Review: Mad Honey

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Olivia never thought she would be living in her childhood home taking care of bees, but when the love of her life became abusive, she fled with her son.  Lily has also started a new life.  She had been bullied at her last school and believes a fresh start is what her senior year needs.  These two meet up because of Olivia’s son, Asher.  He quickly falls for Lily and Olivia believes this is the change she was waiting for.  That is until Lily is dead and the police believe Asher did it.  Olivia knows her husband was abusive, but could her son have done the unthinkable?

Mad Honey is a realistic fiction story that covers domestic violence, small-town relations, and gender identity.  The overarching story was wonderful and I’m glad I invested the time in the book, but I feel as if Picoult was jumping on the social issues bandwagon to push an agenda.  I believe everyone needs a voice, but sometimes it feels as if agendas are the only topics acceptable now.  A good read, but know there is more to the book than just a good story.

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