Taking place on a small island off the coast of Maine, Ryan La Sala’s the Dead of Summer, is the first book in a new queer YA horror series. (Not sure if this is a planned duology/trilogy or just if it planned as an ongoing series). Creepy, atmospheric, and just the right amount of horror for a YA book. I really don’t want to give too much of the story away because La Sala definitely takes a unique swing at the zombie genre (with a sort of Last of Us vibe), but I will say that like Jaws scared people out of the water, Dead of Summer may make some leery of heading to the beach. As there is more story to come, the book ends with a number of unanswered questions/loose threads, so lets hope the wait for the next book isn’t too long. 4 stars. Thanks so much to Scholastic | PUSH and NetGalley for the ARC.

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This book was everything I wanted and more! Even before the start of the first chapter, I was fully in it because the map was so intriguing. The world that Ryan La Sala created was so immersive. I didn’t feel like I was just reading it, I felt like I was another Sud living on Anchor’s Mercy.

The adventure/mystery vibe was right up my street. It was exciting and suspenseful and full of twists that kept me wanting to read more. There were moments that made me laugh out loud (poor Dakota) and others that had me crying proper tears. The balance of humour, heart, and heartbreak really made this such an amazing read. The writing was beautiful and poetic and never felt forced. The pacing was a rollercoaster in the best way possible. Every time I thought I knew where we were going, we took an unexpected turn. I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish this, and the last big reveal made me audibly gasp at 1am. Sorry to my roommates. 😂

I don’t remember the last time I read a YA book that made me feel this much. It was an experience. The only regret I have is reading it this early because now I have to wait ages to find out what happens next! I can’t wait to get back to that island and see where the Suds end up.

TL;DR: This book is an amazing immersive experience with adventure and mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I laughed, I cried. I couldn’t put it down, and you should 100% pick this up! Easy 5 stars, and I can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The Dead of Summer is the newest release from Ryan LaSala and let me tell you I devoured this! This was such a fun, creepy and wickedly entertaining read. Summer vacation with some of your closest friends on an island, what can go wrong? I know we’ve heard this before but this is such a unique and different story; it’s told from Ollie’s perspective as well as notes from a biologist and other transcripts. Things escalate fairly quickly as something infectious spreads throughout the island sparing no one from its grasp.
Flipping between past and present we find out what happened on the island, who survives and who did not. The main focus is on Ollie and those closest to him, chaos ensues as the group is split up and people do what they need to do to survive. Without going into detail, there’s some serious detailed and scary imagery (which I absolutely loved). There’s lots of unease, humor and overall creepy atmosphere. This was a perfect spooky read and recommend checking this out. It’s no secret but there’s going to be a sequel; I for one am ready for the next one Ryan!

This is available today anywhere books are sold! Go get your copy now friends!! Thanks so much to Ryan, ColoredPages Book Tours and Scholastic for providing me a copy of this book ahead of its release.

5 star

And? AND? I need the end! This was a really interesting concept, executed in a fabulous way. I loved the unique characters, and especially the suds. I'm not always a huge fan of mixed media if it jumps forward in the timeline like this, but for me it sort of worked. Everything felt fresh and I couldn't wait to read more.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy to form opinions from.

The first thing that readers need to know is that this is the first book in a series and that it ends somewhat more abruptly than a regular book, even one in a planned series.. However, this should not deter readers from such an amazingly creative and action-packed story… and hopefully, awareness of a huge cliffhanger will make it less jarring.

Picture a cross between Provincetown and Martha’s Vineyard and you’ll get Anchor’s Mercy, an island off the coast of Maine; home to a vibrant drag queen scene as well as a secretive history about some sort of chemical disaster in the 1960s.

The narrative is split between before and during a catastrophic event and after, when Ollie is in isolation. Several of the “after” passages take the form of interviews between Ollie and a scientist, which I found to be an extremely creative medium.

This was such a good book. I’m not the target demographic by any stretch of the imagination, but this book had me HOOKED. I found myself reading quickly because I needed to find out what was going to happen next, why everything was going to happen, and whether or not Ollie and his friends were going to escape unscathed. I can’t say too much about what happens because the growing sense of horror was simply exquisite and readers would benefit from going in with as little info as possible.

I would absolutely recommend The Dead of Summer. This is not my first La Sala book, but I haven’t read nearly as many of his books as I ought to have because they are all just brilliant. I’m certainly going to be eagerly awaiting the conclusion of Ollie and his friends’ plight because I need to know what’s going to happen to them.



I received a digital ARC of this book from Scholastic/NetGalley.

This is a wild read — definitely gets a big recommendation for horror readers, and a heads up that yes, it is gross and scary for anyone not used to reading horror. I love that this takes place on a fictional island off the coast of Maine inspired by Ptown, and I wish it was real so I could visit (though, also, I’m glad it isn’t based on all that goes down in this book!)

Ollie and his mom Gracie are heading back home to their island, Anchor’s Mercy, after her year spent in treatment for cancer on the mainland. Ollie’s had a terrible year and has pushed everyone away, including his best friends, Bash and Elisa. He meets a cute guy named Sam on the long ferry ride over and they hit it off, with Sam quickly coming under the spell of Anchor’s Mercy. After a big fight with his mom, Ollie wakes up to find her missing, his fish tank exploded, and his aunt acting like a terrifying zombie weeping slime from her eyes. No one really believes him when he tells them what’s going on, but soon everything falls apart and the world gets very scary.

This is a wild and inventive read with so much going on, including vivid descriptions of pulsing choral horrors and government conspiracies, but also the toughest drag queen around and a fiercely loyal group of friends fighting to save their home and each other. It’s gross and engrossing, both, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next in the series (especially after that ending!!)

5⭐️

🖤YA horror
🖤Nautical/Oceanic Spookiness
🖤Queer Representation
🖤Fight for survival
🖤Found family
🖤Mysterious illness

(Spoiler-free as always!) This was my first book written by this author and I immediately have added all his other works to my TBR. This was a gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, yet inspiring horror- full of such creative storytelling and creation. I couldn’t put the book down once I started. One thing I loved about this book is the theme of “nothing is what it seems.” And I just loved every second of rediscovery of that fact throughout the story.

Thank you to the author Ryan Sa La, Scholastic and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This was what I was expecting, it just wasn’t executed in a way that would keep my attention for another 270 pages. I dnf’d at page 108, after the pacing took a nose dive and had me pretty lost on the point of this book. I was intrigued by the concept of a horror mystery and the beginning really hooked me with a mysterious stranger and a main character with a tragic backstory, but there’s a lot of timeline jumping between the transcripts and flashbacks so instead of starting to get a grip on what’s happening to this town, I’m left confused and bored. I read one of this author’s previous books, Reverie, years ago and it was good but didn’t blow me away, so I think maybe his writing just doesn’t click with me.

I really enjoyed The Dead of Summer and felt like Ryan La Sala has outdone himself in balancing horror, heart, and queer community in this one. The setup is gripping: Ollie returns to Anchor’s Mercy after his mom’s cancer treatment, tensions with old friends still simmering, and that sense of dread builds beautifully with the mystery beneath the surface. The way the supernatural plague (“Weepers”) spreads, body-horror mixing with environmental disaster, is vivid and often chilling. La Sala’s prose is lush without being overwrought, especially in scenes of dread or grief, and the supporting characters, friends like Bash and Elisa, add emotional weight that makes the stakes feel real.

There are a few things that held me back from giving it five stars though. The pacing sometimes feels uneven, after powerful openings and good tension in the first half some sections meander, and the shock doesn’t always land as strongly as it should. The series setup becomes glaring by the end (I got to the cliffhanger and realized this is just part one) and that left me wanting more of a resolution. In several places the horror is intense but relies a bit on familiar tropes, so it occasionally felt predictable.

Overall The Dead of Summer is a strong, immersive read. It does many things right, community, dread, identity, betrayal, and it delivers enough scares and emotional payoff to satisfy. If your tolerance for horror is high and you don’t mind the story holding some threads for later books you’ll likely find this a very rewarding summer read.

The Dead of Summer is a gorgeously unsettling YA horror that blends queer identity, friendship, and grief with body-horror chills and island mystery. Ryan La Sala captures the beauty and terror of Anchor’s Mercy, a place where drag queens, storms, and secrets collide, and builds tension through dual timelines and eerie transcripts. The atmosphere and imagery of oceanic bio horror is awesome!

Eerie, creepy, atmospheric, mysterious, and horrific! The Dead of Summer is a YA horror book which takes place on Anchor's Mercy, an island off the Maine Coast. Anchor's Mercy is a haven for drag queens, locals and tourists! It sounds like a lovely place to visit except for the fact that the locals seem to get sick....

Ollie, a gay teenager, and his mother, Grace, have been gone from their home on Anchor's Mercy for a year as she battled Cancer. But now she is Cancer free, and they are back home. It should be a time of happiness but, well, things are complicated. Ollie's friends (Bash and Elisa) think he has abandoned them, and he has met Sam, another young man and piano player on the ferry over from the mainland. As Ollie is trying to reconnect with those in his life, a storm descends...

Three weeks later Ollie is being questioned on a military ship. The Dead of Summer gave me strong "The Fog" vibes. I enjoyed the eerie vibe, the cast of characters, and the way the author wrote the book though the story and interviews on the military ship. This is a YA book, and it has just the right number of thrills and chills without being scary. I found this book to be highly original and unique. There were a few twists in this book with one reveal which shocked me. I love when that happens.

This series is off to a good start. Again, this book is YA, and I have a feeling that it will be a hit with its target audience. This book might have you looking at the beach and ocean in a different way! I did want to know more about the history of the island and more about Elisa's mother.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book which piqued my interest and has me wondering what will happen next!

Ok, I did not know what I was getting myself into with this one. I just knew that I liked Ryan's weird brain, and I needed to read it.

The brain did not disappoint. I was entranced from the very beginning.

I felt like Ollie was a strong character, even when he didn't feel it himself sometimes. I loved the way he told his life story, especially the moments about his mother. He was a teen, but he was forced to grow up even before the events of the book began.

There were a lot of shocking moments, some laughter, and even some tears building. I got angry on Ollie's behalf. For his lack of childhood, for the way he had to live, and for his losses.

Ryan created an incredible world within this book. The way Anchor's Mercy is described, it seems like a magical place. And then you add in the aftermath of the storm, and it's Ryan's beautiful imagination running wild. It felt so colorful in my mind while I was reading. I could hear the music. I could feel the joy.

The ending blew my mind, and I'm so ready for the second book in the series. Absolutely phenomenal.

This is probably the most beautiful, terrifying horror I’ve ever read. It’s deeply unsettling and yet also has the nostalgic feeling of summer which was a delightful mix for a horror book. The story has a haunting quality throughout and delightfully vivid imagery.
The story starts with our main character Ollie returning to his idyllic seaside home after a year-long absence due to his mom getting treatment for cancer. What should be a joyful homecoming slowly becomes something much darker.
I was so captivated by the story and writing that I read this in one sitting. Each character that appears on the page is their own unique person and lends a small-town charm to the story only adding to the deceptive peacefulness of the setting.
I was not expecting the cliffhanger at all and I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

I discovered Ryan La Sala at a book event for Adam Silvera and I’m so glad I did. After he introduced us to his new novel, I went and immediately applied for the ARC on NetGalley and now, here we are!

I was a little nervous about reading this book at first, as it’s not my typical go-to genre, but I ended up loving it! It was quite the page turner and I loved the format of past vs. present, first person vs. transcripts.

I’m excited to read more Ryan La Sala and for the next book in this series!

Review posted to StoryGraph and Goodreads on 9/14/25. Review will be submitted to Amazon on release date.

Thank you Scholastic and Netgalley for this ARC. This review is my honest opinion of the book.

After a year away from their home during his mom’s cancer treatment, Ollie finds himself returning to Anchor’s Mercy for what his mom, Gracie, has dubbed their best summer ever. It quickly becomes clear that this summer isn’t like any other that Ollie and his friends has faced as a mysterious illness floods across the island leaving everyone wondering if they’ll survive.

My oh my this book was everything. I loved the way this story was told through interviews, flashes of the present time, and flashbacks to the past. It kept the pace of the story moving at break neck speed the entire time. The entire cast of characters on the island were pure magic. I loved Bash, Elisa, Sam, Wendy, and the other characters of town. I felt like the mystery at the heart of this story wound out in a way that the reader was left curious for more but also pausing to ask “um excuse me? What?!” This book was full of big emotions and I can’t wait to see what Ryan La Sala does next.

I'll be the first to say that I am absolutely not the target audience for this story. I don't do zombies or most science fictionish stories whether they are books or television. it is also most definitely more YA than I'd usually read. I'll also be the first to tell you that I was completely captivated by this story (although my copy had wonky formatting issues but I was still able to enjoy the story). This was well written, intriguing and thought provoking because these days, you never truly know what is happening out there. Set on a fictional island off of Maine loosely based on PTown (one of my favorite places), meet the Suds-just your every day teens living their lives-but are they? When their world goes crazy and everything is upside down, the Suds become so much more. This story is full of life, love and laughter (you'll understand when you read it) and I don't believe we've heard the last of Suds...at least I hope not.

The Dead of Summer follows seventeen-year-old Ollie, who returns to his hometown of Anchor's Mercy (an island just off the coast of Maine) following a year away with his mother as she battled cancer. Ollie begins to navigate the complexities of being home in the aftermath of his mother's diagnosis, but finds himself running from more than his past after a freak storm falls over the island.

This was a fun YA horror! It's a bit campy, but has a lot of heart. La Sala depicts Ollie's anger and grief at his mother's diagnosis in such a relatable way. I felt so much for Ollie, and even though I wished he could communicate his feelings more, I completely understood his point of view.

La Sala really shines at creating found families, and this book is no different. While I do think getting to spend a bit more time on the island with the cast of characters before the storm would have helped situate their relationships more, the love and care they had for each other was apparent. I didn't, fully, understand the inclusion of Sam's character. It felt like a set up to a triangle between Ollie, Bashar, and Sam, which I didn't love, and then Sam just disappears. I hope we get some resolution in the sequel. The Suds were great -- long live the Suds.

The plot has, perhaps, a bit too much going on. There's a lot of action, so everything feels pretty propulsive and it's easy to want to keep reading, but I do think some of the elements could have been a bit more refined. That said, La Sala creates a take on zombies that feels pretty fresh and new in a genre that's, frankly, oversaturated with material. I was quite struck with the imagery, particularly its balance between the beautiful and the horrifying, and how La Sala uses this to comment on the government's role in destroying environments.

I enjoyed the interstitial transcripts and interviews, though they did, sometimes, slow the tension and pace of the narrative down. I do think their inclusion will make for a fabulous audiobook. I was very confused by, and this may be because I had an arc that already had some formatting issues, the random assortment of the same drawings and journal pages. They just seemed thrown in with no reason. I would love to know what they were actually for or depicting, because, frankly, I found them quite frustrating.

Overall, I had a great time with this book, and even though I have some critiques, I think it manages to balance fun camp with heart.

Anchor's Mercy has a secret and, well, some secrets you keep and some secrets keep you, but all secrets have a nasty way of coming to the surface one way or another.

The story opens on Ollie and his return to Anchor's Mercy with his mother, Gracie, following nearly a year away. It's meant to be a grand homecoming filled with reunions and the promise of the best summer ever.

Instead, they come home to what turns into an absolute nightmare, leading Ollie and his friends on a wild ride to try to unearth the secrets of the island buried in an energy spill from the 1960s.

Now that we have the specifics out of the way, let's get into how I need to sue the author for emotional damages. I had to set this book down several times because I was genuinely sobbing my heart out. Please, I need you all to read this so that I am no longer crying alone while I wait for the second book.

Ollie, Elisa, Bash, Sam, Gracie, and Willy aka Wendy, are absolutely wonderful chracters who create such a beautiful push and pull throughout the entire story. It was so easy to get lost in their lives, to grow so horribly attached to them all, and root for them at every twist, turn, and what the actual fuck was that moment.

The terror intertwined with hope and music and a need to keep going, even when everything feels lost, was artfully done. Although, really, the best way I could describe this book is Pirates of the Carriabean: Dead Man's Chest meets the Last of Us but make it queer and set it on an island run by drag queens. Which, honestly, is a vibe that I will always be here for because, let's be honest here, queer horror is just kind of my thing in general.

It does end in a cliffhanger and now I'm just going to be over here, going absolutely feral until the next book because I NEED to know how this is going to play out, I need to know who all makes it. I need to know how far this outbreak is going to spread.

The book is unsettling but it's also hopeful and filled with a need to connect, a need to stay together and fight even when the world is literally on fire. It is resilient and beautiful and heartbreaking in a way that more books need to be.

How does one even begin to review a Ryan La Sala novel?

I am so fascinated by Ryan’s brain. HOW DOES HE COME UP WITH THIS SHIT? I love all types of horror set in different seasons, but tbh, I have a special love for summer horror. I think the contrast between, like, the joy of summer and the terror of death is soooo fun.

Anchor’s Mercy is SUCH a wonderful setting. This queer-centric beach haven ran by drag queens? Take me there. NOW. Except, I don’t want to, you know, die. It really felt like I was there, though. Ryan has always had such a crisp vision and it never wavers.

The storytellinggggggg MY GOD. I am so enamored with the way this story was told. It was just fantastic. Between the reports from the Embrace parallel with the main plot happening in real time, I was constantly on the edge of my seat and eager for MORE MORE MORE.

The Suds! THE SUDS! Geniuses. Lunatics. They tend to go hand in hand. I’m obsessed with those rebellious teenagers who take their bad ideas incredibly seriously. I’m with you there!

So much heartbreak and tragedy in this one. If you’re looking for a feel good read, you might want to check elsewhere. If you’re looking to dive deep into murky waters… well… that still might not be a good idea but THE DEAD OF SUMMER will leave you with one question: how does one fight the entire sea?

THE DEAD OF SUMMER is another triumph from Ryan La Sala and I really hope you read it! This story deserves to be read by everyone.

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity.

I don't know where to begin. This book has me absolutely hooked. I woke up at 4 am last night and spent an hour staring at the ceiling while thinking about this book. The weepers, Ollie, his friends, Gracie, Wendy, AMIOS. I finished this directly before I had to board op for a play last night, which gave me ample time to think about it and I fear it's only made my obsession worse. I have so many unanswered questions, yet am sated enough by the answers given that I don't feel downright in pain having to wait for book 2.

There are two timelines happening simultaneously. We have Ollie's POV as the "sickness" is actively spreading, how he and his friends are fighting to survive. Then we have Ollie after the fact, being interviewed by a scientist, who was brought on board to help with the outbreak. While we get the interviews, we also get the scientists' notes. I'm a MASSIVE fan of ergodic literature, and having the different media types in this absolutely drew me in. Interviews, notes, normal narrative from Ollie's POV. It all brings you into this world that Ollie has found himself in, submerses you into it without you realizing. It feels as if you're right there with Ollie, while simultaneously the scientist giving him the interview and writing the notes you read. I don't know how the author did it, but it was phenomenally done.

The story itself is incredible. I love eco-horror, so I knew I was going to like this, but the almost doomsday-feel it had due to the timelines and the outbreak gave it another sense of horror that I adored. It took it from just eco-horror, to almost a zombie novel? Survival eco-horror, which are my two favorite horror types, so I was absolutely loving this.

The imagery that Ryan La Sala painted using words alone was absolutely to die for. I could picture exactly what Ollie described, despite it all being things that don't exist, and that I don't have something concrete to picture, if that makes sense. I was able to easily picture these creatures, but more specifically, their turning. The large, shiny tears appearing opalescent in my mind, almost Ghibli-esque. The coral growths cementing itself to each person like fungus. I was enraptured by it all, the horror and the beauty of it. The way the beauty is almost what makes it so horrifying. I've been trying to figure out a way to artistically replicate the tears and slime that's described as people turn and can't wait for this new project to dive into, and I plan to include in my art classes this year. Absolutely perfect inspiration for drawing dewy, iridescent drops.

Ollie's relationship with his mom hit close to home. Although my situation is a bit different, my dad had a massive stroke when I was ten. His changes were due to the stroke changing his brain, or to put it simpler, brain damage. But the father I knew was gone, just like that. And in his place was a man who smiled more, albeit lopsidedly, who didn't worry anymore, whose depression was almost at 0. I still had my mom, but it was an abrupt change, and one that I didn't understand. So Ollie's feelings towards his forced positivity was something that I understood all too well. Of wanting your parent back, but knowing that having taken care of them as much as you did changed your relationship. For the better, and the worse. It was startling to see something so close to my experience, something I've been unable to put into words, on page. Especially in a novel filled with such grotesque imagery and high-stakes scenes. I loved it. I felt seen and heard, and most importantly I didn't feel so alone in this feeling anymore. It was a truly lovely experience, despite the gruesome imagery happening simultaneously.

This might be my favorite book of all time. Surpassing The Secret History, of which I partially named myself after a character from. It was beautiful and horrifying and I cried. A lot. Sat in the lighting booth as I waiting for the play to open and slammed the book shut, out of a desperation to save the characters inside. It didn't work, obviously, but I don't even care. I can not wait for book 2, literally counting down the days.