Tag Archives: books

“Mad Honey”- a sweet comfort turned poison by the pollinators we thought we could trust. In a small New Hampshire town, beekeeper Olivia McAfee has worked hard to keep her teenage son away from the world’s poison, including her abusive ex-husband. But now Asher’s girlfriend, Lily, is dead, and all fingers point towards him. All the while, Lily’s own story falls back through time, from the day she died to her first meeting with Asher. It was true love. Sure, he could get angry, but it was love- wasn’t it? In the present, Olivia must work through the pain of seeing her child accused of murder, not knowing if she can trust the boy she raised, while mourning for the tender girl they lost.  

Told in dual timelines, Mad Honey shines in one cohesive text, drawn together by the dangerous reality of womanhood. The reader, like Olivia, goes back and forth throughout the novel, unsure of Asher’s innocence, scared that he’s not. But will the truth change the reality of Lily’s fate? A suspenseful novel for mature young adults and adult Book Club Groups, Mad Honey asks how much our identities and the past shape us. And how far would we go to defend a loved one. For fans of Picoult, her recurring character Jacob McAfee from The Pact, Nineteen Minutes, and Salem Falls makes an appearance as the family’s whip-smart lawyer. 

If you’re interested in requesting Mad Honey for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 5 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Picoult, Jodi and Jennifer Finney Boylan. Mad Honey. Ballantine Books, 2022.

Today’s Book Club Spotlight is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story of two nations whose fates are intertwined for better and worse. Of Chinese and Japanese descent, Gail Tsukiyama’s 1994 novel The Samurai’s Garden meditates on the treacherous history between her two cultures and finds humanity in the smallest of places. Traditional Japanese gardens, like those featured in the story, are said to be founded on ancient Chinese gardening techniques. And their unique artistry and storytelling through landscape make them renowned locations of peace and tranquility. This is not unlike the change and peace our Chinese protagonist finds during his time living in rural Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing (Nanking) Massacre. The recipient of numerous literary awards, Tsukiyama is the current Executive Director of the non-profit WaterBridge Outreach, which provides developing countries with literary material and access to clean water and sanitation.

All the young and able men are off fighting in China for the Japanese Empire, with each loss and success clouding those they have left at home. But despite the war, life goes on in the peaceful seaside village of Tarumi. And nestled on the outskirts of town is Chinese student Stephen, who has come to his family’s summer home to recuperate from tuberculosis. There, he finds a quiet spirituality in Japan that he never had in his busy Hong Kong home, watching as the diligent and quiet groundskeeper Matsu tends tirelessly to the expansive landscape garden. Over the course of a year, amongst the peaceful moss and trees, the story of Matsu and the people of the village come into focus as the pain of the past is superimposed on the pain of the present. Love is forged and lost, while Stephen’s heart is torn by the brutalities his people are facing at the hands of the very country in which he is finding peace.

In The Samurai’s Garden, our main character is sent away from his home to recover from Tuberculosis, far from all he knows. And he is not the only one there who is struggling with the isolation of illness. In a nearby leprosy village, Stephen sees first-hand the repercussions of the historical ostracization of these outcast people, if they even made it that far to begin with. Book Club Groups from teens and above will appreciate the thoughtful discussion on personal survival, honor, and humanity while learning about the different meanings of Japanese gardens which bring the story to life. Tsukiyama explores that while living in turbulent and painful times, we can find peace and beauty in nature and each other, how we can choose kindness and acceptance, even if the world is telling us to turn to hate.

More on Japanese Gardens:

• The Japanese Garden Society: Learn
• Types of Japanese Gardens
  • Matsu’s garden is a Tsukiyama (like the author’s name!)

More about Tuberculosis:

• World Tuberculosis Day (March 24th, 2025)

If you’re interested in requesting The Samurai’s Garden for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 8 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Tsukiyama, Gail. The Samurai’s Garden. St. Martin’s Press. 1994.

Deep in the sugar cane plantations of Barbados, naturalist Christopher Wilde and his newly appointed eleven-year-old manservant Washington Black burst out of the treetops on a flying balloon named ‘The Cloud Cutter’. They are fleeing from Faith plantation, where Washington, a slave, has just witnessed the death of a white man, meaning he could very well be next. The pair journey across the world together, chasing after ghosts, until Washington must take up the mantle and chase after Christopher’s. A whip-smart marine illustrator and aspiring scientist, Washington Black may be physically free from the constraints of slavery, but its history refuses to let him go.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (which Edugyan would go on to chair in 2023), Washington Black takes a look at what comes after slavery. Young Washington is taken from his world and his family by this White Savior, who ultimately leaves him. Washington, reeling from his abandonment with nothing else in the world, must create his future while facing systemic and racial challenges wherever he goes. Washington has a brilliant mind for marine biology but cannot exist in the same scientific circles as his white counterparts of the 1830s. It simply isn’t done. Even as a free man, slavery has left a mark on his life, physically, emotionally, and in his pursuit of meaning. This adventure novel takes its readers on a trip around the globe. Adult Book Club Groups will explore new locales, meet strange characters, and discuss how our destiny is unwittingly shaped by those around us.

If you’re interested in requesting Washington Black for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 10 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Edugyan, Esi. Washington Black. Vintage. 2019

The prolific author, Caroline B. Cooney is best known for her suspenseful YA books, most notably her 1990 novel, The Face on the Milk Carton. A lifelong learner, when Cooney turned fifty, she moved to Manhattan for school, inspiring the setting for today’s spotlight Code Orange. Cooney’s novel takes place in 2004, a time when the city is still marred by the tragedy of the September 11th attacks, but recovering. Exploring through the eyes of a native New Yorker who feels an immense sense of pride and civic duty, we see how a child’s psyche can be unmistakably shaken by threats on his home, especially when he believes he is the key to the terrorist’s next attack.  

A biology assignment. An old book. An envelope. Scabs turning to dust. Before Mitty Blake can realize what’s happening, he’s possibly infected with one of the world’s oldest and most deadly diseases. Smallpox! Just days ago, Mitty was a laid-back teenager, who didn’t care about schoolwork or history. And now he’s fighting for his life, afraid that he is about to subject New York City and the world to an outbreak that could leave millions dead in its wake, especially if the wrong people were to find out his secret.

Cooney writes in a young teen voice that’s not only realistic but fun! Despite the weight of the world on his shoulders, Mitty is funny, charming, and a little self-deprecating. What makes Code Orange stand out from other YA thrillers, is that commitment to well-researched science. Not only does Cooney include a bibliography at the end, but her work was commended by the National Science Teachers Association as an “Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12”. The reader learns all about smallpox and effective ways to research alongside Mitty as he goes on his adventure. Written in 2005, Code Orange is surprisingly still relevant. Mitty’s fear of quarantine and what viruses can do to the body gives an interesting reflection to the COVID-19 pandemic that would come almost 15 years later. And like in the novel, the CDC is still on guard for threats of smallpox bioterrorism. Students and Adult Book Club Groups can compare how Cooney described the spread of the disease through New York City against how it happened in real-time, and discuss what has and hasn’t changed in the past 20 years regarding how we handle illness, internet safety, and the duty to our home.

• Check out the story that inspired Code Orange

If you’re interested in requesting Code Orange for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 23 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Cooney, Caroline B. Code Orange. Random House. 2005