The Honeys

by Ryan La Sala

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Haunting, atmospheric, and completely mesmerizing, we dare you to put The Honeys down after you read the heart-pounding first chapter. Beware: this sun-drenched summer horror story won’t let you go until the very last page.

From Ryan La Sala, the wildly popular author of Reverie, comes a twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the bucolic splendor of a secluded summer retreat.

Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who'd grown tragically distant.

Mars's genderfluidity means he's often excluded from the traditions -- and expectations -- of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place.

What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. Mars seeks out his sister's old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying -- and Mars is certain they're connected to Caroline's death.

But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars’s memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can't find it soon, it will eat him alive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338745320
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/16/2022
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	61,685
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Ryan La Sala writes about surreal things happening to queer people. He is the author of Reverie and Be Dazzled and lives in New York City. Visit him online at ryanlasala.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/18/2022

Tantalizing and memorable, La Sala’s (Be Dazzled) elite summer camp–set horror novel is a tribute to the healing and revolutionary power of solidarity. Seventeen-year-old white-cued, gender-fluid Mars Matthias has always been “eccentric” compared to their accomplished twin sister Caroline, especially in the eyes of their politically connected parents. To keep up appearances after Caroline’s sudden death following a harrowing incident in which she seemingly tried to harm Mars, Mars’s parents allege that she died from cancer, citing a sudden health decline preceding her death. But Mars suspects foul play. Taking Caroline’s place at Aspen Summer Academy, a prestigious Catskills summer camp, Mars is determined to investigate. At Aspen, they’re drawn to Caroline’s beekeeping cabinmates, the Honeys: pale Mimi, “tall, tan” Sierra, and brown-skinned lesbian Bria. The Honeys provide Mars with a community, accepting them for who they are, despite Aspen’s binary pressures. But the more secrets Mars uncovers, the more convinced they become that something at Aspen is responsible for Caroline’s death. La Sala’s slow plot reveal is gripping, and the narrative’s lush prose crafts both deliciously creepy horror scenes and a nuanced, self-assured protagonist consumed by grief and longing for acceptance. Ages 14–up. Agent: Veronica Park, Fuse Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"La Sala gives real-life fears a supernatural twist, cleverly using folk horror and psychological-thriller elements to heighten Mars’ understandable tension and infuse this idyllic location with dread....The eerily ambivalent conclusion is pure horror gold."

—Booklist, starred review

"A dark and redolent tale of familial bonds, grief, and a secretive summer camp tucked away in the heart of forests vast and dizzyingly wild. THE HONEYS creeped me out and I loved every moment of it."

—Erin A. Craig, NYT bestselling author of HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS

"Novel after novel, La Sala proves himself to be a powerhouse in the YA space worthy of all the flowers that come his way. With crisp prose, a hauntingly stellar cast, and a main character we can't help but root for, THE HONEYS is a perfect successor for fans of MIDSOMMAR and HEREDITARY chomping at the bit for their next great obsession. Just, watch out for the bees."

—Kosoko Jackson, author of YESTERDAY IS HISTORY

"The queer horror hive has a new queen! In THE HONEYS, La Sala pulls readers into a darkly poetic, razor-sharp satire of gender binaries—and the binary of good and evil. A grim, beautiful exploration of the human body, its horrific surprises as well as its transcendent power."

—Adam Sass, award-winning author of SURRENDER YOUR SONS and THE 99 BOYFRIENDS OF MICAH SUMMERS

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2022

Gr 9 Up—Twin teens Caroline and Marshall (who is genderfluid and goes by Mars) grew up attending summer camp at the very exclusive and expensive Aspen Conservancy in the Catskills. Mars hasn't gone in years, but when Caroline arrives home from Aspen unexpectedly and tries to kill Mars but ends up dead herself, he insists on taking her place there to discover the reason for her behavior. Upon arriving, Mars can sense the decay beneath the polished surface, but the longer he is there the less reliable his mind becomes. Between the distraction of cute, smart Wyatt and the friendship of Caroline's camp sisterhood, The Honeys, Mars finds it more and more difficult to focus even as he is drawn closer to Aspen's dark truth. La Sala deftly balances the persistent, deep ache of grief with a deeply unsettling and unnerving atmosphere where something is clearly and palpably wrong, carefully threading a string of clues that are just beyond readers until the right moment. The cloying nostalgia of the camp's history provides the thinnest of covers for entrenched and fragile concepts of masculinity and propriety, a world where asking questions is dangerous and questioning the status quo is deadly. This layered, complex, and at times truly disturbing novel creates an ever-heightening level of suspense, ratcheting up to an explosive conclusion that readers will not see coming but will find imminently believable and completely unforgettable. VERDICT A sparkling and powerful exploration of grief, gender roles, and escaping the strong grip of expectations, this is a must-purchase for all libraries serving teens.—Allie Stevens

School Library Journal

2022-05-25
A genderfluid 17-year-old attends a seemingly idyllic summer camp in order to investigate their twin sister’s death.

Close-knit siblings Caroline and Mars enjoyed what appears to be a fortunate, economically privileged existence, insulated from life’s worries, until Caroline’s violent death turns Mars’ world inside out. At the funeral service, Mars meets the beautiful girls from the elite Summer Academy at the Aspen Conservancy, friends Caroline called the Honeys—and becomes suspicious about the cause of Caroline’s sudden deterioration. Determined to discover the secrets Caroline kept about her friends and life at camp, Mars returns to Aspen, a place they once fled following a disastrous incident and where they face battles as a gender-nonconforming outsider. They try and discover what the aloof Honeys may be hiding by joining their work at the camp’s apiary. Events soon take strange and fantastic twists as Mars realizes that time and people seem to vanish. Mars’ comfort in these new relationships falters more than once, and unusual experiences test their trust. Answers come, if slowly, in this novel that is ideal for patient readers who enjoy a strong narrative voice and careful examination of inner and outer obstacles. La Sala delivers a sharply observed, imaginative tale of grief, destruction, and the transcendent nature of the reinvention that follows the aftermath of death. Most main characters are assumed White.

As rich and complex as dark amber honey. (Paranormal horror. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews