Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

30 reviews

violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

lidia7's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

read it in one sitting, cried a couple of times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Cursing, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Check TWs. 

Amazing, powerful, thought provoking. I didn’t know where this was going until it was revealed, loved the characters and their development, and discussed important topics. I loved all the bee and honey facts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Picoult and Boyle (both well known authors of multiple bestsellers) team up to weave a story from 2 different perspectives: one, Olivia, a middle-aged single mom; the other, Lily, a teen girl dating Olivia's son. The story is told along 2 different timelines but it is done so  well it is easy to follow. Multiple characters are given rich histories and I could almost smell the honey in Olivia's beehives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

annabelreadsandwrites's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Stalking, and Car accident

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

 I would like to preface this by saying that I kind of went into this book blind. The only thing I knew was what the synopsis told me (which I think was purposefully done by the authors) and I think depending on how open-minded you are, I think you should do the same. However, I would like to state that as an avid thriller reader, I don't think this should be marketed as a “thriller”, it's a light mystery at best. So if you’re expecting anything thriller-crazy, don’t. 

But anyway, I LOVED this book! It did take me a while to love it though. As I was reading in the beginning, I liked it but I didn’t love it, but it all came together soon enough. There are so many layers here and stories told that this book provides lots of depth. I don’t know about anyone else, but I was getting really attached to the characters and even teared up a couple of times hearing what they had to go through (especially one character in particular). And I love how multifaceted and flawed our main characters were; I feel like it humanized them in a way because with stories like this sometimes authors make the characters a little too perfect that it takes the authenticity of the story and the character.

The writing is sooooo good! I could literally feel the characters' emotions through the page. I LOVED this book so much and I personally was a big fan of how educational it was considering I knew nothing of what it would've been like to be in Lily's situation. 

The only qualms I have with this book is that I wasn't really into the "bee talk", but some metaphors did stick (no pun intended). Also, in regards to Lily and Asher's relationship (loved them, they were the type of toxic that you actually want to root for) and them "knowing each other so well"; I feel like we were TOLD that rather than shown. I would've loved a few scenes dedicated to them having innocent fun and listing things they had in common rather than just being told that they have this phenomenal connection.

Also, that scene that we get about Asher being okay with Lily being trans. I wish we could've gotten that reveal through Lily's flashback instead of Olivia's present perspective. Because in Lily's POV it shows him freaking out and storming out of her bedroom when he found out. I feel like it would've been more impactful if we got a dedicated scene in her perspective of him being okay with her being trans and loving for "who she was, not what she was".

  Also, another thing, I feel like the ending "twists" was so underwhelming. 

It being Maya to be the one that pushed her was so cliche and felt like a cop-out to me (I was hoping it would've been Dirk). And her not facing any repercussions for what she did piss me off because she literally killed someone and got away with it. The writing was so good in this book that I think I'm gonna cock it up them being in a rush and unsure how to end the book. It's a great book regardless,  but the ending twist was not it. The overall ending was good though.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Sexism, Blood, and Abortion

kristin_parks's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

readinglitwithbritt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Outing, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

sunnydale's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

the first jodi picoult book i've read (albeit only half-written by her). her style is easy to glide through, and the characters are authentic and compelling. the plot involves some heavy subject matter that could be triggering, so i recommend checking content warnings. the ending was a little rushed and felt too satisfying—i think a lack of resolution actually would have fit the themes better. 

the audiobook has two voice actors, and they both do an excellent job. i also like the inclusion of recipes at the end!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Suicide attempts:

Lily and Asher both cut their wrists to attempt suicide.

Transphobia: Two scenes described in detail.

Both are from Lily's perspective. In the chapter "Lily 6," Lily is publicly humiliated at a school dance, then attacked in the parking lot. This event is referenced in later chapters. In "Lily 10," Lily is bullied at an all-boys school, then is physically abused by her father.

Domestic abuse: Many of Olivia's chapters include flashbacks to moments when she was abused by her ex-husband. Some of Lily's chapters also include descriptions of physical or emotional abuse. Domestic violence is a significant part of this book.

katelynprice's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I adored this book and can't believe that it was written by two authors. It feels like one seamless, cohesive story, which really proves their talent. The way Lily's story was told in reverse was so cleverly done. There were "big issues" in this book, but nothing felt overly manipulative or heavy-handed to me. The conversation was nuanced, yet accessible. It also felt balanced in a way that was honest while being honoring and respectful. This book models what it is like to seek out answers, make mistakes, learn how to correct yourself, and extend grace to someone whose experiences are different than yours. The perfect balance of assertiveness coupled with grace is what will stick with me the most. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abortion

Minor: Cursing and Death of parent