Honey

“[H]is tendency to burn things wasn’t the only unusual thing she’d noticed about his behavior lately. He’d been whistling ‘You Are My Sunshine’ pretty much nonstop for weeks, and just that morning he’d let the bathtub overflow for the second time. More than once Melody had walked into a room and caught him staring off into space with a goofy-looking grin on his face. When she’d asked him what was going on, he’d acted like he had no idea what she was talking about. But Melody knew her father better than anyone. Something was definitely up.”

At the end of Chapter 1, Melody considers all the ways her father has been acting strangely for the last few weeks, providing evidence for why she believes he’s hiding something. His whistling of “You Are My Sunshine” and his “goofy-looking grin” suggest that he is in love with someone. This quote establishes one of the novel’s main mysteries and introduces The Problem of Family Secrets.

“As far as Melody could tell, her father never felt it was the right time or place to talk about her mother. Melody had once asked him to tell her about the day her mother had died. It was the first time she’d ever seen him cry, and she never brought up the subject again. Meanwhile, Melody’s father wasn’t the only one who avoided talking about her mother. She’d been the closest thing to a celebrity Royal, Indiana, had ever known, but nobody ever mentioned her name anymore—at least not around Melody.”

This excerpt provides more context for Melody’s seeming lack of connection to her mother. Melody has never known her mother in any capacity, not even through the people she left behind on earth. Melody’s lack of knowledge about her mother develops the theme of The Problem of Family Secrets, as her mother’s history remains mostly obscure to her. This quote also begins to build the theme of Using Memories to Cope with Grief by creating a link between grief and memories through Melody’s lack of both.

“Honey.

That’s what started the whole thing. It’s what awakened Melody Bishop in the middle of the night, and what she was still thinking about the next morning when she got up. Maybe she had misheard, she told herself. After all, she had been half-asleep. Or maybe she had dreamed it. But deep down, Melody knew she hadn’t been dreaming, and she was certain about what she heard.

Honey.”

This quote introduces the titular concept of Honey, the unknown person that Melody’s father is seeing. This quote grounds the mystery introduced in Chapter 1 as an investigation into whom Melody’s father has become romantic with, reflecting The Problem of Family Secrets.

“Bee-Bee never gossiped herself, but she was a good listener and heard more than her share of confessions over the years. Secrets in a small town are about as easy to keep as a snowball on a radiator, but when it came to Bee-Bee Churchill, even the juiciest of secrets was safe with her.”

This quote provides characterization for Bee-Bee Churchill, who plays an essential role in helping Melody learn about her mother. This quote shows not only how Bee-Bee values the privacy of her clients, but juxtaposes that privacy with the simile describing how quickly gossip and secrets spread in a small town, introducing The Dangers of Small-Town Gossip.

“One day the large woman surprised Mo with a gift, a heart-shaped silver pendant with his name engraved on it. ‘You’re a good boy,’ she said as she fastened the chain around his neck. Mo was so excited he raced around the room wagging his stubby little tail until it was nothing but a blur. He loved the way the pendant jingle-jangled when he moved and the way it made him feel like he belonged.”

Mo here recalls his time with his first family, the large woman and the thin man, and how receiving the pendant with his name on it made him feel like he belonged. Mo’s pendant functions as a symbol for belonging, as he spends most of the novel without it, wondering what happened to his original family.

“The image of a girl danced behind his eyelids. Sunlight caught in her long yellow hair, and when she threw back her head and laughed, Mo’s breath quickened and his heart began to race. The girl stopped laughing and looked at him with wide eyes. ‘It’s you,’ she whispered. Then she ran to him, threw her arms around his neck, and Mo followed her home. This was where he belonged. Where he was meant to be. With her. If only he knew who she was.”

This quote features Mo’s recurring dream about being claimed by a girl with long, blonde hair. This quote shows how Mo longs to feel the sense of belonging he used to feel with his old family again. Mo’s recurring dreams foreshadow the link between Mo and Melody and their eventual reunion at the end of the novel.

“Nick typed in a few searches, then turned to Melody, satisfied.

‘You’ll be happy to know that according to this, there’s only one Henry in Royal, Indiana,’ he told her, ‘and it’s your dad. Now all we have to do is track down the love bug that bit him.”

When Melody and Nick begin investigating the rumor of “Henry and the love bug,” Nick searches the name Henry in Royal, Indiana, to make sure they have the right Henry. With the information that Melody’s father is the only Henry in town, it makes Melody more certain that her father is hiding a girlfriend and more determined to figure it out, motivating her trip to the source of the gossip: The Bee Hive.

“‘Think about it,’ Melody started ticking off the evidence on her fingers. ‘Miss Hogan’s not married, she lives here in Royal, she’s someone my dad knows I really, really, really don’t like, and she was whistling the same song he’s been whistling every day for the past month. How do you explain that?’”

After Nick presents his theory that Melody’s father is keeping his relationship a secret because it’s someone Melody doesn’t like, Melody and Nick catch Miss Hogan whistling “You Are My Sunshine,” causing Melody to conclude that her father is seeing Miss Hogan. This passage sets up Miss Hogan as a red herring, while once again using the song as a motif to denote a character experiencing romantic feelings.

“‘Her name’s Melody and she doesn’t have a mama,’ said Teeny, who was elbow deep in the candy bowl again.

Bee-Bee put her hand to her mouth and Melody wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw tears in her eyes.

‘You’re Melody?’ she asked.

Do you know me? Melody thought to herself. Am I supposed to know you?”

When Melody meets Bee-Bee for the first time, she picks up on Bee-Bee’s clear emotions about meeting her. Melody doesn’t know her mother or her mother’s old friends, so Bee-Bee’s familiarity is unnerving to Melody. This quote contributes to the theme of The Problem of Family Secrets, as Bee-Bee’s recognition of Melody creates more questions for Melody about her family’s past—questions that Bee-Bee offers answers to in the coming chapters.

“The cover story had been about a girl named Annabelle Winters who’d started playing the piano at the age of three. Before she’d lost her baby teeth, she was giving concerts with some of the most renowned symphony orchestras in the world. Audiences went wild over the little girl from the Midwest who could play Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff as easily as ‘Chopsticks.’”

When Bee-Bee learns that Melody doesn’t know much about her mother, she shows Melody a Time magazine cover featuring Melody’s mother and tells Melody about her mother’s extraordinary musical talents. This quote provides the first glimpse into who Melody’s mother was, for both Melody and the narrative. This quote develops the theme of The Problem of Family Secrets as Melody finally learns about her mother.

“The few times her father had talked about her mother, he was so sad and somber. It never occurred to Melody that her mother could’ve been funny. She’d always pictured her as this serious person who could play the piano in front of huge audiences without even getting nervous. Not some funny little girl who chewed Bazooka and knew how to crack a joke.”

As Melody begins to learn more about her mother outside her fame and her tragic death, Melody begins to relate to her mother in a way she never has before, creating an attachment that Melody never knew before. This quote helps develop the theme of Using Memories to Cope with Grief, as Bee-Bee’s fond memories of Melody’s mother help Bee-Bee reminisce on the good times and cause Melody to begin to feel grief as she learns for the first time about her mother as a child.

“Bee-Bee hesitated. Obviously Melody’s father was not comfortable talking to Melody about her mother, and it sounded as if he must have communicated this somehow to the people around her, too. Bee-Bee didn’t want to go against his wishes. But on the other hand, it was clear Melody was looking for answers to some very important questions.”

When Melody asks Bee-Bee about her mother’s death and funeral, Bee-Bee considers whether she needs to continue to guard these secrets from Melody or if it’s her responsibility to provide Melody with the answers she seeks. This moment characterizes Bee-Bee as a sympathetic individual who, despite her tendency to keep secrets safe, understands that Melody needs answers.

“He hoped she hadn’t grown tired of him, and that she wouldn’t disappear into thin air, the way the large woman had. Even though it had happened a long time ago, he still remembered her and the silver necklace she’d given him. How he’d loved the way the jingle-jangle made him feel.”

In this quote, Mo reminisces about his fond times with the large woman and worries that his current owner, the tall woman, will abandon him too. Mo’s fears and memories show how he hasn’t forgotten the love he felt in the past, and that he still thinks about his previous family. This quote relates to Using Memories to Cope with Grief, as Mo thinks about good times with the large woman and his pendant to quell his fear of abandonment.

“She had never slept there before. In fact, she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d gone in. There was something sad about the way the room felt, like a party after the guests have gone home and all that’s left is a bunch of empty cups and crumpled napkins.”

When Melody can’t sleep, she seeks comfort in the music room—a room her mother used to spend a lot of time in, but that Melody and her father haven’t touched much since her mother passed. At this point in the story, Melody is coping with newfound grief over the mother she never got to know. The simile in this quote about the room feeling like the aftermath of a party shows how Melody feels as though she’s missed out on knowing her mother, reflecting Using Memories to Cope with Grief.

“She never listened to classical music before, but she could have sworn she’d heard this piece before—so many times, in fact, she knew every note by heart. How is that possible? she wondered. As the music wrapped itself around her, Melody wanted to curl up inside the sound and float there, safe and warm forever. When it was over, and the last sweet note had faded away, she heard a woman’s laughter, and then her voice.”

When Melody finds a tape in the music room, she goes to Gramp-o’s car to listen and finds she already knows the song. This is the tape that Melody’s father recorded just days before Melody was born and her mother died, the same one Bee-Bee says was played at Melody’s mother’s funeral. This is not only the first time Melody is hearing her mother’s music, but also the first time Melody gets to hear her mother’s voice. This quote relates to the theme of Using Memories to Cope with Grief, as Melody engages with memorabilia from her mother to deal with her grief.

“Melody started to shake as the mysterious feeling that had been hiding deep down inside her finally rose up to the surface, bubbling and boiling until she couldn’t hold back any longer and it spilled out over the edges of her heart.

‘Poor thing,’ said Mrs. McKenna, taking her into her arms. ‘Tell me what’s wrong.’

Melody dug down deep and finally found the words to describe what it was she’d been feeling.

‘I miss my mom,’ she sobbed.”

After listening to the tape of her mother’s music and voice multiple times, Melody finally manages to identify the feelings of grief that have been swelling over the course of the novel. Melody’s confession that she misses her mom is a significant moment in Melody’s character arc, as she’s gone from not thinking much about her lack of a mother to grieving the life she never got to have with her.

“Her dad had been right when he’d said that she and Mrs. McKenna were a good fit. It was so easy to be around her. Melody made herself a promise: She was not going to think about anything sad for the rest of the day. Instead she was going to enjoy her time with Mrs. McKenna and maybe, just maybe, get her fingernails painted, too.”

After Mrs. McKenna consoles Melody and invites her to the salon for the afternoon, Melody reflects on how well she gets along with Mrs. McKenna and how much she likes her former teacher. This quote shows the positive chemistry between these characters and sets up the climactic reveal that Mrs. McKenna is dating Melody’s father.

“It had been so wonderful spending time at the Bee Hive, making up names for Bee-Bee’s colors and laughing with Mrs. McKenna. But none of that changed the fact that her father was in love with Miss Hogan and that no matter how much she wanted to, Melody would never, ever know the person who had felt her kicking inside her like a little kangaroo.”

After Melody’s great day with Mrs. McKenna, she’s once again left alone with her grief about her father’s marriage to Miss Hogan and her late mother. The simile at the end is a reference to what Melody’s mother said at the end of the Brahms tape. This quote emphasizes how hopeless Melody feels going into the novel’s final chapters.

“‘But is there something special about “You Are My Sunshine” to you, Dad?’

Melody saw tears start to well up in his eyes.

‘It was one of your mother’s favorites,’ he said. ‘She always sang it when she was happy. I hope wherever she is, she’s singing it now.’”

In this quote, Melody asks her father about the significance of the song “You Are My Sunshine,” as her father has been whistling it for weeks. Throughout the novel, the song functions as a motif symbolizing love, and this quote supports that by showing how Melody’s father views and values the song in the context of love for his late wife.

“‘I’m sorry if it made you sad to listen to the tape.’

‘I’m not sorry,’ said Melody. ‘I wish I could have met Mom, but at least now I know what her voice sounded like.’

‘I only wanted to protect you,’ said her father.

‘I know. But I want to know who she was. I need to know.’”

This conversation between Melody and her father takes place after Melody reveals that she listened to the Brahms tape and that she knows it was played at her mother’s funeral. Melody and her father have a frank discussion about how Melody feels ready to know her mother despite her father’s concerns that it will make her sad. This quote relates to the theme of Using Memories to Cope with Grief, as Melody explains how she’d rather engage with memories of her mother than ignore them while she grieves her mother for the first time.

“It turned out that there was another Henry in Royal, after all: a large orange cat—the same one that had been hanging around the Bee Hive lately. It was this Henry who had been bitten by the love bug.”

Teeny Nelson reveals that the Henry she’d overheard had been bitten by the love bug was never Melody’s father but a cat that lurks around the Bee Hive. The revelation that the original lead Melody investigates at the Bee Hive was not about her father at all reflects The Dangers of Small-Town Gossip, showing how things overheard can be false, misleading, or misunderstood.

“Melody walked over to the mirror and stared at the girl with the long yellow hair. Maybe she wasn’t the spitting image of her mother, but for the first time, Melody could see the resemblance, and she was really glad about it.”

Having finally come to know her mother, Melody appreciates the idea that she bears a resemblance to her mother when wearing the long yellow wig. This moment is one of the first happy moments Melody gets to enjoy while thinking about her mother. This moment also builds on the foreshadowing of Melody and Mo reuniting, as Melody transforms into the girl with long yellow hair from Mo’s dreams.

“The light caught her long yellow hair, and when she threw back her head and laughed, Mo’s breath quickened and his heart began to race. She opened her hand and there was the heart-shaped pendant, dangling from her fingers on the silver chain.

Mo heard the jingle-jangle and knew where he was meant to be.”

In this quote, Mo’s recurring dream about being claimed by the yellow-haired girl finally comes true, as he and Melody are reunited for the first time since Melody’s birth. This quote helps to define Mo’s pendant as a symbol of belonging by showing how Mo finally feels like he belongs when he meets Melody and gets his pendant back.