In Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan, Being a beekeeper like her father 
before her has kept Olivia McAfee going financially and emotionally since she divorced her abusive husband about a dozen years ago. She might not have envisioned bringing her beloved son Asher up in her old hometown of Adams, New Hampshire, but he’s certainly settled in nicely and made a good name for himself. Co-captain of the hockey team, a volunteer at hockey camp mentoring kids in the summer, and college on the horizon, Asher has the whole world at his feet.
‘You tell yourself this wouldn’t happen in your hometown.
You tell yourself this isn’t anyone you know.
Until it does, and it is.’
Asher’s burgeoning relationship with a girl new to Adams, Lily Campanello, seems to happen out of nowhere. But it definitely gets very serious very quickly. Not that Olivia thinks anything negative about it. She’s never seen Asher so happy. And Lily is his perfect match, with her intelligence, patience, and a smile that could brighten up any room. It’s when Olivia gets a call from Asher saying that he’s in trouble–that Lily is dead, he found her in her house that way and now the police want to question him–that she wonders if Asher and Lily’s relationship could be too close to the one she herself left behind.
‘In every letter and at every visit, Asher asks me when he is going to get out of jail, and I think my heart can’t possibly hurt any more than it already does.
Until the day he stops asking.’
Soon, everyone is pointing fingers at Asher, crawling out of the woodwork (or so it seems) to pick apart his character and any slight slip ups he’s had as a typical teen. Olivia vows to do anything to help keep him out of prison. She starts by recruiting her brother, famed defense attorney Jordan McAfee, to take the case. After much preparation, the trial begins. But no one expected some of the bombshells of information that would come out as the days wore on. And Olivia can only hope that by some miracle, Asher will be set free when it’s all said and done.
‘There are some secrets that I think we are willing to take to the grave for the people we love.’
With several timely topics included that might push some boundaries but that were utterly compelling, Mad Honey was an incredible work of fiction by dream team author duo Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan.
‘The secret weapon of mad honey, of course, is that you expect it to be sweet, not deadly. You’re deliberately attracted to it. By the time it messes with your head, with your heart, it’s too late.’
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
I have to admit that this is a truly tough review to write. Not because of the writing, which was superb. And not because of the storyline, which was as captivating as it was gut-wrenching. It’s because the last half of the novel (give or take) was mainly regarding a huge plot twist that was revealed about one of the characters while Asher was on trial for Lily’s murder. It knocked me sideways enough that I literally gasped out loud. But this knowledge added even more depth to an already intricate story. And while I won’t give spoilers–even though I really, really want to!–I *love* that the authors included this particular subject matter in Mad Honey.
Told mainly from two points of view: Asher’s mother Olivia’s, and Asher’s girlfriend Lily’s, both women overcame much sadness and hardship in their lives. Olivia’s part of the storyline works its way forward from just before the day Lily dies but is interspersed with flashbacks about her abusive marriage. It was tough to get through some of the passages. And it made it clear how brave Olivia was to end the cycle–if not for herself then for her then young child, Asher. But as he and Lily formed an intense relationship years later and she suddenly dies with questions as to how it happened, to me it was only natural for Olivia to question things…even if just in the back of her mind to wonder if Asher could be like his father.
Lily’s journey to her late teens was an arduous one. She was finally feeling more like herself and more confident when she entered Adams High than she had for years. Her story is told backwards, basically. Starting with the day she died, we then get to see the events that took place leading up to that fateful day by going in reverse, week by week. There were also some flashbacks woven in showing Lily’s troubled childhood. It was so very sad that my heart absolutely broke for her. But it also showed a great deal of strength in overcoming everything thrown at her before her untimely death.
QOTD: Are you a fan of either Jodi Picoult’s or Jennifer Finney Boylan’s work? Any standout novels you can recommend?
Book Info:
Publication: Published October 4, 2022 | Ballantine Books |
A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind.
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.
