Beholder

La Sala (The Honeys) balances inventive gruesomeness with thematic depth in this bewitching horror novel, a tale laced with spine-chilling gore. Greek American teenager Athanasios Bakirtzis has lived with his yiayia ever since his parents died in a fire when he was six. Though he pretends otherwise, he knows there’s a dark truth behind his grandmother’s superstitions surrounding mirrors: Athan himself has the Sight, an ability to see back in time when he looks at his reflection. After attending a party from which he’s the only survivor of a massacre, Yiayia disappears, and Athan meets Dom, a brown-skinned artist who sees right through the charm Athan uses to conceal his brewing guilt and anxiety. Dom believes there’s a conspiracy at work that’s connected to Bakirtzis family friend Uhler and the eerie wallpaper he designs. As the boys infiltrate an underground society to investigate, their connection deepens, and Athan learns new truths about the past he’s been fleeing for so long. Athan is a nuanced protagonist whose struggles with grief, intimacy, and his self-destructive nature drive a queer-positive narrative that unflinchingly tackles hard questions about perception and aesthetic obsession. The result is a top-notch horror novel and a tearjerker. Ages 14–up. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park & Fine Literary. (Oct.)