Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult

Adams, New Hampshire

As a teenager, I was obsessed with Jodi Picoult. I think I read all of her books up until I gave up on her after I read House Rules in 2011 or 2012. Nobody has ever broken my heart as much as Jodi did when she didn’t fucking finish that novel. I also have done a lot of growing since my time reading all of Jodi’s books. I find myself no longer all that interested in white-washed, typically upper middle class, small town books. However, this has been a really hard year for me. I had the intense nostalgia that comes with depression, so I decided to give this book a try.

I read this (15.5 hours on audible) book in about 3 days. I ignored my better judgment and stayed up late reading this book. So it certainly held my attention. But I kind of resent books that you just want to read and read to find out what is going to happen. I prefer books that you don’t want to end because you love it so much.

The story centers around Asher Fields, a stereotypical popular high school senior, his mother Olivia (who is a beekeeper and survivor of domestic violence), and Asher’s girlfriend Lily Campanello. The novel is told from Lily (written by co-author Jennifer Finley Boylanand) and Olivia’s (written by J.P.) points of view, with Lily’s timeline moving backwards and Olivia’s moving forward chronologically. Lily moved to Adams, New Hampshire for her senior year after living in California most of her life, and she started dating Asher at the beginning of the school year. In December, Lily is found dead in her home. Asher is blamed and a murder trial ensues.

This is a good book for what it is. Am I ever going to think about it again? Probably not. Does it have a good flow and reasonably well developed characters and a clear message? Yes. Does it have a signature Jodi twist that genuinely surprised me? Yes. If you’re looking for a beach reach that will entertain and hold your attention, this is a good option. Older or more conservative-leaning people may tell you this book is provocative or educational. Everyone has a right to their own journey of learning, but if this book is educational in any way that is a sign that you have a LOT of catching up to do.

The twist is pretty significant to the overall storyline. So the rest of this review is going to contain spoilers.

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So, as I’m sure you’ve heard (or read at this point) Lily is trans. In her previous town, intense bullying and assault led to her attempting suicide. After recovering, Lily’s mom helped her get bottom surgery, then they moved to New Hampshire so she could finish up her high school career but without the judgment and harassment of those who bullied her and knew Lily pre-transition.

I think I’m incapable of summarizing things without making lists. And fuck it, this is my blog that nobody else reads. So I’m making a goddamn list.

Praise

1. Ava (Lily’s mom) was a freaking badass. I wish there was more about her.

2. It was cool that Jordan and Selena were in the book. For OG Jodi Picoult fans, this was fun.

3. Having a trans woman write Lily’s portion of the book was a really cool decision. This gives a platform for an author that is not nearly as famous as Jodi, and it also makes Lily’s perspective more authentic.

Criticisms

1. I did not ship Lily and Asher at all. I know that they are teenagers, but they’d been seeing each other for three months. Not even officially boyfriend-and-girlfriend for three months - it was three months from when they started talking until Lily died. They acted like they’d been in love forever and they were going to get married, blah blah blah. And because Jodi was trying to muddy the waters so much to make the trial interesting (and somewhat believable), there was too much focus on Asher’s red flags and their constant fighting.

2. I don’t understand how Asher was charged with murder. Because of an ambiguous text message? Finding someone dead doesn’t mean that you killed them, even if you are the boyfriend/husband. I thought the prosecution had absolutely nothing to stand on and this really bothered me throughout the trial.

3. Fuck Mya. I knew from the moment her character was introduced that she was in love with Asher and that somehow she was involved with things. Her character made me nauseous.

4. Also, fuck Mike Newcomb (and not just because he’s a cop). He’s the most basic, white knight, “nice guy” character I’ve seen in any of Jodi’s books. I was so mad that Olivia got together with him.

5. The chapter with Olivia and Elizabeth was so cringe. Maybe it would have been worth putting in the book if it was written in 2010? Yes, trans people are more visible right now and there is a lot of scary and extremely harmful legislation coming out around the country, but this information is very surface level. The only people who don’t know that are folks that have been actively avoiding learning or hearing anything about trans people. It was way too long to be that basic. And it further solidified to me that Picoult’s books are not written for young people.

I am not a trans person, so I do not know how it feels to be trans. This is solely based on conversations I’ve had with trans people and what I see from trans people in the media: I find two things surprising and off-putting about the way Lily talks about her body. 1) she was so comfortable in her own skin and 2) the fact that she was not “out.”

As I mentioned, I am not a trans woman, but I have been a teenage girl. No teenage girl feels good about their body. Lily is so happy about the way she looks and talks about it at length. Lily was thin and small-chested, which is close to the “ideal” of mainstream attractiveness. But when I was a teenager, even thin girls hated how thin they were, or their shoulders, or their nose, etc. I know that Lily spent the first 17 years of her life not feeling like her then-masculine features matched the way she felt inside so seeing herself as a girl must have been wonderful, but I have a hard time believing that’s how it is all the time. I assume that it’s a big change for people who go through that surgery, and perhaps you miss physical parts of yourself from before. I’m making a lot of assumptions, I know, so if anyone reads this and wants to discuss, I’d be happy to. But what I see conveyed from this book is that post-transition everything was sunshine and rainbows and orgasms, which I don’t feel like is the reality for most people.

I understand (although again, have not experienced myself) why Lily would want to keep her trans-identity to herself at her new school. She even acknowledges this when someone from the gay-straight alliance talks to her at an assembly. It is Lily’s (or any trans person’s) right to do that. My criticism from this point on is Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan’s choice to write her this way. There have been many problematic books glorifying suicide, and I liken this book to glorifying transition in the same way. Once Lily transitioned and moved to a new town, she was no longer bullied, felt great about herself 100% of the time, and started dating the most popular guy at school. For the vast, vast majority of teenagers, having gender-affirming surgery is not possible (or legal) nor is moving across the country. I understand why Lily would want to keep that part of her identity hidden, but as a stylistic choice from the authors, this is problematic to young readers that may resent themselves, their family, or their situation even more after reading that all of Lily’s dreams came true (albeit only for a brief time due to the whole dying thing) after getting surgery and moving.

The book was an okay book. I appreciate that, in her own way, Jodi is taking a stand for trans people by writing this novel (and especially for including Boylan as the co-author). Because of her age, popularity, writing style (upper middle class/white-centric), I often liken Jodi Picoult to J.K. Rowling. So I appreciate that Jodi is not being a TERF and is trying. This is a book by a 50-something, upper-middle class white woman written for other 50-something upper-middle class white women. At least she’s not a TERF, and the book was entertaining.

Review by the Numbers

Overall: 3.5/5

Writing: 3/5

Message: 3/5

Plot: 3/5

Character Development: 3/5

Challenges Satisfied

- New Hampshire (Reading My Way Around the World Challenge)

- A Book the Fulfills Your Favorite Prompt from a Past Challenge - A Book with a Recipe In It (2022) (2023 PopSugar Reading Challenge)

- A Book That Includes a Funeral (2023 52 Books Club Challenge)

- Winged Animal Companion (2022 Gotta Read ‘Em All Challenge)