As the authors of MAD HONEY reveal in their authors’ notes, this novel had a thoroughly modern origin story. Jennifer Finney Boylan woke up after having a dream in which she had co-authored a novel with Jodi Picoult. Instead of keeping that anecdote to herself, Boylan tweeted at Picoult, who in turn asked what the book’s plot was --- and from there a real-life collaboration was born.

"Picoult and Boylan address important questions about motherhood, domestic violence and, most critically to the plot, identity, especially gender identity and the concept of 'passing' as it relates to gender expression."

MAD HONEY opens in the voice of Olivia McAfee, the divorced mother of a teenage son, Asher. They live in rural New Hampshire, where Olivia modestly supports her small family as a beekeeper. Asher, an avid hockey player, is head over heels in love with his girlfriend, Lily Campanello, who recently moved from northern California with her mom, Ava. Olivia has grown fond of Lily, and she has enjoyed seeing how happy Lily makes Asher. So she’s completely unprepared for the shock revealed to readers at the end of the first chapter: Lily is dead, and Asher is the prime suspect in her suspicious death.

To narrate what happens after Lily’s death (including a tension- and twist-filled courtroom saga) and trace what led up to it, Picoult and Boylan tell their story in two different voices and chronologies, which alternate throughout the novel. Both narratives start on the day of Lily’s death. Olivia’s chapters go forward in time over the following weeks and months, while Lily’s go backward, outlining the history of their relationship as well as the circumstances that led Lily and her mom to want to make a fresh start in a new place.

Along the way, Picoult and Boylan address important questions about motherhood, domestic violence and, most critically to the plot, identity, especially gender identity and the concept of “passing” as it relates to gender expression. The authors are careful about how they define terms, provide explanations, and allow trans characters to speak for themselves. It’s likely that many readers who haven’t been exposed to gender nonconforming individuals, or haven’t thought deeply about gender issues previously, will deepen their own understanding and empathy considerably.

Some characters are underdeveloped. Olivia’s ex-husband is an almost cartoonish villain, and Lily’s grieving mother remains heartbreakingly opaque to readers. But Olivia and Lily are complicated and realistically flawed characters. They make choices with significant repercussions, and demonstrate both profound regrets and hopes. The tragedy, of course, is that Lily’s dreams and aspirations are cut short. How and why that happens isn’t revealed entirely until close to the end of the novel, helping to ensure that readers will find MAD HONEY as propulsive as it is illuminating and heartbreaking.