HONEYSUCKLE rating: five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
In this retelling of an old Welsh tale, HONEYSUCKLE by Bar Fridman-Tell (Bloomsbury/Macmillan, March 24, 2026), a small boy named Rory annoys his older sister Wynne until she weaves him a small playmate out of flora and brings her to life. This magical playmate, whom Rory names Daye, must play whenever and whatever he wishes, to get him out of his older sister’s hair.
Thanks to Edelweiss Plus Above the Treeline and Macmillan for sending this book to me for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
At the end of each season, Daye begins to pine away, wither, and suffer and requires the sister to re-fashion and enchant her anew out of the new season’s raw living materials. She is rather like a bound fairy or a genie. If no one remakes her, she will die.
After the sister returns late with her magic, frightening Rory and nearly killing Daye, he insists that his sister teach him how to refashion and renew Daye himself. The boy makes his little foliage Frankenstein’s monster himself from then on, always the same age as he is, and always with no will of her own as to what she is made into, what her parts look like, or what she will be made to do.
I love a story that gradually morphs into a different genre entirely. In this case, HONEYSUCKLE slides from cozy fantasy to horror and does so brilliantly. At first, the playmates are innocent and happy in a beautiful landscape, like Mary and Colin in THE SECRET GARDEN (1911). The older sister gets some peace and quiet, and everyone is happy. With the change of seasons, the tone shifts as things get dark and cold. Eventually we find ourselves in a dark master-slave narrative in which consent and agency become central themes. Daye has no choice but to suffer and be remade, and no option other than to follow the whims of Rory. “Playmate” takes on new and increasingly sinister meanings, as does the fact that Daye is made-to-order by the young master and very lonely when he goes away to school.
Meanwhile, Rory justifies to himself increasingly unethical actions. He makes new friends who are thoroughly grossed out by his magical friend.
Unless you know the original tale, you’ll have to read the book to find out how the situation is resolved. I love this novel about growing and changing ethics in one main character, and an awakening to one’s fate and a will to freedom on the part of the other main character. Everyone has to grow up sometime, and as much as we want to carry childhood magic into adulthood, sometimes we cannot.
Reading in context:
The two retellings by A. C. Wise in the Wendy, Darling series, WENDY, DARLING and HOOKED (Titan/Penguin Random House, 2021 and 2022), feature a sinister Peter Pan who won’t let anyone stop playing his games and grow up. The most obvious comparison to this book is one of my favorites: THE SNOW CHILD by Eowyn Ivey (Hachette, 2012), about a beautiful girl who isn’t destined to survive into Spring.
What I’m reading now:
THE BOG QUEEN by Anna North (Bloomsbury/Macmillan, October 2025).
#Honeysuckle #BarFridmanTell #horror #sff #fantasy #ACWise #retelling #welsh #WendyDarling #Hooked #PeterPan #TheSnowChild #EowynIvey #Frankenstein #feminism