Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Going to jot down just a few things about this book.

First, I recommend a non-audio version if possible. The narrator has a lovely voice but the telling of the story was slow and plodding and sometimes difficult to figure out who was talking during conversations. I accidentally bumped it up to 1.25% on the speed and it was much better but still not great.

The writing itself was very good. Mature vocabulary, well constructed sentences, and I assume proper editing made it possible to focus completely on the story being told.

Now, about that story…

Our protagonist is 28 at the beginning of the book and 29 at the end but this really felt like a YA book. Nearly 30 isn’t a young adult and that was frustrating for me. I get living a sheltered life in academia during her entire adult life would give her a skewed view of some things but it was a bit much for me and I wasn’t able to have much empathy at all for Grace. I also understand what it’s like to be raised by a strong, Black military veteran – but I’m a white woman who has never had to prove myself in the same way a Black woman would have to.

Which brings me to what stuck with me the most: a cast of characters not centered around or filled with white people. It was refreshing and enlightening and I loved it.

I expected a romance and initially wished there had been more relationship development with the wife instead of so much time spent on friends and work but I don’t think that’s what this book was really supposed to be about. It’s about a youngish woman finding her place in the world on her own terms after a life led trying to live by a grand plan devised by – or in spite of – others.



View all my reviews