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.

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)

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