Lily Anderson's writing is so captivating while being so easy to follow and understand. Her YA horror is some of my favorite and this was no exception!

3.5*

I was drawn to this novel from the cover and its comparisons to Buffy. Despite being primarily about demon slaying, the book was sweet, and Anderson struck a good balance of paranormal with mundanity.

Though this book veered into cheesy territory, I thoroughly enjoyed the mental health rep. An enjoyable read with an original plot line.

Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Yessssss wow surprised myself with how much i enjoyed this, despite the gross alien bug things! Absolutely nothing wrong with this. Out there and unique, fun and serious, inclusivity of all kinds, great PTSD/anxiety rep... only good things, tbh

Comic Horror!
In Poppy Hills, Northern California, Prudence, 16, was a Ladybird scout, hunting creatures that feed on emotions until her best friend and fellow scout Molly died during a hunt they were on together three years prior. Prudence is now assigned to train her younger cousin Avi even though PTSD has been a problem for her since the fatal hunt. Prudence dreads her assignment but learns to embrace her leadership role and the younger scouts as she takes them under her wing. Eventually she begins to also let people break through her independent wall and become true friends. Now all she has to do is teach them how to stay alive while taking down the dreaded creatures they’re supposed to hunt.
Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the humor throughout the novel. I like the message that it helps when people work together. I also enjoyed how the author brought into the novel the figurative monsters that we all deal with.
Language: R for 68 swears and 38 f-bombs.
Mature content: PG-13 for underage drinking, undescribed kiss, vaping, mention of “getting high”, mention of smoking weed, brief kiss.
Violence: PG for fist fight with no blood, death with no blood in the description.
Ethnicity: Prudence has Puerto Rican mother and a white father. Other ethnicities are white, Italian, and El Salvadoran.

Oh this was a fun one! Definitely for fans of the Lumberjanes graphic novel series. I enjoyed Anderson's Undead Girl Gang from a few years ago and was excited to read this one. I was not disappointed at all!

Overall this was a fun book although I did find the beginning to be a bit slow. I had a hard time with the way Prudence was treated by both her mother and her Aunt, it felt like some of the mental health stuff she struggled with was often brushed aside and overlooked (something I feel like many of us struggle with). Her mother seemed to have an idea of how she wanted Prudence’s life to play out which was not the path Prudence wanted to follow — something else I feel like a lot of people relate to. I would recommend this book to a select few friends but not something I would shout from the rooftops about.

Thank you NetGalley andMacmillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the views and opinions in this review are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

this was a fun book. The characters were likable and relatable. Lily Anderson wrote a really beautiful and thought out story.

Well, I'm always going to be here for a Lily book, especially one with that cover and synopsis, so I don't know why it took me so long to get to this one.

I love love loved Prue. She's loving and learning and soft. The babybirds are adorable (don't tell Sasha) and I absolute enjoyed reading this group figure things out. The boys are just as fun and when they're all together, it's loads of fun.

Plot wise, it is a bit slow going, but I appreciated getting a fully fleshed out set up, especially when it comes to the Ladybirds. The friendship and sisterhood is at the forefront of this story and it was great to see ladies supporting each other instead of competing. And sure, I would have loved just a bit more at the end, but the last chapter is as close to perfect as you could get.

Overall, this was a fun story with great imagery and I think it might be making my top ten of 2022.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

I couldn't make it through this one. I gave up on it after a couple of weeks. The story was interesting, the characters were okay, it just didn't seem like anything was happening. I hope to come back to it someday, especially now that it's released. It just didn't work for me, but I have no doubt others will enjoy it.

This is late, but thank you NetGalley for providing me access to this eARC of Scout’s Honor by Lily Anderson! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Prudence Perry is a Ladybird legacy. Generations of women in her family have been Ladybird scouts and proudly served their communities fighting monsters. And Prue? She just wants to forget. Three years ago, her best friend died and Prue quit the troop. Now, after getting in trouble the summer before her senior year of high school, Prue is tasked with training up new Ladybird scouts meant to join her old troop at the end of the summer. She does her best to train her troop in ways that will be more productive than the toxic competition instilled in her troop years ago, but wonders if it will be enough to save them.

Throughout the story a lot of important topics are discussed like toxic femininity, racism, mental health, and more. The imagery is really interesting because you have all this trauma and blood coated over in pastel pinks and tea parties which was definitely done on purpose for a good contrast and it’s a wild read. I think this is the best take I’ve read on hunting the supernatural.

Overall, this book is a lot of fun. Readers who enjoy stories that talk about anxiety, monster hunting, and true friends will definitely need to check out Scout’s Honor by Lily Anderson!

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this novel fairly blind and I'm pleasantly surprised about what happens, despite it being very different than what I originally expected. As someone who is typically not big on fantastical reads, this story perfectly balances the real with the paranormal... if you can call the monsters in this book that. I really enjoyed joining the Ladybirds on their training journey and helping Prue face her demons. It was full of witty banter and intelligent young women (aside from the senior scouts). The author did an excellent job encapsulating the teenage experience if monsters were a real threat. It was awesome (and well thought out) to create monsters that feed off emotion, especially since teens are FILLED with them.

This one was pretty underwhelming. It's marketed as YA but feels more middle grade to me. The plot lost my interest unfortunately.

What an absolutely delight! Lily Anderson is the new queen of YA contemporary-paranormal. I loved Undead Girl Gang so I had high hopes for Scout's Honor and it did not disappoint. The story was engaging and I loved the world building. I would have absolutely wanted to be a Ladybird Scout! This books does an excellent job at exploring challenging tradition and forging your own pathways while taking the parts of old traditions that you enjoy. I did feel like the romance was a little forced in for most of the book, but it did come around to a point where it made sense to be included. Overall a delightful read and I hope for many more books from Anderson.

This was such a fun read! I tend not to be the biggest fan of paranormal novels, but this one was exciting, and a pretty great read overall. I'm a Girl Scout, so it was pretty cool getting to see some of the aspects of the Lady Birds that were similar (although I'll readily admit they seem to have a bit more excitement than we ever had). For the most part, though, I didn't find this to be too memorable of a read. I *do* know that I loved all the side characters (aside from the other Lady Bird troop, I thought they were a bit too similar to your stereotypical mean girls)! Overall, this was a fun read in the moment, but nothing that will stick with me long-term.

(On another note, this obviously isn't the author's fault or anything, but on Goodreads, this book is marked as both a graphic novel and LGBT/queer. It's not a graphic novel, and while there is a lesbian character, it's only a side character, so I'd recommend not getting your hopes up on either of those fronts.)

Cover Story: Ladybirds Lineup
BFF Charm: Eventually
Talky Talk: Mental Health Meets Multiversal Dangers
Bonus Factors: Secret Societies
Anti-Bonus Factors: Mean Girls. Overbearing Adults
Relationship Status: Scout Sisters

Cover Story: Ladybirds Lineup

This looks like both the cover of a promotional brochure and a group of criminals one might be asked to choose from in a police station. (It was obviously the middle person.) I love it.

The Deal:

Prudence “Prue” Perry is a legacy Ladybird Scout, meaning that she’s part of a secret society of women who protect humans from mulligrubs—demons from another dimension who prey on emotions and, eventually, human flesh. But after losing her best friend in an accident three years ago, Prue wants nothing to do with the Scouts and is actively seeking a way out.

She sees a light at the end of the tunnel when given/forced into the opportunity of teaching new recruits the ways of the Ladybirds. If only they can all make it through the summer alive.

BFF Charm: Eventually

BFF Charm with a sweatband on
I get that Prue is traumatized by the loss of her best friend Molly, and I can’t imagine that it’s easy to just “get over it” like a lot of folks in her life expect her to do. But Molly wouldn’t have wanted Prue to turn her back on something that saves lives, even though she lost hers while trying to do just that. I like that Prue eventually realizes that she can actually do a lot of good if she looks at her situation from a different angle, and watching her come to the realization that she doesn’t need to let grief rule her life is applaudable. It might have taken us a bit to see eye to eye, but we got there after a fashion, and we’re tighter than we might have been otherwise because of that.

Swoonworthy Scale: 3

Prue’s relationship with Kyle is great, aside from the fact that she’s keeping a huge secret from him. And her efforts to teach the new recruits the ways of the Ladybirds are taking a lot more time than she expected—and he’s not willing to overlook her absences and skirted questions forever. (Never fear, though, these two do eventually work it out. There’s just an overlying theme of secrets, and that rarely ups the swoon.)

Talky Talk: Mental Health Meets Multiversal Dangers



The idea of the multiverse is on a lot of minds right now, thanks to the new Dr. Strange movie and Everything Everywhere All at Once (which I still haven’t seen, *cries*), but Anderson’s take on the idea is that bug-like emotional vampires sneak through the cracks to cause us mental trauma—and a society of women train, in secret, to kill them and keep humanity safe. It’s an entertaining idea that easily fits into “human canon,” thanks to Anderson’s attention to detail (explaining away the fact that people without the “sight” can’t see the mulligrubs so they aren’t aware of their existence); it wouldn’t surprise me if societies like the Ladybirds actually did exist in real life.

Anderson’s writing is always punchy and quippy, and while this book features less enemistry than some of her previous ones (leading to the lower swoon score), I still found it delightfully real. The story is an honest look at trauma, grief, and PTSD from a fantastical angle, and it packs an important message in a literarily literal punch.

Bonus Factor: Secret Societies

Gathering of men in the movie The Skulls
I’m no lady, so I’d probably chafe at the multitude of tea parties, “proper” behavior, and pastels of the Ladybirds—until, that is, I heard about the weapons training. Would I choose a staff weapon or something close-range like dual daggers? I’m not sure!

Anti-Bonus Factor: Mean Girls

Karen, Gretchen, and Regina at the mall (Mean Girls)
Prue’s old teammates have continued on in her and Molly’s absence, rising through the ranks of the Scouts thanks to questionable leadership and mean girl antics. They’re getting the job done, but at what cost?

Anti-Bonus Factor: Overbearing Adults

Boxtrolls characters
Related, a lot of the older women in Prue’s life are far too rigid about how Ladybirds are expected to act and be in all aspects of life, not just the Scout bits. They don’t see the need for change, and that probably would have had Prue running for the hills even if Molly hadn’t died. Thank goodness Prue’s around to shake things up, even if it’s a major struggle at first, both in her own head and for those in charge.

Relationship Status: Scout Sisters

I don’t have the Sight, Book, and I’m way too old to be a baby bird, but I’d really love to get the chance to help save humanity from the mulligrubs (and choose a badass weapon to wield). If we have to spend a lot of time getting to know each other along the way, that’s just a bonus.

The Girl Scouts meet monster slayers. This book was a campy good time, blended together with real heart. Anyone who was a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would probably enjoy this one. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to get out of this read, but the cover was so cool looking I had to give it a try, and I am glad I did.

Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson is a young adult paranormal perfect for the fans of Stranger Things. The book follows Prudence Perry as she is a legacy LadyBird Scout. The scouts fight interdimensional mulligrubs that feast on human emotion. Prudence was forced to become a scout again after she was caught sneaking out and the book follows her journey as she becomes a LadyBird scout again. The book is rather slow-paced for a sci-fi fantasy type book. Also on some book reviewing websites, this book is marked as LGBTQ, one character is a lesbian but she is merely a side character and her lesbianism is mentioned about three times in the book. This is in no way a fault of the author but if you are looking for a book with a queer main character this isn't exactly the book for you. The book is also marked as a graphic novel on Goodreads but it isn't again this is no fault of the author or a flaw of the book, but something to look out for. Overall, I rated this book 4 stars because it was very slow-paced and seemed to end somewhat abruptly. I did enjoy this book and it was a fun read. Thank you, NetGalley for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much fun to read! But... past the cover and the original excitement, it was in all honesty a bit of a forgettable read. None of the characters stood out to me and though I really love this concept, it felt a bit rushed as a story and was ultimately just okay. It's not bad by any means, and I'm sure many people will love and feel seen in this story, it's just one that didn't resonate with me particularly. The mulligrub worldbuilding was fairly interesting, and the friendships in this story were just lovely to read about, but other than that, there wasn't anything that I *really* loved. It's an original story for sure and a breath of fresh air in the young adult world, but also wasn't executed the most smoothly. This cover is stunning though and I look forward to seeing what else Lily Anderson can come up with, because her creativity is undeniable.

Prudence doesn't want to fight demons and follow in the footsteps of her ancestors as a Ladybird scout. Instead, she wants to be a typical teenager and live a normal life. Unfortunately, the mulligrubs (interdimensional parasites who feed on human emotions like sadness and anger) won't give her a break.

I really enjoyed Scout's Honor, it's a fun, campy YA book with a relatable heroine and fast-paced action.