Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her life in Boston was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her New Hampshire hometown, 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.
Do you enjoy being completely blindsided by a book? If so, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan's collaboration Mad Honey will be right up your alley. Just don't read anything about the book or authors before picking up this novel if you want to keep the twists a surprise.
Jodi Picoult is one of my most-read authors, having discovered her as a young adult and reading her throughout the many years of her illustrative career. Knowing her writing style fairly well, I got comfortable with Mad Honey and settled into this book expecting it to progress like much of Jodi's other novels ... until it didn't. The twist of this book snuck up on me when I least expected it and made me read the passage again in disbelief. While I can often guess at curveballs in stories, I didn't see this one coming.
I don't want to give away any spoilers, but here's what I can share. Jodi Picoult is known for taking a hot button issue and spinning a compelling narrative about it. Her stories dig deep into what essentially makes us human and touches on heart and emotion in a way that few others can. Her books are relationship-based, centering often on that of a parent and child, as in Mad Honey, where a mother is shocked to discover that her son has been accused of murdering his high school sweetheart. Picoult then examines the psychological and legal implications of the issue she has chosen, often inserting a courtroom drama into her story.
In Mad Honey, we are introduced to Olivia McAfee, a beekeeper, who brings us under her wing and teaches us all that she knows about caring for bees. As most Picoult novels do, Jodi envelops us into the professions of her characters, teaching us so many interesting and useful tidbits about their trades. I can't tell you how many different career paths I have traveled down thanks to Jodi Picoult novels! We are also introduced to Olivia's son Asher and his girlfriend of a few months, Lily, who is new to the area. Olivia has never seen her son so in love, and she takes to Lily right away, which makes Lily's subsequent death purportedly at the hands of her son so shocking. Asher loved Lily, so how could he be guilty of murdering her?
Told in chapters alternating between Olivia and Lily, we travel from present day to past, learning more about Olivia and Lily's backstories and how they came to find themselves where they are today. Heartfelt and explosive, Mad Honey will have you questioning everything you thought to be true. This is a book about the love between a mother and son; the love between a girl and a guy; a story about loving blindly through thick, thin, and everything in between.
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
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