Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

23 reviews

readingpicnic's review against another edition

3.75

This book kept me guessing the whole time, and I enjoyed being surprised by each new twist and turn that revealed itself as the story went on. I will say that this book was very slow for me to get through, which I think really slowed me down for the TRR unfortunately, and I considered DNFing it at certain points. It starts off really intense and then slows almost all the way down before picking back up around 70% through. However, I really enjoyed the ending of the book, so I'm glad I stuck through it ultimately. The bee horror in this book felt so creative and new, and I loved the drippy, rotten, and sweet imagery throughout. The depictions of grief were very real in this book and became all the more real after reading the author's acknowledgements section at the end. I appreciated how Caroline remained a presence throughout the whole story, even if just in the peripheral. I think that this book would make an excellent A24 horror movie honestly, going off of the trend on BookTok, as this book felt so cinematic and I could picture so much of it in my head. It reminded me a lot of both Wickerman movies, the original with its slow-paced disconcerting vibes and horror, and the remake with its bee horror. I was also reminded of Bunny a lot while reading this with the group of Honey girls, but I think this specific story hasn't been told before even though it reminded me of other horror. Overall, I enjoyed this and its explorations of gender, sexuality, and class. I think this story has so many layers to it and I wasn't necessarily patient at times with this slow method of storytelling, but I understand why it's well loved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Deadnaming, Grief, Bullying, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Gore, Death, Transphobia, Homophobia, Blood, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Classism

erica_reads_things's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Not a bad YA read at all! And especially for this authors first novel. I liked the weird spin on the summer camp horror trope, but I was so confused most of the way through at where exactly this was going. It took me out of it a bit, but not enough to not enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Grief, Child death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Transphobia, Cancer, Hate crime, and Violence

Minor: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, and Sexual content

morgue666's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

"I'm not hurting people," Mimi pouts.
"I'm hurting boys."
Bria, to her credit, throws me a sideways glance and asks, "What are your pronouns again?"
"Uh..." My throat still feels raw from being choked within an inch of my life. "I'm cool with really anything. I'm fluid."

This part absolutely cracked me up. I really enjoyed this a lot more than i thought I would! As a nonbinary person it was so nice to read something from the point of view of another genderqueer person! Would’ve loved a bit more horror in it but I really loved the book as a whole. The ending has devastated me though,

Mars already lost their whole family and they couldn't just have a happier ending with Wyatt at the end? 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Transphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, Suicide, Cancer, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Hate crime

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Grief, Blood, Death, Bullying, Sexism, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, Cancer, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault and Cannibalism

jessicabobessica's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I had zero expectations going into this read, but was pleasantly surprised. It’s a dark, queer, mysterious look at the cult-like nature of class systems - among other things.

It’s the kind of book you can picture HBO turning into a miniseries. Non Binary lead, weird and wild story, and a plethora of teen angst.

I will say, the third act comes on a bit fast and feels off-pace with the rest of the book. If you’re prepared for it, it feels less abrupt.

I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Dysphoria, Blood, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

jasperkelley2015's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A wonderful book. At times I felt myself struggling to stay engaged. But I really enjoyed the ending. It had enough horror elements to be considered a horror book. But it was more scary/creepy I felt. And I was really happy that gender had nothing to do with the horror elements. I do hope to place this on my "to read again" pile and hopefully I'll catch more the next time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Suicide, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse

adelinebal4's review

dark inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Bullying

Moderate: Violence, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

kh_xion's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Child death, Bullying, Body horror, Child abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Death, Grief, and Transphobia

Moderate: Cancer, Dysphoria, and Fire/Fire injury

amyhasel's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Rape, Gore, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse

thatbookmarkbabe's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm not generally one who reaches for YA often, and I'm often disappointed when I do... But The Honeys is just as strange and captivating as its cover. A slow burn that keeps you turning pages - deliciously weird, queer fun. I'll keep it short and sweet and say pick this one up for The Last Time I Lied x Bunny x Mexican Gothic vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, Bullying, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Transphobia

Moderate: Blood, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Sexism, Cancer, Child death, Gore, Death, Dysphoria, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape