The Honeys

June 15, 2022
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)

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Starred review from July 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.

Starred review from August 1, 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

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2022
Aspen is an exclusive Catskills summer camp, ruled by elitism, segregated by gender, and rife with long-entrenched sexism and homophobia. Returning to Aspen after a traumatic exit years before is Mars, a genderfluid teen who believes the camp caused their twin sister's death. Alongside the pedestrian oppressiveness of this summer camp is something more alarming: memories vanish, as do people. With only one ally among the boys, Mars is drawn to the girls who tend the camp's beehives. But the girls (and bees) are as sinister as they are welcoming. They hide Aspen's gruesome secrets, and Mars will risk everything to uncover those secrets. This horror novel perfectly understands its genre, drawing out unease, disorientation, and grotesqueness through its language, the supernatural, and everyday evils. Mars is a strong lead, a character of fury and persistence. La Sala's prose is dripping and heady, unapologetically gothic enough to build tension and carry readers through the more surreal portions of the story. With laser focus, the narrative arrives at its conclusions through a delicious balance of restraint and clamor. La Sala strikes all his targets: navigating gender in hostile environments; grief; the monstrous gluttony of wealth; violence; young queer desire; and yes, very scary bees. Alex Schaffner

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from June 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* An exclusive summer camp tucked away in the Catskills provides the ominously sunny backdrop to La Sala's riveting social-horror novel. Gender-fluid Mars, the "eccentric twin," doesn't fit the optics of their political family, so sister Caroline must uphold expectations. When Caroline dies in a shocking act of violence, Mars guiltily realizes they had no idea something was wrong, except that Caroline seemed for the first time unenthusiastic about her summer at the Aspen Conservancy Academy. Mars is sure that Aspen, armored in prestige and coated with folksy charm, is hiding something, so they go to investigate, starting by befriending Caroline's friends, nicknamed "the Honeys" for the apiary they tend. The Honeys embrace Mars, offering them respite from microaggressions and "boys will be boys" pranks, but Mars is convinced these strangely hypnotic girls are connected to Caroline's death. 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. Bees feature heavily and are used to great effect, both as a social mirror and as the menacing alien force at the heart of a generational conspiracy. Mars is relatable in their grief and vulnerability and self-assured enough in their identity to confront Aspen's toxic traditions. The eerily ambivalent conclusion is pure horror gold.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2022
Aspen is an exclusive Catskills summer camp, ruled by elitism, segregated by gender, and rife with long-entrenched sexism and homophobia. Returning to Aspen after a traumatic exit years before is Mars, a genderfluid teen who believes the camp caused their twin sister's death. Alongside the pedestrian oppressiveness of this summer camp is something more alarming: memories vanish, as do people. With only one ally among the boys, Mars is drawn to the girls who tend the camp's beehives. But the girls (and bees) are as sinister as they are welcoming. They hide Aspen's gruesome secrets, and Mars will risk everything to uncover those secrets. This horror novel perfectly understands its genre, drawing out unease, disorientation, and grotesqueness through its language, the supernatural, and everyday evils. Mars is a strong lead, a character of fury and persistence. La Sala's prose is dripping and heady, unapologetically gothic enough to build tension and carry readers through the more surreal portions of the story. With laser focus, the narrative arrives at its conclusions through a delicious balance of restraint and clamor. La Sala strikes all his targets: navigating gender in hostile environments; grief; the monstrous gluttony of wealth; violence; young queer desire; and yes, very scary bees.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)