Books Set in North America: New Hampshire, United States

Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (2022)

 

Jodi Picoult’s book tackle timely social topics and Mad Honey is no different.  Her books also come with twists – some the reader may seem coming and others that come as a complete surprise.  This novel deals with both domestic violence and transgender issues.

 

The underlying theme of beekeeping and honey is, of course, a metaphor for life.  Mad Honey refers to the honey made from rhododendrons and mountain laurels.  The grayanotoxins from these flowers can make one very ill.  Mad honey is deceptive, because you believe it to be sweet, but not to be deadly.  It isn’t until after you become ill, that you realize the potency of the honey.

 

In this novel, high school senior Asher McAfee is living with his mother in northern New Hampshire.  They moved there when he was a young child after his mother left his abusive father.  His mother took over her family’s beekeeping operation following the death of her father.

 

In his final year of high school, he meets Lily Campanello, newly arrived from the west coast.  Like Asher, Lily is living with her single mother, having fled a troubled relationship with her father.  Lily has deep secrets and to keep these secrets, she lies about her past.  Some big lies, some small lies, and some lies of omission.

 

The novel goes back and forth in time.  The novel is told mostly in the voice of Asher’s mother Olivia, and in flashback, in Lily’s voice.

 

The book opens with Asher cradling the body of Lily at the bottom of the staircase in her home.  It appears they had a fight and Asher is charged with her murder.  Throughout the long trial, in which Asher’s uncle is the defense counsel, evidence is presented that could be interpreted to present a guilty verdict.  Mixed into the texture of the novel are tidbits about bees and honey.  I found these to be more interesting than the trial itself.

 

Read:  October 15, 2023

 

3 Stars

 

 

Books Set in North America, United States, New Hampshire

Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult (2007)

 

All High School students suffer from teenage angst as they struggle to find their true selves.  Many students are bullied and others are complicit in the bullying in an attempt to fit in.  This novel, which is a bit dated, began as an ordinary day in a small town in New Hampshire until Peter Houghton, who had been bullied every day since kindergarden, brought a gun to school and began shooting.

 

There is no denying that Peter was the killer of several students, some of whom had teased and bullied him for years.  Among the injured was Josie Cormier, whose mother was the Judge over the trial, and Josie’s boyfriend, Matt Royston.  Matt was a jock and one of the most popular students at the school.  He was also jealous and possessive of Josie.

 

Josie had been a close friend of Peter’s when they were children, but their friendship was strained after their mothers had a falling out.  Josie still felt some sympathy towards Peter, but was afraid if she showed it, she would be ostracized by the “cool” kids.

 

The book travels between the present and past as we learn of the events leading up to the shooting.  The book is about teenage angst – something that probably all readers can identify with.  Picoult tackles these issues in the bigger drama of school shootings, which have become common events in schools.

 

There are several subplots, including a troubled and difficult relationship between Josie and her single mother, Josie’s abusive boyfriend, reckoning with sexual identity, and pregnancy scares.

 

At the end, we learn that, although Peter shot and killed several students, Josie actually shot her Matt, her abusive boyfriend, and Peter promised to protector her from this carnage.  The jury finds Peter guilty of murder and he is sentenced to life in prison.  He finds and escape through suicide, and Josie was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 5 years.

 

As with most of Picoult’s novels, this examines social issues and is well written and researched.

 

Read:  November 28, 2020

 

4 Stars

Books Set in the United States: South Carolina

South of Broad, by Pat Conroy (2009)

South of Broad is a novel narrated by Leopold Bloom King.  His mother was a James Joyce scholar, hence his name.  The novel begins on Bloomsday (June 16), 1969 in Charleston, South Carolina when young Leo is a troubled teenager.

Leo adored his older brother, Steve.  After Steve committed suicide, it was Leo who found his brother’s lifeless body.  No suicide note was found, so his death remained a mystery to the family.

Leo was an under achiever and feels that his mother somehow wished that it was him and not Steve who had died.  Leo’s family is devoutly Catholic ~ a theme that runs through the novel.

Shortly after Steve died, Leo was caught with a large amount of drugs in his pocket. Although the drugs did not belong to him, Leo refused to name the individual to whom the drugs belonged. As a result, Leo was under court probation and community service.

On that fateful day in June 1969, Leo met his new neighbors who were about his age ~ Sheba Poe, the drama queen, and Trevor Poe, who was gay and proud of it, along with their alcoholic mother.  Their father may or may not be in the picture.  He was also ordered by his mother (who was principal in the public high school), to befriend two orphans ~ Niles and Starla.  Then, he attended a luncheon at the ritzy yacht club where he met Chad, and his sister Fraser, and Chad’s girlfriend, Molly.  They were kicked out of their private school and must attend the public school.  These three were of wealthy families with nothing in common with Leo’s middle-class upbringing.

As if that were not enough, integration has come to Charleston, and the new football coach is Black.  Leo it told by both his mother and the new coach to befriend the coach’s son, Ike. Eventually, Leo, Sheba, Trevor, Niles, Starla, Chad, Fraser and Molly become inseperable.  This all seems so improbable.

The novel recounts their trials and tribulations, which the reader learns involves domestic abuse, sexual abuse, the AIDS epidemic, class differences, racial integration, and Hurricane Hugo ~ all of which happens to these teenagers. The novel goes back and forth in time from the late 1960s to the early 2000s.

It was a bit of a mess, with all the “social” issues occurring to the main characters.  The novel would have been more interesting if the author had focused on one or two of these issues, rather than try to discuss them all in one book.

I enjoyed the first 300 pages, but the book went off the rails in the last 200 pages. I finished reading this book at Starbucks.  A young college student saw that I was reading a book by Pat Conroy and asked me about it.  He said that he liked Pat Conroy.  After I finished the book, I gave it to him.

Read: May 19, 2019

3 Stars