A review by proseandpucks
The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.75

things ryan la sala has made me (more) scared of: 

 

• bees
• mirrors
• coral

i don’t fuck with the ocean to begin with, so i KNEW going into this one i was going to be at a disadvantage. and YEAH the ocean is still terrifying, but at it’s heart, this book is a loud commentary on the way queer people are left to deal with our own shit with the help of only our chosen families to get us through it. an island, that is a queer destination, gets infected with a mysterious illness and is literally abandoned and it’s inhabitants left there to die. chilling!
 
this is the second ryan la sala book the group chat has read together, and bless that, because i needed someone to understand the stress i was vicariously feeling for these teenagers. the notes app theories i have cooked up had me looking like that charlie day from it’s always sunny meme trying to connect the most pointless shit because i was SURE it meant something. 

i’m still convinced i’m right abut a few of them, but i WON’T KNOW because i was so invested in the book that i forgot until about 75% thorough that that was a DUOLOGY, so there’s an entire second book coming. it’s absolutely going to be worth the wait, but man, the twist right before the ending is EXHILARATING and i am so obsessed with whatever is wrong with ryan. 

these characters they’ve written here are some of my absolute favorites (wendy pretendy, a literal goddess of a human) and i’m excited to see the ones that survive the island (and honestly, maybe even the ones that didn’t) in the conclusion of the story because i KNOW it’s going to be such an intense, rocky ride to get to the ending. but they’ll be okay, because suds still together, right? right, ryan?