This book is for the girls who wear Juicy Couture tracksuits !
I loved this book so much. It's so niche and it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But I ate this entire book up in two sittings. I could definitely see this novel being adapted into a movie or series like they did with Daisy Jones.

In 2002, Amber Young is looking at herself on the cover of Rolling Stone. Even at her still young age, it’s been quite the road to becoming a star. Going back in time, Amber’s more than decade-long journey is revealed. It starts with frustrating auditions and setbacks. Amber's trajectory takes a turn when she is chosen to join the girl band Cloud9. There she meets Gwen Morris, who quickly decides to go out on her own and encourages Amber to also pursue a solo career. The two become successes as the PR teams and media pit them against one another. One as innocent, the other as seductive. As a result, their true identities are no longer their own. Amber’s talent and the music itself seem to take a back seat to her yearning to simply be loved.

In the 1990s, Britney, Christina and Jessica needed no last names. These were iconic pop princesses who dominated MTV and TRL, set trends and sold tons of CDs. Only now are we learning details of what this generation of musical talent went through behind the scenes. In her impressive debut novel Honey, author Isabel Banta vividly captures the spirit of this period. I observed this time through the eyes of a parent, monitoring its impact on my young daughter. Whether this was your era or not, this is a powerful coming-of-age story.

4.5 stars, rounded up

This book isn't perfect, but I had so much fun reading it. The book follows the rise of Amber Young, a teenage pop star in the 90s to early 2000s. It is a beautiful coming of age story of a lost and struggling teen who learns self acceptance and self-worth. It tackles subject such as discovering one's sexuality, complex family dynamics, alcoholism, homophobia,... And on top of that, was just a beautiful nostalgic read that reminding me of growing up in the 90s. Just overall a really enjoyable book to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this decently, but it definitely didn't hit how I hoped it would. The idea of a coming of age story of a person or people in the music industry sounded super interesting to me. The writing was good, but I just didn't really resonate with or care about the characters. I found them to not be as fully developed and dynamic as I'd like them to be (especially for a coming of age story) and found them to be a bit bland because of it unfortunately.

Thank you very much to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

HONEY is a coming-of-age story exploring behind the scenes the life of famous pop star Amber Young at the turn of the 21st century and how she navigates her fame, her image and societal pressures of being in the public eye at her young age. The story spans over several years, some friendships and relationships from her decade long career. As Amber comes into her own and embarks on her solo career, she learns more about who she is as a person and artist and what is it that she (and no one else) desires for herself. As the romantic that I am, I now want to read a book just on Amber and (name redacted)! I enjoyed the story and felt nostalgic at times. I liked how it humanized a superstar.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio @librofm and @celadonbooks for the #gifted book and ALC!

I buddy read this for the 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚.

🩷 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🩷
This book follows the story of Amber, a teen in the late 1990s who gets the opportunity to sing in a new girl group called Cloud9, which helps push her into stardom.

As Amber’s story unfolds, along with her friend Gwen, Wes, and various others, we get to see some behind the scenes action of what it might have been like to be a coming of age pop star. Amber is very much a Britney or Christina type of singer. She is constantly criticized in the tabloids and never seems to do enough to win everyone over.

In Amber’s story, we get to see the unhealthy relationships she has with men, lack of family support at times, and the loneliness she endures in the pop celebrity arena. All of the things printed about Amber in the book and her friends make you wonder about the pop singers you used to listen to and how their lives really are.

I think this book was aiming for nostalgia and truth behind a time that a lot of people loved for pop singers. Banta seemed to want to shed a light on how hard it would be to grow up as a blossoming young adult, and what toll that really must have taken on our so called idols.

I think Amber’s story could have been a bit more developed for me to connect with it more. She seemed to have an apathetic personality and was pretty aimless in life at the time. This story might make a good movie or series, as it could be acted out and have actual pop singers!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🩷 Late 90s/Early 2000s Pop Music
🩷 Music Industry Behind the Scenes
🩷 Coming of Age Stories
🩷 Female Friendships

Honey is a perfect summer read with lots of nostalgia of the 90’s this book will have you feeling like your going back in time and thinking about MTV and all your favorite teen pop singers
It’s a coming of age story about Amber a up & coming pop star who learns how to navigate the ups and downs of rising to the top.
thank you @netgalley

This was almost a DNF after about a third but I kept at it. Honey is the story of Amber, who we meet as a young girl singing in a school talent show and being signed by an agent. She loses on Star Search but then has a career as a pop singer. She's talented but doesn't work hard, and her image is the 'bad girl' and everything is all about her sexuality. I don't know, it seems like this book's strategy was to take every Britney/Madonna/Jessica Simpson cliche and roll them into this book. Amber wasn't really an interesting character to me, nor were the other characters in the book. I'm sorry I didn't like this more.

An enjoyable read, and it must have been because when it ended I went to flip to the next page and realized that was it! So I was enthralled till the end. It was giving a little Daisy Jones and the 6, and I don't know if it was inspired by or trying to be, but I do enjoy a story following along a musical artist. The biggest downfall of the book was that it could have just dug deeper into some of these plots and people. It skated along the surface, which would cause it to be "just ok" for most. More of a 3.5 star read, but I'm rounding up.

Fun, interesting concept and read. Overall I enjoyed it. Not a perfect book, but I would highly recommend if you are looking for a unique and fun read.

I was not a fan of early 2000’s pop music, but I’m roughly the same age as Amber Young, so I thought I would give this a try. Newer media, such as books by Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson and the tv show Girls 5 Eva, have added a new spin that I have found more palatable than the music itself. You are not finding a new spin here. Everything here feels like you’ve seen it before. It’s a collage of stories you’ve already heard.

Amber Young is a Jersey girl with a drunk mom. She manages to find her way into the entertainment business, despite her complete lack of self confidence and ambition. Multiple other characters say she has “no drive,” and I agree. Amber is a chameleon who takes on the colors of whoever she is with. This isn’t that surprising when we’re talking about pop princesses, but Amber never gets beyond it in any meaningful way. She’s always just an empty vessel being filled.

Thank you so much to netgalley and Celadon Books for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this one. The cover really called to me and it did sound interesting. Unfortunately, this one was a DNF. I found the main character to be really annoying and cringy. I didn't enjoy the writing style either.

I hope others love this one but it wasn't for me.

I had high hopes for this story. It was just not keeping my interest. Writing style was great but unfortunately it was not for me.

Honey by Isabel Banta ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a good character-driven, coming-of-age story. I appreciated the exploration of female sexuality and social norms during the 90s.

I was entertained in this book, and I wanted to see how it ended, but I felt the book lacked. I wanted more in terms of character development. I wanted more in terms of being famous. This book could’ve pushed harder and been more impactful.

I never really cared about the characters. I didn’t really get emotion or understanding from them beyond surface level. I never got any of the glitz and glam of being a pop star. I wanted some “teen pop star being rebellious” stuff.

All in all, it’s a good book. If you enjoy nostalgic books, books about the lives of famous people, or books about the music industry, this one will be successful.

3.5 stars.
I saw this listed as historical fiction and I had to laugh. The 90s was my era but it's still hard for me to think that it was 30 years ago. :)
I listened to this on audio and the narration was fantastic. I am going to have to check out more books with Brittany Pressley reading them to me.
It was an interesting story given that I remember the years that Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera rose to fame. The struggles that Amber went through definitely rang true for that time. I'd like to think we've grown as a society but women still deal with a lot of misogyny. The cover to this book is so perfect.
Overall, I enjoyed it. A solid debut novel. I just wish some of the events didn't fade to black. The ending seemed rushed and I would have like to have seen the romance develop some more instead of just finding out that it existed though I guess we had a lot of hints along the way.

A very interesting portrait of fame, culture, and how difficult it is to be a girl becoming woman, especially in the 90’s-early 00’s. I enjoyed the prose, and empathized deeply with the characters. Some intense subject matter wasn’t dealt with in a satisfying way, but I suppose you could say that sweeping these things under the rug was the character’s way of dealing with those things with her fast-paced career. Overall, it’s kind of like if Evelyn Hugo mashed up with Britney Spears’ memoir.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this e-ARC!

Amber chases fame for herself, for everyone else, for validation and love she never received. Her journey to making it as a star is hard to read; you see her lack of choice and she is swept in a tide of sex appeal that was created for her.

We watch her give herself away to that first love and cringe.

And when she starts to bloom and find and define herself and a relationship that will fulfill her- the book ends on a wiki page and album dedication? No! I became attached and it was just getting good and I need the story of the good at the end.

If you were a fan of the late 90s and early 2000s popstars, then you should definitely add this book to your tbr.

N'SYNC, anyone?!?! 🙋‍♀️🤩

From gossip magazines to TRL on MTV, you will relive it all!

Thank you for my copy, @netgalley

“Honey,” by Isabel Banta, is set in the era of of the late-1990s/early 2000s musical era. Think Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, and Christina Aguilera. While their music may not be your personal jam, it was an interesting time in the music industry. As with any industry - all it takes is a lucky (or fortunate) break. In the case of this book, we follow Amber Young - who got just that lucky break. See if this story sounds familiar - an all girl band is formed, but Amber decides to go solo. She finds herself being pitted/compared to two other singers - Gwen (actually a former band member) and Savannah. Amber begins as the opening act for a popular all boy band - ETA - before she gains her own following. Over the years, Amber becomes more mature, calling more of her career’s shots. On the positive, this book mostly held my attention. I did find the idea of this book very interesting and kept seeing “real life” stories repeated on the pages of this book. However, Ms. Banta’s writing style seemed hesitant - like the reader wasn’t quite allowed all the way into Amber’s life. For instance, things were discussed on one page and then dropped within a few paragraphs. There wasn’t delving into any of the characters, things were very on the surface. The story skipped about in a few places, making following the thread a bit confusing. However, the overarching story (while a good idea) couldn’t always save this story. This book includes lyrics, articles, and concludes with a Wikipedia-like page, obviously written after the story concludes. I think if one would like a walk down memory lane to this time period, it’s not a bad book - I just felt the writing style wasn’t my cup of tea, but it wasn’t horrible, just not as deep as I would’ve preferred. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I did enjoy this story but felt like it was only half way done. We didn't get the full and raw feelings from the characters. I feel like there was a lot of filler chapters that were unnecessary. The last couple chapters were amazing. I loved the growth in Amber and wish we got that Amber earlier in the story. Oh and I loved the format with the news articles, lyrics and interviews.

Posted to Goodreads and Amazon