Honey is a knockout debut novel exploring the dark and seedy underbelly of the surge in juvenile pop artists in the 90s/00s. The story follows a trio of young up and coming pop stars and provides us a look inside the exploitation and over sexualization of teen pop stars. 

 

For fans of: Daisy Jones and the Six, I’m Glad my Mom Died and the 90s pop star culture 

 

This coming of age story tackles so many topics; traumatic childhood, addiction, sexual harassment, misogyny, behind the scenes look at how draining it is to be in the spotlight performing night after night. I also really enjoyed the nostalgia provided as someone who grew up only a year or two younger than these fictional characters watching Star search and witnessing the rise and fall of so many child stars. 

 

This is hands down one of my favorite reads of the year and I cannot wait to see what Isabel Banta gives us next, because this debut was everything. Banta has a way with her prose and her ability to paint such hauntingly beautiful emotions and perspectives, especially when it comes to sexuality and exploitation. 

 

Thank you so much to Celadon Books for providing me an opportunity to review this book; all opinions are my own.