52 pages • 1-hour read
Honey
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Chapters 17-23Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 17 Summary
In the morning, it’s raining. Gramp-o is still sleeping off his sickness. Melody eats breakfast, then returns to the music room for her pillow. Melody spots a tape recorder on the shelf. The tape inside is labeled with the name of a Brahms music piece and the date it was recorded—two days before Melody was born. She tries to play the tape, but the recorder has no batteries.
Melody brings the tape out to Gramp-o’s car, which still has a cassette player. Melody closes her eyes and listens to her mother’s beautiful piano music. She’d never really listened to classical music before, but somehow she knew the notes of the piece, as though she’d heard it many times. The music makes Melody feel safe and warm. At the end of the tape, Melody hears her mother’s laugh followed by a request for Henry to feel her belly because Melody is kicking. She says Melody must like Brahms. Then the tape ends.
Melody repeats the tape two more times, planning to replay it again when she’s interrupted by Mrs. McKenna knocking on the car window. She was driving by when she saw Melody in the car alone and got worried. Melody explains that Gramp-o is sick inside, and her father is away for the weekend. Melody fights down her rising emotions, but they bubble to the surface. Mrs. McKenna asks what’s wrong. Melody replies that she misses her mother.
Mrs. McKenna comforts Melody in the car until the rain begins to let up. They go inside Melody’s house. Mrs. McKenna makes tea while Melody checks on Gramp-o, who is still not well enough to come out of the bedroom. Mrs. McKenna offers to pick up ginger ale for Gramp-o on the way back from the Bee Hive. She’s going in for a manicure. Mrs. McKenna heard about Melody and Nick’s visit the previous day. She says Miss Hogan was just upset about her secret being exposed. Mrs. McKenna invites Melody to come with her to the Bee Hive. Melody asks if it’s okay if she doesn’t get her nails painted. Mrs. McKenna doesn’t mind.
Melody likes Mrs. McKenna and agrees with her dad’s observation that she and Mrs. McKenna are a good fit. She decides she’ll try not to think of anything sad so she can enjoy her time with Mrs. McKenna.
Chapter 18 Summary
Mo spends the morning scared. He hates the rain and thunder. He tries to refuse his morning walk. He does his business outside as quickly as possible and then whines so the tall woman will bring him back home. Mo avoids the puddles and mud, afraid he’ll get a bath if he gets too dirty. He hates baths.
On the way inside, Mo smells something peculiar—the cat. When the cat emerges from under a bush, Mo jerks his leash out of the tall woman’s hand and chases the cat around until it runs up a tree. The tall woman scolds Mo for bullying the cat.
The tall woman brings Mo inside, dries him off, and gives him a rawhide knot before leaving. Mo is satisfied, having chased the cat up a tree. The rain stops, and the sun begins to come out. Mo goes to sleep hoping for his favorite dream again. He wonders what the girl is holding. He feels it’s something significant.
Chapter 19 Summary
Bee-Bee’s hair is different when Melody and Mrs. McKenna arrive at the Bee Hive. Bee-Bee has a large collection of fun wigs that she likes to change out. She shows off her collection and prepares to give Mrs. McKenna her manicure. Bee-Bee hopes Melody will help her name all her nail polish colors. Mrs. McKenna agrees that Melody is great with words and asks Melody to name a few of the polishes she’s looking at. While Bee-Bee works on Mrs. McKenna’s nails, Melody works on labels for the nail polishes.
Bee-Bee explains that she gets the inspiration for her colors from her mood. She likes to close her eyes and see the colors that represent how she feels. Mrs. McKenna says she sees yellow and orange with pink stars, which Bee-Bee says means she’s happy. Melody says she sees red. Bee-Bee says red is tricky because it means passion or heartache. Bee-Bee and Mrs. McKenna both know which one Melody has been feeling lately.
Mrs. McKenna tells a funny story about one of her students, and she and Melody reminisce about the funny times they had when Melody was in her class. Bee-Bee finishes Mrs. McKenna’s nails and offers to do Melody’s. Melody declines, but she leaves the option open for next time, as she’ll need to return to finish naming all 100 colors. Bee-Bee offers to mix a special 101st color for Melody.
Melody is sad to say goodbye to Mrs. McKenna, who drops her off at home. As soon as she’s alone, Melody feels upset again. She is sad that her father is marrying Miss Hogan and even sadder that she’ll never know her mother.
Chapter 20 Summary
Melody enters the house to find her father home early from the camping trip, which was fraught with bad weather and car troubles. Melody grills her father, reminding him of the definition of “unilateral.” Melody feels her father made the decision to have a girlfriend and get married without Melody’s input. Melody scolds her father for “sneaking around behind [her] back dating [her] teacher” (124). Melody’s father doesn’t deny the accusation. He asks how Melody found out. Melody tells him about the “honey” phone call she overheard.
Melody’s father apologizes for not telling her. He wanted to make sure the relationship was serious before telling Melody. He doesn’t understand why she’s so upset, as he thought she’d be happy. Melody rants about her screen time allowance and about how her father controls how much she knows about her mother. Melody begins to cry about how her father is marrying Miss Hogan. Melody’s father is dumbfounded: He’s not seeing Miss Hogan, and he’s certainly not marrying her. He suddenly understands why Melody is so distraught.
Melody’s father clarifies that he’s dating Mrs. McKenna, not Miss Hogan. Mrs. McKenna’s husband passed away several years ago and she kept his name. Melody is ecstatic to find out Mrs. McKenna is “honey.” She and her father both say they love Mrs. McKenna.
They order celebratory pizza for dinner. Melody observes that it must have just been a coincidence that Miss Hogan was whistling “You Are My Sunshine” the other day. Melody’s father looks emotional: The song was one of Melody’s mother’s favorites. She would sing it when she was happy. He hopes she’s singing it now.
Melody tells her father about her multiple visits to the Bee Hive and listening to the Brahms tape. Melody’s father apologizes. He worries the tape made her sad. Melody is glad to have heard her mother’s voice. She wishes she knew her mother. Melody’s father explains he only wanted to protect Melody from those feelings. Melody’s father explains that the attic is full of old videos and items from Melody’s mother, including the baby blanket she crocheted for Melody.
Melody makes her father promise not to keep secrets anymore. When he fetches the things from the attic that night after Melody goes to bed, he also pulls out a small blue box containing another secret he’s kept from Melody.
Chapter 21 Summary
Melody tells Nick the good news the following morning. Melody asks her father if he knows anywhere she can spend her dandelion earnings on a new candy dish, as she wants to replace the one Teeny broke. Melody’s father doesn’t want Melody to go to the Bee Hive since they planned to go through the stuff from the attic, but Melody wants to wait until later to handle that. Melody’s father says Mrs. McKenna is coming for dinner that night. Melody is excited.
Melody finds an old fishbowl in the garage that would be a perfect replacement for Bee-Bee’s dish. She cleans it up and balances it on her handlebars. As she’s leaving her house, Teeny intercepts her. Melody is in such a good mood that Teeny’s presence isn’t annoying today. Teeny tries to entice Melody with new information about Henry and the “love bug,” but Melody already knows what she needs to know. Teeny says something about kittens, confusing Melody. It turns out that Henry is the name of an orange cat that has been lurking around the Bee Hive. He’s been bitten by the “love bug” and has fathered a litter of kittens with the neighbor’s cat. Teeny hopes she can have one of the kittens.
When Melody arrives at the Bee Hive, she finds Bee-Bee cleaning up the mess her dog made when she tried to bathe him. Her dog is now hiding out in the apartment. Melody presents the fish bowl to Bee-Bee, who thinks it’s a perfect replacement. Melody also tells Bee-Bee the good news about her father dating Mrs. McKenna. Bee-Bee is so happy for Melody that she invites Melody to try on one of her wigs, saying Melody should pick one that represents her mood. Bee-Bee helps Melody into a wig with long, yellow hair. In the mirror, Melody can see the resemblance between herself and her mother. Melody decides she’ll name her own special nail polish color Honey.
Melody’s father enters. He seems nervous. Melody asks what’s wrong. Melody’s father wants to sit down and talk with Melody and Bee-Bee privately about a serious matter. He presents the blue box and says he needs to tell Melody something.
Chapter 22 Summary
Melody’s father tells her a story. When Melody’s mother was about a month away from her due date, she asked Melody’s father to take her for a drive in the country for “fresh air.” She’d seen an article about a puppy mill out that way, and she’d already decided she must have the puppy in the photo. They found him, the runt of the litter, and drove him home in the back of Gramp-o’s car, which was the only car Melody’s mother could fit in comfortably at that stage of pregnancy. Melody’s mother loved that puppy. She spoiled him every chance she got. Melody asks if something happened to the puppy.
Melody’s father explains that the day Melody was born, he was so preoccupied that he forgot to care for the dog entirely. He’d even scolded the puppy when the puppy came searching for his family. Bee-Bee reassures Melody’s father that he was just overwhelmed. Melody’s father confirms he couldn’t handle everything, with Melody’s mother passing and Melody as a newborn. He allowed a friend to take the puppy. They’d planned for the puppy to only stay a little while, but Melody’s father knew the puppy was well taken care of, so a little while turned into a long time. Melody thinks the puppy was probably still wondering where his family was after all that time.
Bee-Bee and Melody’s father exchange looks. Melody’s father reveals that the friend who took the dog called a few weeks back to make sure it was okay that she was moving back to town with the dog. Melody realizes they’re talking about Bee-Bee’s dog. Bee-Bee admits she would’ve chosen a different name, but the dog’s name is Mo after Mozart, and he’s waiting in the apartment. Melody’s father opens the box and gives Melody the pendant with the name “Mo” inscribed.
Chapter 23 Summary
Mo is still upset about his bath that morning. He hopes the tall woman will make it up to him by cooking him a delicious dinner. Mo smells the scent of new-cut grass just before he hears the apartment door open. When the girl with long yellow hair walks in, Mo realizes why she’s important: She’s the now-grown-up bundle that the large woman had with her the last day Mo saw her. The girl reveals the heart-shaped pendant in her hand. She says, “It’s you,” to Mo before tying the pendant around his neck where it belongs.
Before Bee-Bee purchased and remodeled the old Frosty Boy, she’d called Melody’s father to make sure it was okay if she and Mo moved back to town. Henry admitted to Bee-Bee that he never told Melody about Mo, and Bee-Bee promised to guard that secret. Melody and her father are thankful for Bee-Bee’s long-term care of Mo. Bee-Bee is happy for Mo to go home to his real family. She knows she can visit any time. She’s more of a cat person anyway, and she might want to adopt one of Henry’s new kittens.
Melody’s father remarks about how much she looks like her mother in the wig. Melody returns the wig while her father loads her bike and Mo’s things into Gramp-o’s car. Bee-Bee says goodbye to Mo.
Mo rides home in the backseat of the same car he rode home in the first time. This time, instead of the big woman in the passenger seat, it’s the little girl Mo has dreamed of ever since. She sings “You Are My Sunshine” to him as they ride home.
Chapters 17-23 Analysis
The final chapters see Melody through her darkest moments, as she grapples with grief over the mother she never knew and discovers the power of Using Memories to Cope with Grief. After spending the night in the music room, Melody seeks a connection with her mother by listening to her mother’s old Brahms recording—the one made just days before Melody’s birth. When Melody listens to the music, she “could have sworn she’d heard this piece before—so many times, in fact, she knew every note by heart” (107), which is confirmed when she realizes that her mother played the piece while heavily pregnant with Melody. Melody also gets to hear her mother’s voice for the first time at the end of the recording, which is an emotional moment for her and helps her feel directly connected to her mother.
Melody’s father also acknowledges the importance of using memories to cope with grief when he and Melody finally talk about Melody’s mother. When Melody reveals that she listened to the tape, her father apologizes, saying, “I’m sorry if it made you sad to listen to the tape” (128). Melody replies that she’s not sorry she listened because “at least now I know what her voice sounded like” (129). Melody goes on to say, “I want to know who she was. I need to know” (129), stressing to her father that an important part of her grieving process is knowing who she is grieving.
Melody’s father also demonstrates a marked change toward the past and memories during this conversation. He promises to get the old home movies and other sentimental items from Melody’s mother down from the attic so they can go through them, showing that he understands that Melody needs to know her mother and engage with those memories so she can grieve properly. Her father’s willingness to open up about her mother also enables her father to grieve, as he shares the emotional importance of “You Are My Sunshine.” In committing to going through Melody’s mother’s old things and speaking openly about her, both father and daughter choose to directly confront the past and its memories instead of repressing them. The novel implies that this is a turning point for them, giving them the chance to have a healthier relationship with their grief.
These final chapters also address The Dangers of Small-Town Gossip by clearing up the mystery surrounding Henry and the “love bug.” Teeny reveals that the Henry and the love bug rumor was never about Melody’s father: Henry is the orange cat who has been lurking around the Bee Hive and who has fathered some kittens with the neighbor’s cat. The revelation that the Henry from Teeny’s parroted gossip was not Melody’s father and that Melody’s trips to the Bee Hive to investigate were borne of misunderstanding shows how gossip can be misleading and distressing. Since Melody did not have clear information, she endured a more stressful and confusing experience than she otherwise would have had if her father had been clear with her all along.
Mo’s story also has a happy ending when his dream plays out in real life, helping to resolve The Problem of Family Secrets. Melody is the girl with the long blonde hair, since she is wearing a wig at the time she meets him, and she presents Mo with his missing pendant to show that he belongs with her, solidifying the pendant as a symbol of belonging. Mo and Melody complete each other’s stories, having uncovered the mysteries of their pasts. The revelation that Mo belongs with Melody’s family is the final secret Melody learns about her family’s history.
The motif of “You Are My Sunshine” appears one last time in the novel’s closing scene. Mo’s story comes full circle as he rides away in the same backseat he first rode home in, with someone in the front seat singing “You Are My Sunshine” to him. Only instead of Melody’s mother, this time it’s Melody singing to him. Melody’s father explains the significance of this song to Melody in Chapter 20, saying, “It was one of your mother’s favorites […] She always sang it when she was happy. I hope wherever she is, she’s singing it now” (128). The final scene with this song solidifies it as an expression of love, as every character who sings or whistles the song is in love or feeling loved.
Finally, the replacement of Bee-Bee’s candy bowl parallels the news that Melody’s father is dating Mrs. McKenna, creating a link between Melody’s feelings about her mother figures and Bee-Bee’s bowl. When the bowl first breaks earlier in the novel, it coincides with Melody’s anger about her father dating Miss Hogan and her welling grief about her late mother. When Melody finds the replacement bowl, she’s in good spirits after learning that her father is actually dating Mrs. McKenna. In the same way that the old fish bowl in the garage is a perfect fit for Bee-Bee, Mrs. McKenna is a perfect fit for Melody’s family.
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