellar and I look forward to it's release when I will give it my highest recommendation to friends and patrons.

This book did not dissapoint! It was a book that I couldn't put down. The story is told in alternating points of view, from Olivia and Lily. Olivia is a single mom who started over with her son Asher after she left her abusive husband. Lily is a high school senior starting over in a new town with her mom, Ava. Asher and Lily start dating and all seems perfect until Lily dies and Asher is arrested as a suspect in her murder. Olivia struggles to defend her son, while also having second thoughts about whether or not her son is innocent.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of Jodi Picoult with Jennifer Finney Boylan new one Mad Honey. Big fan of Jodi and hearing a new voice in Jennifer mad reading this a real delight. Highly recommended this if you get the chance., would't be disappointed.

What a great story by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan! There is a big reveal at about the 50% mark that totally changes the story and topics surrounding the death of Lily. Lily is found by her boyfriend Asher at the bottom of the stairs and throughout the novel, we are left to wonder if he is telling the truth or maybe she was pushed by him. I enjoyed the trial setting, it took me back to old school Jodi Picoult books. I did not get the ending correct. The whole bees and honey element was not really necessary to the storyline for me and I started to skip over it when it became a little textbooky. But I enjoyed it.

As always, Jodi Picoult does it again. In hopes to not spoil anything, Asher, Lily and Olivia made for such loveable characters that you were always rooting for them. While at times the teenage relationship with a little too., well, teenagey, this book was near perfect and a fun read despite the two heavy topics. Can’t wait to keep raving about this?

I did not feel as connected to these characters as I normally do with this author. The storyline felt more forced and didn't flow as well for me. I did really enjoy the parts about beekeeping. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book

I’m so grateful for a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is written pretty seamlessly by co-authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan.

The story is written in two timelines. Lily’s story is backward from her death; Olivia’s (Lily’s boyfriend’s mother) story moves forward from the same point. Was Lily murdered? Was her boyfriend the murderer?
I thought I had this figured out by chapter two. I was wrong. Really wrong.

There’s a lot going on in this book. Domestic violence, transgender, what mothers will do to protect their children. Even beekeeping. It’s all done very well and I learned some things I hadn’t known.

WARNING-- POSSIBLE SPOILERS--

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4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

So many good things to say about this book. I found myself completely fascinated in learning about the hierarchical behavior of bees. Who knew they were so fascinating?

About a third to a half way through this book, we learn that Lily is a trans woman. I thought the topic might be transgender people because of Jennifer Finney Boylan being a co-author, so I wasn't surprised, but I also sort of was because it was a while before that was revealed.

In a time in which I feel like rights are being taken away actively, I was so glad to have this book come out dealing with the topic of sexuality in a thorough, factual yet sympathetic way. I hope this serves to educate folks through reading it.

Picoult and Boylan did a really great job blending their voices. It was fun to read about that process at the very end of the book.

The always-brilliant Jodi Picoult has done it again - this time with the help of another writer. Jennifer Finney Boylan wrote the bestselling memoir She's Not There about her journey from growing up male to transitioning to female. This novel focuses on a major societal issue, like Picoult's novels often do.

Dating violence is front and center in this novel about Lily Campanello, a high school girl, and her boyfriend Asher McAfee. Asher's mom Olivia divorced her husband after years of domestic violence at his hands. Determined to raise her son away from that type of violent behavior, the beekeeper raises her son away from the bad influence of his father.

When Lily is found dead at the bottom of her staircase - following an argument with Asher, no less - the police question the boyfriend. After all, it's often the husband/boyfriend/romantic partner who commits acts of violence against women and girls.

It's difficult to say much about this novel without giving anything away, but readers can go into it knowing they'll read about realistic characters with real problems, and that they'll get to enjoy some great courtroom scenes. Plus, longtime fans of Picoult's work will recognize defense attorney Jordan McAfee, Asher's uncle. Jordan also appeared in her novels Nineteen Minutes, The Pact, and Salem Falls. He's one of the author's few recurring characters.

Mad Honey is all about the secrets we keep from the time we are small, to the love and acceptance we each desperately search for. Two young teens in love with so many secrets they’re hiding from the world and a tragic day when a jealous friend gets mad.
How their lives became as wild and crazy as eating Mad Honey.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Asher is excited to get to know Lily better. When they start dating everything seems great. When something happens Asher becomes the number one suspect. This book grabbed my attention from the beginning.

A huge thank you to Random House for co0ntacting me through NetGalley on being pre-approved for an early read of this amazing book! Such a beautifully written love story that will break your heart. A powerful story of secrets kept and risks taken in order to become ourselves. I don't want to give anything away as you need to read this book when it's released in October. Just know I learned so much (and have much more to learn). This book will stay with me for a long, long time!

This story is so thoughtfully told and so seamless that you would never guess that it's coauthored. It's simply brilliant and reminds me of Picoult's earlier works.

Mad Honey will run you through a gamut of emotions while leaving a lasting impression on your heart.

This book was so well written. I don’t want to spoil anything but I just felt like it took me by surprise while also teaching me a lot - and not just about bees. I’m not sure how I felt about the end and the last twist and I thought there were some loose ends but otherwise I thought this was a great book.

This is Jodi Picoult at her finest! Jodi co-authored this with Jennifer Finney Boylan after a random Tweet and once this book is out there into the world and read, readers will be so thankful for that Tweet!
The main characters are well developed, to a point where I felt I could be living in town with them and KNOW them.
The book has all the main ingredients for a well written story- family, love, highs and lows, death and in this case- a murder trial.
I’m sitting here reading, quickly absorbed as I normally am when reading a Jodi Picoult book, when about half way through, my jaw drops and my kindle drops and we’ll, wait and see for yourself!
Thank you so much to the publisher for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It is reminiscent of Piccoult's earlier work and over was an enjoyable read. 4/5 stars.

Mad Honey is written in the first person narrative from the perspectives of Olivia, mother of 18-year-old Asher, and Lily, Asher’s girlfriend. The chapters alternate evenly between Olivia and Lily, starting on December 7, 2018. At the beginning of the book, Olivia receives a phone call that Lily is dead and that Asher is the only suspect.. Olivia’s POV chapters move in chronologically and Lily’s POV chapters progress backwards in time as we work to understand what led to Lily’s death.

Thoughts: Guys! This book was so good! I haven’t read much Picoult since high school but her 2021 release Wish You Were Here blew me away with a twist that shocked me even more than the thrillers I love and I knew I could no longer sleep on her new releases. I was intrigued by the fact that she co-authored this book with Boylan, as I’m a fan of her work as well and I was curious how the writing would blend together. They did a fantastic job and it was fairy easy to distinguish one’s voice from another but it meshed well. Definitely make sure to read the Author’s note when you’re done (huge spoiler there though so don’t jump ahead). Overall, I found this to be a very powerful read. Part coming-of-age, part romance, part courtroom drama, and part murder mystery. There was a great twist (that I slapped myself for not seeing coming) and the character development was great! You think you know what’s going on but watching it all unfold was *chef’s kiss*. I’m a huge fan of creative timelines so I loved how we have two narratives moving in opposite directions, although there were some aspects I found to be a bit repetitive. This book really helped educate me on something I’m not too familiar with and it’s so relevant. It will definitely be very insightful for others as well. Picoult continues to succeed at tugging at your heartstrings and reflecting on morality, she always makes a reader see past the black and white. I’m excited to see what others think of the book and I highly recommend to fans of contemporary fiction with dual timelines, dual POV, and uncovering the details of a murder.

I really loved that Jordan McAfee was a returning character in the Picoult universe! I’m way overdue to reread Nineteen Minutes, another fantastic Picoult book.

Unrelated to Mad Honey but if you haven’t read Wish You Were Here yet and are ready for a powerful COVID read, highly recommend it!

Favorite quotes:
“Here’s what they do not tell you about falling in love: there’s not always a soft landing beneath you. It’s called falling, because it’s bound to break you.“

“But we keep on looking for it, day after day. Getting our hearts broken. And getting them healed again.”

“I would never know what it felt like to fly. But I knew all about what it was like to come crashing back to earth.“

“Where is the line between keeping something private, and being dishonest? What if the worst happens? What if honesty is the thing that breaks you apart?”

“There are some secrets that I think we are willing to take to the grave for the people we love.“

This story is poignant and beautiful. Devastating and heart wrenching. The writing flows in such a way that the reader would never be able to know it was written by two different people. Olivia and Lily’s stories both parallel in their display of fear, misery, and bravery. You want to root for everyone in this book, you want to be able to decide unfalteringly that they are good. But you will second and third guess yourself over and over until the very last page. This book excellently displays two of Picoult’s best strengths; making you feel pain and love and teaching you something new about things you had no idea are as intricate and intriguing as they turn out to be. The return of readers’ beloved Jordan McAfee is never taken for granted and always so heartwarming. This story brings back the “it” factor of Picoult’s early books.

First of all, I must say the title really fits the book perfectly. I definitely enjoyed the backstory of bee keeping. I learned some very interesting facts The main plot made me very emotional because it was personal, but I can't go into detail because it would entail a spoiler. It touched me in ways I don't have words for. I felt Ava's emotions so keenly there were many times I had to stop to wipe away the tears that were pouring from my eyes. There were so many sentences I reread and highlighted because they were so meaningful and are meant to be pondered long after the book is read. I hope many people read this book and are educated as to how to treat people even though they are different. There is no normal way to be, we are all unique and human. A great thanks to the authors for writing a book that needed to be written.