By Lauren Bell
I’m a habitual reader of Jodi Picoult, so it was only natural that her newest book landed in my “to be read” pile. As for Jennifer Finlay Boylan, this is my first time reading her work, but in Mad Honey both authors’ perspectives balanced each other out and presented one cohesive voice.
Mad Honey is told in the alternating voices of Olivia McAfee, a single mother who took over her father’s beekeeping business after a messy divorce with an abusive husband, narrating post-incident; and Lily Campanello, a high school senior also starting over with her mother after fleeing her father, narrating the time leading up to her untimely death. The two women’s stories are connected by Asher—Olivia’s son and Lily’s boyfriend. Lily and Asher’s relationship is generally amicable, with much of the bonding occurring over their similar absent fathers, but where Asher’s secret desire is to understand his father, Lily’s desire is to forget hers. So, while their love is unyielding, it is also unforgiving, and sometimes Asher hurts Lily—emotionally and physically.
I was a tad apprehensive as I started the novel, because to me the plot sounded very similar to one of Picoult’s previous novels, The Pact (1998). While there were similarities—a tragic teenage romance, the deceased girlfriend, the implicated boyfriend, and the following court case—the characters held their own originality. The plot also took a turn that completely changed the trajectory of the novel, and how I felt about it. For example, at times, I felt frustrated reading it; however, I believe this was intended, as the authors were unafraid to confront privilege and address their characters’ unconscious biases. Much of this book could be used as an educational or discussion tool in that sense.
Along with that, perhaps what I love about Picoult’s work is the vast amount of research she puts into it that gives so much more depth to her character’s interests. In Mad Honey, she is able to incorporate beekeeping knowledge into her character’s values and weave it into the novel so that fact complements her fiction.
In sum, I enjoyed reading Mad Honey, and despite its length, I found it gripping and finished it within a couple days. I would absolutely recommend this book to previous readers of Jodi Picoult, as they will be able to appreciate the appearances of Jordan McAfee and his wife Selena (characters from previous novels) as Asher’s defense team, as well as fans of Jennifer Finlay Boylan, who writes with a certain thoughtfulness that has piqued my curiosity towards her other work.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.