But Mars’ sister with whom they have a twin-like bond opts to return to camp and seems to become more and more at home. The Honeys may have an idyllic setting, but there’s a lot buzzing beneath the surface! (I won’t keep up with the bee jokes… I swear) Mars’ gender fluidity caused them problems the first time they attended Aspen and ended up with them being sent home and refusing to return.

Ryan’s writing is always creative and certainly never boring. There aren’t enough truly eerie YA books – and this one is going straight onto my recommendation list at the library. I’m a horror fan so let me first gush about how great it is to find a Young Adult Horror book that is so creative and well-written. What’s not to love about the Honeys by Ryan La Sala – I certainly can’t think of anything I didn’t like. If Mars can’t find it soon, it will eat him alive. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. Mars’s memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. They are beautiful and terrifying - and Mars is certain they’re connected to Caroline’s death.īut the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars seeks out his sister’s old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. Mars’s genderfluidity means he’s often excluded from the traditions - and expectations - of his politically-connected family. 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 has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline’s radiance. 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.

Ryan lasala