DECEMBER 2022 - AudioFile
Narrator Jesse Vilinsky creates a passionate voice for 11-year-old Milla, who encounters numerous changes and challenges when her best friend, Honey, starts to attend her Orthodox Jewish school, Eden Academy. Vilinsky captures Milla’s tumultuous emotions as Honey enters her school life and moments of jealousy arise. Along with her friend troubles, Milla also struggles to feel heard at home, feelings that cause her relationship with her mother to be strained as they try to understand each other. Characters are given unique voices throughout, bringing the story to life. Listeners will cheer on Milla as she matures and finds the courage to share her feelings in this coming-of-age story focused on the importance of family, friendship, and faith. M.D. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Praise for Honey and Me:
A 2023 Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book
A Kirkus Best Book of 2022
* “The need for approval and appreciation is also well developed, as is feeling connected and anchored to one’s culture and religion. . . . 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. . . . Authentic, joyful, achingly real.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* “A poignant coming-of-age middle grade novel that follows . . . two best friends navigating social circles, mother-daughter relationships, religious identity, and the complexities of sixth grade bat mitzvah season. . . . 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. . . . 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.” — School Library Journal, starred review
“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. . . . 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.” — The Horn Book
“It is refreshing to read about a grounded friendship that holds up to adolescent stresses. Suffused with Jewish tradition and observances . . . the story succeeds in making clear in context what could be unfamiliar to readers while keeping the focus on the universal themes of friendship and the struggle for independence.” — School Library Connection, recommended
“Puts its finger precisely on the pulse of adolescence, capturing the power, and also heartbreak, of close female friendships, difficult mother-daughter relationships and teachers who change our lives forever.” — Jewish Journal
“Honey and Me illustrates that Jewish observance can be important and meaningful while still leaving room for the daily dramas of preteen-and-teen life. Appreciation for family, community, and close friends is a hallmark of the story.” — Jewish Book Council
“This lively tale of family, friendship and self-discovery is filled with all the warmth that the girls' loving Jewish community has to offer. . . . The author astutely captures the subtle nuances of the relationship between Milla and Honey. . . . young readers of different backgrounds are given a glimpse into the traditions that have shaped both girls.” — Canadian Children’s Book News
“Heartwarming…and inspiring…I loved it!” — M. Evan Wolkenstein, author of Turtle Boy, winner of the 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award
“A gentle coming-of-age tale of friendship, family and faith that revels in the small moments of Jewish life.” — Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of Frankie and Bug, We Are Inevitable, and If I Stay
"At once Jewish and universal.” — Madelyn Rosenberg, coauthor of Not Your All-American Girl and This Is Just a Test, a Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor Book
"Drazin has created an emotional and heartfelt modern-day classic that will resonate with young readers.” — Elaine Vickers, award-winning author of Like Magic and Paper Chains
School Library Journal
★ 01/27/2023
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
DECEMBER 2022 - AudioFile
Narrator Jesse Vilinsky creates a passionate voice for 11-year-old Milla, who encounters numerous changes and challenges when her best friend, Honey, starts to attend her Orthodox Jewish school, Eden Academy. Vilinsky captures Milla’s tumultuous emotions as Honey enters her school life and moments of jealousy arise. Along with her friend troubles, Milla also struggles to feel heard at home, feelings that cause her relationship with her mother to be strained as they try to understand each other. Characters are given unique voices throughout, bringing the story to life. Listeners will cheer on Milla as she matures and finds the courage to share her feelings in this coming-of-age story focused on the importance of family, friendship, and faith. M.D. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-08-17
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)
