Sweet & Sour Honey

by Michelle Richards-Graham

First love can be an amazing experience, but what would you do if you found yourself in a situation that could mean the end of the relationship, and the end of your own life?

After her parents break up, Sheneil Jordan and her mother move to another city where Sheneil dreads going to a new high school, but things get better when she is reunited with an old friend that now goes to the same school. Sheneil also meets the boy of her dreams - only to find out he's actually the boy of her nightmares. DeShaun Michaels, the cute basketball player with a dreamy smile, is the same guy that used to tease Sheneil endlessly back in elementary school. Sheneil tries to resist him, but she soon swallows her pride and admits he's become a good guy. With a little matchmaking, they get together.

Although first love is sweet for her, Sheneil soon finds her relationship with DeShaun could be torn apart by his sassy ex-girlfriend, his jealous best friend, and a greater threat that could end everything for good.

Get a copy: www.michellerichardsgraham.com/books

150 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2010

About the author

Michelle Richards-Graham writes bold and unapologetic YA books about first love, complicated friendships, broken homes, abuse, and the difficult decisions to be made in the middle of it all. Michelle wrote the first draft of her first book, It Could Never Happen to Me, when she was 14 after she had been molested. Writing was the only way Michelle knew how to cope until she found the courage to tell someone what had happened to her. Becoming an author had been Michelle’s childhood dream, so she continued writing and chose to focus on some of the issues teens may face on the path from youth to adulthood.

Michelle has made speaking appearances at schools and events hosted by groups and organizations that support adolescents. She was an English major at York University in Toronto and graduated with a B.A. She also received an Arts Acclaim Award from the City of Brampton in Ontario, Canada (where she grew up) for her achievements in independent publishing.

Michelle's books (both paperback and eBook editions) are available exclusively through her website: www.michellerichardsgraham.com

Reviews

[Janee Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and Sour Honey is about a 16-year-old girl Sheneil who is just your run of the mill girl trying to make it through high school and is met with several familial and personal obstacles that turn her world upside down. This is a nice, quick read and good one for teens ages 12-18 and navigating very real issues being a teen that they can relate to. Let’s dig into some of them! 😁

First, I love how this book explores teen sex and the responsibilities of being an older teen. There are so many teen girls out there who are grappling with when and if they should have sex while also juggling parental and religious expectations in their decision making. I loved how this book fostered very real situations with how teens use round about ways to get what they want and how to pick themselves up after, even if their decisions aren’t what’s best for them.

Finally, this book captures the essence of teen relationships and how boys can get in your ear and sweet talk ya while behaving in a different day. I’ll tell you right now I was definitely heated with some of the characters in relation to Sheneil’s relationship. But these were certainly learning opportunities and literally the things EVERY teen girl has gone through at one point in her life. This book puts you up on game to help you watch out for signs of your relationship going awry. 😬

Another good read by Michelle!! You might as well get her whole set of YA books for your teens as they begin school this fall. Especially Black teens! She’s dropping some great life lessons and gems to learn along the adolescent journey! 😊

[Untamed Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and Sour Honey was outstanding. It was a heart-rending story that took me on an emotional journey. I admire Sheneil Jordon’s storyline as it shows the reality of everyday life for a teenaged girls with the choices and decisions they must make.
 
Fighting with everyday obstacles, Sweet & Sour Honey explores the astounding tale of Sheneil Jordon, who is facing hardships with her parents divorcing, bad relationships, and taking on responsibilities. Sheneil finds love with a dreamy guy named Deshaun Micheals. Sheneil has known him since elementary as her school bully. As she and him get to know each other in high school, she falls in love with the aww-so dreamy guy, but she will soon realize that this dreamy guy is not all what he seems to be. This heartbreaking revelation causes Sheneil to face challenges of the relationship with her first love, dealing with annoying ex-girlfriend, and on top of this she struggles with meeting the expectations of her mother and her religious morals. This story truly probes the depth of relationships and family religious expectations. Overall, it’s a wonderful YA tale that will bring you to tears.

[Crystal Luckey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. Sheneil was a high school student who parents just recently got a divorce. Sheneil and her mom moved to a new place and on Sheneil first day in her new school she ran into this guy she just had to meet. When she saw an old friend from her old neighborhood, she was happy. When she found out who the guy was, her feelings changed. As the book goes on we see Sheneil and DeShaun become a couple. Life is great until Sheneil gets sick and she realized that her friends and boyfriend are not as supportive as they seem to be.
This was a great YA book to read and touched on tough subjects for teenagers. This was my first book by this author and she didn't disappoint with this story!! I wonder will there be another part to this book!!

[Danielle Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, thank you to Author Michelle Richards-Graham for giving me a free copy of her eBook in exchange for an honest review.
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I finished “Sweet & Sour Honey” by @michelle.richards.graham last week and I LOVED it. This is a YA book about a 16-year-old girl just trying to make it through high school and life. There’s no profanity or sexually explicit scenes, so I’d say the book felt appropriate for ages 12 and up.
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The only thing I didn’t like about this book is the formatting. I had to import the PDF into my Kindle app so the formatting was a little wonky at times. But, the story was absolutely a 5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I hate that this book is underrated. It only has 4 stars on Goodreads when it absolutely deserves more readers and ratings. I think what I loved most about this book is that it didn’t go the way I expected. It’s VERY rare for books to catch me off guard so it was nice.
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I’ve since purchased Richards-Graham’s book “It Could Never Happen to Me” and I’m excited to read it!