Book Review: The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
A grieving sibling, a spooky summer camp and lots of secrets converge in the wonderful novel, The Honeys. Read on for a book review of The Honeys by Ryan La Sala, published by Scholastic books.
Publisher provided a ARC for review, however all thoughts and opinions our own. This post contains affiliate links. We earn a small commission for items purchased.
The Honeys Book Review
After the tragic death of their sister Caroline, Mars realizes that something has happened at the camp that Caroline regularly attends. Mars is gender fluid and has history with Aspen so when they arrive at the summer camp they are immediately guarded with other campers. Their investigation into what happened to their sister Caroline begins with the mysterious Honeys, Caroline’s friends named for the bees they take care of in the woods.
Mars stays at Aspen despite bullying and the longer they are at Aspen, they realize the conspiracy goes so deep into the leadership at Aspen and hits very close to home.
The Honeys is perfectly queer, creepy and one of the best-written YA thriller stories I’ve read in the last several years. The Honeys is about identity, grief, sibling relationships and navigating gender fluidity in an environment where people don’t understand it and don’t want to understand it. None of these things deter Mars from finding out the secrets of Aspen and how their brilliant sister turned into a person that no one recognized.
Author Ryan La Sala does a good job of revealing Caroline’s experience at Aspen and the whole mystery swirling around the campers and owners. It’s a very moody and descriptive novel, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to be near a camp in the woods that had whispered in the wind and the danger of bees around every corner.
Rating: 4/5
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