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Book club questions for Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult delves into the complexities of love, trust, and family. The novel follows the intertwined lives of Olivia and Lily as they navigate new beginnings and the consequences of past actions. As the story unfolds, readers are faced with thought-provoking questions about the nature of truth, the power of forgiveness, and the role of fate in our lives.
This is a gripping tale of suspense and heartbreak, with richly developed characters and a powerful message that will resonate long after the last page is turned.
Mad Honey is a New York Times Bestseller and has received numerous accolades, including being a “Good Morning America” Book Club Pick and a “People’s Book of the Week.” It has also been named as one of the best books of 2022 by PopSugar.
The novel’s exploration of love, trust and family dynamics will make readers reflect on their own experiences and relationships. It’s a page-turner that will keep you hooked till the very end. The combination of mystery, suspense and a heart-wrenching story makes it a must-read for book clubs and literature enthusiasts alike
Below, I have written my discussion guide for Mad Honey, the detailed synopsis of the book, as well as 20 original book club questions to keep your book club discussion flowing high. Also, don’t forget to read my book recommendations below the questions!
I hope you will enjoy discussing my book club discussion questions for Mad Honey! Have fun analyzing the themes of the story with your book clubs, and let me know what are your thoughts!
The Synopsis
Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising their beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined that 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 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 Ash, 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.
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Book Club Questions for Mad Honey
The following book club questions have been tailored to this book’s specific reading experience.✨
1. What surprised you about MAD HONEY? Did you have any emotional reactions? Discuss.
2. Both Olivia and Lily share a love for fun facts, especially about bees. What is the significance of having these bee facts in the book? Is there one that particularly stood out to you?
3. Olivia’s chapters move forward in time while Lily’s move backward. How did this affect the story’s narrative and the way information was revealed? Why do you think the authors specifically chose to focus the points of view on Olivia and Lily?
4. In many ways, Asher and Lily are two sides of the same coin. How does Asher’s relationship with Braden (or lack thereof) mirror Lily’s relationship with her own father, and how does this contrast with the relationships they have with their mothers?
5. Do you believe someone who hits and abuses their partner can ever change? And if you were in Olivia’s shoes, would you be worried about the potential cycle of abuse that could pass from parent to child? If so, what steps may you have tried to take to prevent this?
6. Did you agree or disagree with Olivia’s decision to keep Braden’s abuse a secret from Asher? Knowing what we know about the things Olivia and Asher hid from each other, does this ultimately do more to help or hurt Asher?
7. Do you believe that love between a parent and child can be unconditional? Are some actions, taken by either the parent or child, beyond redemption and deemed unforgiveable? Discuss.
8. Was the volatility of Lily’s relationship with Asher a red flag (a sign that a person will turn out to be — or is — a bad or problematic partner), or something that could be chalked up to a teenage relationship?
9. At one point, Jordan snaps at Asher and says, “The truth has no place in a court of law, goddammit…. And since the prosecution’s already painted you as an abuser and a liar, how good do you actually think your word is?” In what ways do the procedures of this trial — and the larger justice system — affect Asher and the other witnesses?
10. The court of public opinion impacts all the characters involved in the case, something we’ve seen continuously play out in contemporary society, especially with the popularity of social media and instant access to the news cycle. Do you think it’s fair for casual observers to take sides and make assumptions about events they see and hear, and why do you think we, as a society, are so drawn to doing this?
11. What did you think when you learned that Lily was trans? And which societal factors in your life may have affected how you felt about this?
12. During Elizabeth’s conversation with Olivia, she says, “You know what they say: if you’ve met one trans person, you’ve…met one trans person. What’s true for Lily might not be true for someone else.” Which other movies, shows and/or books offer genuine depictions of the trans characters and stories featured?
13. How did you think Lily died before it was revealed in the end? Did you make certain assumptions about other characters, and who was your prime suspect?
14. One of Olivia’s beehives is attacked by a bear, and she springs into action to save the bees, even as she knows it’s a lost cause. What does this symbolize within the larger story?
15. What do you think about the prosecutor’s decision not to charge Maya? Do you think Mike is correct in assuming that Ava prefers this as well? Why or why not?
Bonus Book Club Questions for Mad Honey
These are my bonus book club questions that take a different approach on analyzing certain themes of the book.
16. How does the book explore the theme of family dynamics and how they shape the characters’ actions and decisions?
17. Discuss the symbolism of bees and honey throughout the novel and how it relates to the characters and their experiences.
18. Analyze the relationship between Olivia and Braden and how it contrasts with the relationship between Lily and Asher. What are the similarities and differences?
19. Examine the role of the court system and the media in the book. How do they shape the characters’ experiences and the outcome of the trial?
20. Consider the theme of forgiveness and redemption in the book. How does the novel explore the idea that people can change and the possibility of forgiveness for past actions?
Additional Recommendations
Hope you enjoyed my book club and discussion questions for Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult!
Here are some more of my book club recommendations:
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf.
Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?
As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.
Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left the family when he was nine years old without a trace. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, his family’s life has been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic.
Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change, the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact.
Thank you for reading my book club questions and as always, happy reading! ❤️