BOOK REVIEW: The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
THE HONEYS is a trip, man.
Ryan La Sala markets his latest YA horror/thriller as Heathers (1988) meets Midsommar (2019) and I think that description is pretty apt. The book centers around a disturbingly cult-like summer camp, Aspen Academy, and its most notorious clique, the Honeys.
The thing that really hooked me to this book is it’s phenomenal handling of sibling grief. The catalyst of the plot is the death of the main character’s twin sister, a loss that is felt prominently and viscerally throughout the book. The sister is a character in her own right, and she moves with her twin throughout the story in a beautiful exploration of love and death and what comes next.
The writing is nothing short of phenomenal. The descriptions of Aspen Academy, its forest and fields, the lake, the apiary, are lush and vibrant. La Sala has a talent for placing you beside his characters, allowing you to explore and experience their world alongside them. The pacing was effortlessly quick, the suspense a perfect build, and the horror exquisitely savored. This book is surrealist, a little weird, a little off kilter, but always true to itself and its extraordinary cast of characters.
This book explores identity, society, power imbalances, and the treatment of youth and beauty as a commodity through the lens of a summer camp nightmare. It has given me the biggest book hangover and I cannot recommend it enough. Easily five stars.
TW for mentions and depictions of sexual harassment, sexual assault, gender-based violence, and brief discussions of suicide.