Title: MAD HONEY
Author: Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
ISBN: 978 1473 6924 59
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 464
Source: ARC from NetGalley
Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father’s beekeeping business.
Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.
And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can she trust him completely . . .
Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.
Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.
Official Summary
02 January 2023
If you want to know anything about honeybees and honey, then this is the book for you. This book is a riveting read that looks at self-discovery, the secrets we keep, a heart-warming love story and the lengths a mother would go to protect her child. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat as you flip the pages that are all filled with emotion.
This story shares many emotions and the authors manages to leave the reader engrossed in the various parts of each character’s story. I loved the addition of beekeeping facts and trivia mixed into the story which combined with music knowledge from chapter to chapter. I found myself quickly engrossed and feeling as if each character was someone I got to know intimately along the way.
Olivia returned to her childhood home in Adams, New Hampshire after leaving her abusive husband in Boston. Olivia is determined to start over and keep her son – Asher – as far away from his father as possible.
Lily knows all about starting over and she moved to Adams with her mother for her final year of school. Both hoping for a happier, peaceful year – with her past remaining in the past.
When Olivia receives a phone call informing her that Lily is dead and Asher is being questioned by police, she is determined to prove his innocence. However, as Asher’s trial unfolds, Olivia realises that perhaps she does not know her son as well as she thought. There are many things he has been keeping for her. Despite wanting to believe he is innocent; Olivia must acknowledge that Asher has shown signs of sharing his father’s temper. Is Asher responsible for Lily’s death? More importantly, can Olivia find a way to trust her son and keep him out of jail?
This book digs into family secrets and the things we would rather not share with others while exploring the challenges young people experience on their road to self-discovery. This book looks at the question of how much information you should share with someone you love, do you share everything? Or is it okay to keep your past to yourself? Or is that considered lying? How do you trust when your trust has been broken?
The characters in this story are full of depth and you are left feeling as if you are getting to know them intimately. I loved the detail around each one of these people. There is so much these people would rather keep to themselves, yet a murder trial forces everything to the surface leaving everyone a little more aware of what the others have kept to themselves.
This book is a gripping, suspenseful read that is guaranteed to keep you flipping late into the night. I loved the details and all trivia thrown in along the way. You are sure to find some honeybee facts in this novel you did not know before.
Jodi Picoult fans can expect a treat when reaching for this book which explores a mother’s love for her child and the secrets within the family unit. This is a brilliant read that will not leave you disappointed.
About Jodi Picoult
Author bio from the author’s site
Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-eight novels, including Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page.
Picoult’s books have been translated into thirty-four languages in thirty-five countries. Four novels – The Pact, Plain Truth, The Tenth Circle, and Salem Falls – have been made into television movies. My Sister’s Keeper was a film released from New Line Cinema, with Nick Cassavetes directing and Cameron Diaz starring. SMALL GREAT THINGS has been optioned for motion picture adaptation by Amblin Entertainment and is set to star Viola Davis and Julia Roberts. Picoult’s two Young Adult novels, Between The Lines and Off The Page, co-written with her daughter Samantha Van Leer, have been adapted and developed by the authors into a musical entitled Between The Lines which had its world premiere in September 2017 at the Kansas City Repertory Theater and is expected to premiere Off-Broadway in Summer 2019.
MAD HONEY, her new novel co-authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan, is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on October 4, 2022.
About Jennifer Finney Boylan
Author bio from the author’s site
PROFESSOR JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN, author of eighteen books, is the inaugural Anna Quindlen Writer in Residence at Barnard College of Columbia University.
She serves on the Board of Trustees of PEN America, the nonprofit advocating for authors, readers, and freedom of expression. From 2011 to 2018 she served on the Board of Directors of GLAAD; she was co-chair of GLAAD’s board of directors from 2013-17. She also is a member of the faculty of the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference of Middlebury College, and the Sirenland Writers’ Conference in Positano, Italy.
For many years she was a Contributing Opinion Writer for the opinion page of the New York Times; she has also been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.
Her most recent book is the memoir Good Boy: My Life in 7 Dogs, published by Celadon/Macmillan in April of 2020. Her next book project is the novel Mad Honey, co-authored with Jodi Picoult, slate for publication in autumn of 2022 by Ballantine/Random House.
Her 2003 memoir, She’s Not There: a Life in Two Genders(Broadway/Doubleday/Random House) was the first bestselling work by a transgender American. A novelist, memoirist, and short story writer, she is also a nationally known advocate for human rights. Jenny has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show on four occasions; Live with Larry King twice; the Today Show, the Barbara Walters Special, NPR’s Marketplace and Talk of the Nation; she has also been the subject of documentaries on CBS News’ 48 Hours and The History Channel. She served as an advisor to the television series Transparent.
She lives in New York City, and in Belgrade Lakes, Maine, with her wife, Deedie. They have a son, Sean and a daughter, Zai.
Thank you for visiting the blog and reading my review. I am looking forward to a busy reading year and cannot wait to hear what you think of the books reviewed. Remember to leave a comment below sharing your thoughts. Until next time…Happy Reading!
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