Honey by Sarah Weeks Read by Rebecca Soler

Standalone. Scholastic (Jan. 2015) Library

Melody never knew her mother. She died just after Melody was born, and it's been just her and her father for nearly eleven years now. Compared to the stories she's heard of her mother's remarkable personality, Melody feels completely unremarkable.

And then her father starts acting mysterious. Determined to figure out what's wrong, Melody follows some leads to a nail salon, where she makes new friends, and even finds an old one from her mother's past. But friends aren't enough when Melody discovers that she's going to get a new stepmother, one she detests.

And what she wishes for more than anything . . . is to have her mother to talk to. So much for an eleventh birthday surprise, right?

Told with a generous helping of heart and humor as only Sarah Weeks can, HONEY tells the sweet story of a girl whose eleventh birthday brings the most important gift of all.

                                             

You know that song "You Are My Sunshine"? It's lyrics resemble the feeling of Honey - bittersweet and happy. It's also the song Melody has been hearing her father whistling along to for weeks. It's one of the few things that has been different about her father - the whistling, forgetting, and big goofy smile he has been having are concerning Melody. What do they mean?

Melody lost her mother young. When she's told by her going on seven neighbor Teeny that her own mother told her Melody doesn't have a mom; Melody is unfazed. It's always been a fact that Melody lost her mother. Although, when Teeny mentions how Henry has been bitten by the love bug Melody ears perk up. Henry? Her father has been bitten by the love bug? No wonder he's been acting strange. Who can it be? That question is a driving force for Melody in Honey. She strives to find who her father is in love with, with the help of her friend Nick. But, what happens when she finds her father is dating someone she flat out doesn't like? And these stirred up feelings inside her start welling up. What will happen when those feelings come to the surface?

Honey was a wonderful story. It's the third book I've listened to. I've got to say, it's much more appealing to listen to a short book than to a book that's 250+ pages. The narrator, Rebecca Soler, really captured the story. I was able to enjoy the story fully even when she read the parts of anyone other than Melody. I haven't much experience with audio books. I do appreciate it when someone can read me a story and I can get lost in it easily. It's kind of strange saying that, but listening to books can be as interesting as reading them depending on the book and the narrator.

Melody deals with a lot in this book. There are times where her story really got to me and I begrudgingly was saying "How can you do this to me Weeks?" Honey can be really somber at moments. As a whole though I found the characters and setting to be eclectic from reading from the point of view of a dog to learning about a woman who owns the Beehive Salon to the investigation of Melody's fathers love interest. I enjoyed each and every part of it. I loved how everything and everyone connected together. Melody was a wonderful protagonist to follow around. It was really fun to get inside the head of the French Bulldog named Mo too. There were great secondary characters that really had me guessing who could Henry be dating. Needless to say, I had a difficult time trying to figure out who Henry's love interest was which was good. I don't like too much predictability in my books even if it a children's book.

The heart that Melody and her story exuded had me enjoying Honey from beginning to end. Honey's main thing that grabbed me was the heart in it's book. This would be an awesome first audio book listen.