Honey and Me

Starred review from January 27, 2023

Gr 4-6-A poignant coming-of-age middle grade novel that follows Honey and Milla, two best friends navigating social circles, mother-daughter relationships, religious identity, and the complexities of sixth grade bat mitzvah season. When Milla finds out her best friend will be transferring to her school, she is so excited. Honey has a vibrant personality; Milla adores her but often feels in her shadow. Honey is also part of a large family, unlike Milla's, and she often helps out Honey's mother rather than her own. Chapters take place chronologically through the school year and coincide with the variety of Jewish holidays. As expected for a slice-of-life novel, a lot of the plot revolves around the everyday life of the girls and their family, including sneaking off from Shabbat services to find snacks around the synagogue, preparing for a writing concert, dress shopping, and dealing with the loss of someone close to them. While the tweens are a part of a close-knit, modern Orthodox community, the novel showcases the diversity in traditions, expectations, and schools within that community. End notes include a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish words, Jewish holidays, and an author's note reflecting on the importance of representation in fiction. VERDICT An effortless story that is both widely relatable and culturally specific. This excellent title featuring main characters not often represented in contemporary realistic fiction is highly recommended.-Marissa Lieberman

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2022
Best friends navigate relationship changes and inner growth as they enter middle school. Modern Orthodox Jewish sixth grader Milla Bloom is thrilled when her best friend, Honey Wine, transfers to her school but struggles with jealousy and forming her own identity as she approaches her bat mitzvah. Being in school together creates tensions between the girls, especially when they choose the same topic for a speech competition. They must also write bat mitzvah speeches, and Milla admires the way Honey carves her own path ("where I see roadblocks, she sees different routes"), while she struggles to make choices that don't always match what her mom wants for her. Choice is a strong theme not just for Milla, but for her mother, who gave up her career for her family but wasn't able to have more children other than Milla and her little brother, Max. The need for approval and appreciation is also well developed, as is feeling connected and anchored to one's culture and religion; in addition to her parents, Milla has strong support from her aunt and a teacher. The story's structure is chronological, with sections named for major events in the Jewish calendar, emphasizing the way that Milla's life is organized around them. The Blooms and the Wines are coded White; one of Honey's younger brothers is autistic; a member of their shul is a Holocaust survivor. Authentic, joyful, achingly real. (Hebrew and Yiddish glossary, author's note, list of Jewish festivals) (Fiction. 9-13)

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January 1, 2023
Milla and Honey are best friends who spend time together at synagogue but have always attended different Orthodox schools. When Honey and her siblings transfer to narrator Milla's school at the beginning of sixth grade, the colliding worlds take some adjustment and lead to comparisons between the two friends and between their families. A mostly light episodic novel with a number of strong through lines, the story follows the characters through the school year, with sections named for Jewish holidays and other observances. The honest narrative highlights the sorts of differences within communities that a sixth grader might notice: which families allow more independence, which are stricter about religious practices, and which can afford fancy bat mitzvah parties. And while much of the focus is on family, it's also on the maturing girls as individuals as they each figure out what matters to them. (Notably, Honey finds a way to chant publicly from the Megillah at her bat mitzvah, a solution that satisfies both herself and her traditionally Orthodox parents.) Back matter includes an extensive glossary, a guide to Jewish holidays, and an author's note about a wish to see herself in books like her childhood favorites.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)