I’m not much of a horror reader, but I am a fan of the human that is Ryan La Sala. When a copy of his latest novel, The Dead of Summer landed on my doorstep, I was intrigued to see what he cooked up.

The Dead of Summer [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] follows a teenager named Ollie as he returns to his home island in the Northwest. He’s been away for months while his mother went through cancer treatments. Now that she’s okay, they’re moving back to the island, but Ollie firmly believes that there is something making people sick and the adults won’t talk about it. He’s also dreading seeing his best friends, who he hasn’t talked to in months.

Shortly after getting back, something weird starts happening where people are start singing with joy, and then a thick goo starts pouring from their eyes, followed by coral growing out of their heads. The drag queens shut down the town to try to prevent the spread, but Ollie needs more answers than he can get from them.

This story is told from two perspectives. One is Ollie in a more traditional narrative format telling the story as it happens, while the second is a scientist from the mysterious ship off the shore a couple weeks later as they interview Ollie to try to piece together how everything went sideways.

Overall, I enjoyed The Dead of Summer. It moves at a solidly quick pace with a hint of mystery and fun twists. For a horror, it’s not as gory or dramatic as I expected, and I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or bad thing. It is for teens, so it’s probably good that it’s not super gross. There’s also plenty of humor, sass, and heart. I am intrigued to see where things go in the second half of the story when book two comes out in 2027.