image of person or book cover 3570426020978072005.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
y separately published work icon Honeybee single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 Honeybee
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The highly anticipated new novel by the bestselling author of Jasper Jones.

'Find out who you are, and live that life.'

'Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below.

'At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette.

'The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.

'Honeybee is a heart-breaking, life-affirming novel that throws us headlong into a world of petty thefts, extortion plots, botched bank robberies, daring dog rescues and one spectacular drag show.

'At the heart of Honeybee is Sam: a solitary, resilient young person battling to navigate the world as their true self; ensnared by a loyalty to a troubled mother, scarred by the volatility of a domineering step-father, and confounded by the kindness of new alliances.

'Honeybee is a tender, profoundly moving novel brimming with vivid characters and luminous words. It's about two lives forever changed by a chance encounter -- one offering hope, the other redemption. It's about when to persevere, and when to be merciful, as Sam learns when to let go, and when to hold on.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • Dedication : 

    For Them on the Bridge

  • Number 7 on the Better Reading's 2001 Top 100

    Number 1 on the Better Reading's 2003 Top 100


    Number 2 in the 2024 Better Reading Top 100

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2020 .
      image of person or book cover 3570426020978072005.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 424p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published September 2020
      ISBN: 9781760877224
    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2021 .
      image of person or book cover 1111093263453355862.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 432p.
      Note/s:
      • Published November 2021
      ISBN: 9781760877224

Other Formats

  • Large print.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Social Reading Cultures on BookTube, Bookstagram and BookTok Bronwyn Reddan , L. M. Rutherford , Amy Schoonens , Michael Dezuanni , Abingdon : Routledge , 2024 28229225 2024 single work criticism

'This book examines the reading cultures developed by communities of readers and book lovers on BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok as an increasingly important influence on contemporary book and literary culture. It explores how the affordances of social media platforms invite readers to participate in social reading communities and engage in creative and curatorial practices that express their identity as readers and book lovers.

'The interdisciplinary team of authors argue that by creating new opportunities for readers to engage in social reading practices, bookish social media has elevated the agency and visibility of readers and book consumers within literary culture. It has also reshaped the cultural and economic dynamics of book recommendations by creating a space in which different actors are able to form an identity as mediators of reading culture.

'Concise and accessible, this introduction to an increasingly central set of literary practices is essential reading for students and scholars of literature, sociology, media, and cultural studies, as well as teachers and professionals in the book and library industries.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

#Ownvoices, Disruptive Platforms, and Reader Reception in Young Adult Publishing L. M. Rutherford , Katya Anne-Madsen Johanson , Bronwyn Reddan , 2022 single work criticism
— Appears in: Publishing Research Quarterly , September vol. 38 no. 3 2022; (p. 573–585)

'The concept of #ownvoices writing has gained traction in contemporary publishing as both a genre of reader interest and a focus for debates about authors’ rights to write cross-culturally. This paper examines tensions the #ownvoices movement reveals between the commissioning, publishing, and critical reception of a book, using debate about Craig Silvey’s Honeybee, an Australian novel focalized through a young trans protagonist but written by a straight male author. Drawing on the theory of recognition, it analyzes author and publisher media interviews, social media, and literary reviews in mainstream publications, which are given context through with selected interviews with Australian publishers. Misrepresentation and appropriation are concerns for many readers, while judgements about aesthetic quality vary. Structures within the book industries limit the economic representation of diverse creators which, in turn, has implications for the diversity of experience represented in young adult fiction and its literary quality.'  (Publication abstract)

Not Who But How Oliver Reeson , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , April 2021;

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel

'Last year, Craig Silvey’s third novel was published, his first since the hugely popular Jasper Jones in 2009. Honeybee, a story about a troubled trans teenager, Sam, and their unlikely friendship with the older widower Vic was considered, on publication, to be fairly offensive by many trans readers, myself included. Offensive because it is a cis man writing a trans teenager with all the predictable tropes: a troubled home life, suicide attempts, ambiguous language that evades gender until a big ‘reveal’. I watched the book come out, I watched it sell well, and I watched as not one reviewer engaged with it as a literary critic. No one considered it worthy of literary criticism, seemingly on the basis of its relationship to transness. I hate being a trans person when a book like this comes out, not because I feel unsettled in my identity, but because I hate being treated like I’m too fragile to understand the stakes of fiction by critics who aren’t assessing it as such.' (Introduction)

Book Review : Honeybee by Craig Silvey Julia Faragher , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , October 2020;

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel

'The author of popular Australian novel Jasper Jones has returned with a new tale of identity and self.'

Risks and Rewards of Transformation Geordie Williamson , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 17 October 2020; (p. 17)

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel
Honeybee by Craig Silvey Review – A Tender but Uncomfortable Coming-of-age Story Fiona Wright , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 25 September 2020;

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel

'Silvey’s first novel since Jasper Jones is a compassionate tale about overcoming trauma to find family and self-acceptance, narrated by a trans child.'

A Bumpy Road : Craig Silvey's New Novel Anna MacDonald , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 426 2020; (p. 36)

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel

'Honeybee, Craig Silvey’s highly anticipated new novel, his first since Jasper Jones (2009), chronicles the coming of age of fourteen-year-old transgender narrator Sam Watson, who was assigned male at birth. This is a story of desperate loneliness and fear, of neglect, family violence, betrayal, and self-disgust. But it is also one of love and solidarity, a celebration of the kindness of strangers who become family and friends.' (Introduction)

[Review] Honeybee Elizabeth Flux , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , October 2020;

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel
Risks and Rewards of Transformation Geordie Williamson , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 17 October 2020; (p. 17)

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel
Not Who But How Oliver Reeson , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , April 2021;

— Review of Honeybee Craig Silvey , 2020 single work novel

'Last year, Craig Silvey’s third novel was published, his first since the hugely popular Jasper Jones in 2009. Honeybee, a story about a troubled trans teenager, Sam, and their unlikely friendship with the older widower Vic was considered, on publication, to be fairly offensive by many trans readers, myself included. Offensive because it is a cis man writing a trans teenager with all the predictable tropes: a troubled home life, suicide attempts, ambiguous language that evades gender until a big ‘reveal’. I watched the book come out, I watched it sell well, and I watched as not one reviewer engaged with it as a literary critic. No one considered it worthy of literary criticism, seemingly on the basis of its relationship to transness. I hate being a trans person when a book like this comes out, not because I feel unsettled in my identity, but because I hate being treated like I’m too fragile to understand the stakes of fiction by critics who aren’t assessing it as such.' (Introduction)

#Ownvoices, Disruptive Platforms, and Reader Reception in Young Adult Publishing L. M. Rutherford , Katya Anne-Madsen Johanson , Bronwyn Reddan , 2022 single work criticism
— Appears in: Publishing Research Quarterly , September vol. 38 no. 3 2022; (p. 573–585)

'The concept of #ownvoices writing has gained traction in contemporary publishing as both a genre of reader interest and a focus for debates about authors’ rights to write cross-culturally. This paper examines tensions the #ownvoices movement reveals between the commissioning, publishing, and critical reception of a book, using debate about Craig Silvey’s Honeybee, an Australian novel focalized through a young trans protagonist but written by a straight male author. Drawing on the theory of recognition, it analyzes author and publisher media interviews, social media, and literary reviews in mainstream publications, which are given context through with selected interviews with Australian publishers. Misrepresentation and appropriation are concerns for many readers, while judgements about aesthetic quality vary. Structures within the book industries limit the economic representation of diverse creators which, in turn, has implications for the diversity of experience represented in young adult fiction and its literary quality.'  (Publication abstract)

y separately published work icon Social Reading Cultures on BookTube, Bookstagram and BookTok Bronwyn Reddan , L. M. Rutherford , Amy Schoonens , Michael Dezuanni , Abingdon : Routledge , 2024 28229225 2024 single work criticism

'This book examines the reading cultures developed by communities of readers and book lovers on BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok as an increasingly important influence on contemporary book and literary culture. It explores how the affordances of social media platforms invite readers to participate in social reading communities and engage in creative and curatorial practices that express their identity as readers and book lovers.

'The interdisciplinary team of authors argue that by creating new opportunities for readers to engage in social reading practices, bookish social media has elevated the agency and visibility of readers and book consumers within literary culture. It has also reshaped the cultural and economic dynamics of book recommendations by creating a space in which different actors are able to form an identity as mediators of reading culture.

'Concise and accessible, this introduction to an increasingly central set of literary practices is essential reading for students and scholars of literature, sociology, media, and cultural studies, as well as teachers and professionals in the book and library industries.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Last amended 2 May 2024 13:53:43
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