I was given an eArc of this book by NetGalley in trade for an honest review.

It was fine. I really wanted to love this book, I mean scouts fighting monsters c'mon what's not to love! But the author has a weak understanding of what Scouting in the 21st century is like (tea parties and white gloves? ffs the GSUSA barely has any home economics education left much less such obvious patriarchal vestiges). Furthermore the way the organization is set up makes little sense, in part to provide for the reforms in the conclusion. The book wants to be about how the organization is bad as it puts teen girls in mortal peril but the conclusion basically that the org needs to do more selfcare. The plot and characters were so weak and one dimensional that I would have likely given up on reading halfway through if I hadn't agreed to write a review.

3 stars in this case is a serious disappointment.

Lily Anderson earned my respect with the Undead Girl Gang and now has my unending love with Scout's Honor.

The Ladybirds are badass girls who banish mulligrubs (attack creatures) created by emotional disregulation. The group began in the colonial era and has slowly adapted to the times but is still rather old fashioned- white gloved tea parties anyone?

Prudence has PTSD from watching her scout-sister be eaten by a mulligrub 3 years ago and wants O-U-T. Making a deal in order to get promoted to a level high enough to obtain the Tea of Forgetting, she begrudgingly spends her summer training up 3 scout initiates.
The 4 Ladybirds, and their male cousins and friends, teach each other alternative ways of scouthood because who wants to follow an old-school Handbook.

Intersectional and full of great social-emotional awareness, this book is great: found families, bio family acceptance, mental health, growth, healthy relationships, weaponry, adaptability, LGBTQ+, baking, resilience, teen choices, creepy bugs, competition. And it was so fun to read!

5.0/5 stars

Scout's Honor focuses on Prudence Perry whose family has been Ladybird Scouts for generations. You are probably asking: What is a Ladybird Scout? These are members of an organization, the Ladybirds, who hunt beings from other dimensions that feed on emotions. The organization, on the outside, seems to be a place that trains women to be respectable and proper while they are working behind the scenes to find ways to destroy the mulligrubs, the beings from other dimensions. The book follows Prudence on her journey to heal from the trauma of losing her best friend during a hunt and what she is willing to do to forget that ever happened. I thought this book was so fun! I really enjoyed learning more about the Ladybirds, as I have always found secret societies to be incredibly interesting. (Even fictional ones!) I absolutely recommend you pick up this unique read if you are looking for strong characters who know a thing or two about hunting monsters!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Scout’s Honor is a delightfully campy story about belonging, legacy, and addressing trauma.

Former Ladybird Scout Prudence Perry finds herself pulled back into her double life as a Ladybird after getting grounded. But Prie left the Ladybird’s for a good reason…they aren’t just your average scout troop. The Ladybirds are part society darlings, part inter dimensional grub hunters. And at the ripe old age of 13, Prue witnessed a tragedy that left scars both visible and not. Unfortunately for her, Prue’s family is legacy status. AKA, Prue was literally born for this, and her mother isn’t going to let her get out of her “duties” lightly. And so, Prue finds herself training the newest Ladybird scouts, in a fast track no less.

Scout’s Honor does a lot of things just right: an interesting and unique premise, social commentary that doesn’t feel too heavy-handed, female friendships, and the reality of living in a triggering world with PTSD. I particularly loved how Prue grows over the course of the books, and how we get to know the “babybirds,” as Prue calls her initiates.

The world building is fairly complex, and the mechanics of mulligrubs could be a bit convoluted. A few times I did find myself noting things that seemed to be contradictory, only for them to later be fleshed out. Because of this, I didn’t find it to take away from the overall reading experience too much.

The author also played with some interesting writing conventions, and sometimes the text would thurn into stanzas. It evoked a montage-like quality to the narrative that I enjoyed a lot,

In the end I feel like my questions were answered, the characters had growth, and there’s been an awesome setup for a sequel. I really look forward to what’s next for Scout’s Honor!
(Also, if this was adapted into a TV show and/or a graphic novel series, as a complement to the books, I would be ALL OVER IT.)

I thought I would have liked this book, but I loved it!!!!!!!!!!! it was so good the characters, the imagery and even the storyline, all perfect

Scouts Honor is a lot of fun! It feels like one of those paranormal tv shows that I used to watch back in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Putting monster hunters in scouts is delightful and I loved the training and legacy that was here. Being able to see monsters that other people can't is such a fun element, you're sure to have a blast!

Unfortunately for me there were way too many pop culture references in this. I am completely oblivious to pop culture when it doesn't surround literature and so I didn't get a lot of it or it made it feel too out of place. It just made it read too much like this book wasn't for me. I know SO many people love that, though, so it's completely personal and I didn't rate it down because of that. It just wasn't the best fit for me personally. If you love the concept and pop culture, you'll be obsessed!

This was utterly amazing and I immediately want to read it over again. I loved this story so much and I can’t believe I was able to experience it. Highly recommend!

I finished this book several months ago, but hesitated to write a review. I don't think any review I could write would do this book justice. It has everything: tea parties, secret societies, demon killing, car washes, troubled pasts, weapons, gender commentary.

Like, it feels like a smarter Buffy. And from someone that has a Buffy tattoo, that's saying a lot. So much of what I get from stories about the special female chosen one is the hidden layers that explore the emotional labor of being the chosen one. Well, in this fierce demon slaying tale, emotional labor is at the center of the conversation. These interdimensional critters are causes by our strongest emotions, which means when someone's having a bad day, a Scout is swooping in to clean it up. Just like so many women clean up others emotional messes ever day. Just wow. Wow.

Read this book. It will be made into an awesome movie one day or a TV show. Like, if I had money to spare and the confidence that I'd succeed, I'd be clamoring for the rights to option this story. Scout's Honor changes the game of chosen one narratives.

This is the exact type of camp and horror that I love.

If the concept doesn't appeal to you, then you probably won't enjoy it, but if the idea of a secret monster slaying Girl Scout sound even a little bit like fun, you're gonna love this.

Prudence quit being a Ladybird Scout years ago when she lost a friend in the field and now wants to leave Scouting forever by using the Tea of Forgetting to purge her memories, but she must be a Dame to buy it from the Ladybird Merch store. Enter tutoring: to be a Dame all Prue has to do is enter the world she left behind and train three new Scouts.

Saying anything else would be spoilers.

I loved pretty much everything about this book, The monsters--mulligrubs--are super gross and terrible. Prue is a fantastic character, and I loved, loved, loved how she was naming and recognizing all the ways the Scouts and her formers friends were toxic and wondering if/how she could change that. The novel does a wonderful job of actually addressing mental illness in a fantasy world like this with on the page panic attacks and deftly handling Prue's PTSD.

Plus, there's Anderson trademark humor punctured throughout that made everything so much better.

A fantastic weird perfect for fan of Buffy, Stranger Things, comedy horror, and mental health.

This is a really fun concept that was perhaps a tiny bit clunky in execution but honestly if the premise sounds cool to you I would recommend checking out the book (when it's out).