A gorgeously written yet slightly disappointing horror story, Ryan La
Sala’s The Honeys excels at prose and descriptive language but falls
flat at pacing. Mars is a genderfluid teenager who is trying to cope with
the terrifying death of their twin sister, Caroline. In an attempt to
decipher the circumstances around her death, Mars decides to return to
Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy, a beautiful summer camp with a group of
“it girls” nicknamed “The Honeys” that Caroline belonged to. However,
there is more to Aspen then meets the eye, and as the summer progresses,
Mars becomes more and more intrigued and terrified by the camp and its
secrets.
Overall, I think this book had an incredibly strong start and a
great narrative voice, but started to unravel in the third quarter. I
think The Honeys would have been improved by a more straightforward
writing style to explain the events of the book in a more memorable and
resonant tone. I would give this book three out of five stars for its
memorable location and main character, even though I think these elements
would have been better utilized in a bittersweet coming of age novel
rather then a horror plot with this premise. For fans of this book, I
would recommend Primal Animals by Julia Lynn Rubin, which I wasn’t the
biggest fan of but has a similar narrative style.