A Darker Mischief

A Darker Mischief is a compelling young adult thriller that blends dark academia with themes of identity, class, and first love. It follows Cal Ware, a queer teen from Mississippi, as he navigates the exclusive world of Essex Academy on scholarship. Initially an outsider, Cal is drawn into a glamorous yet increasingly dangerous secret society, finding an unexpected romance along the way. The book explores the allure of belonging, the challenges of social class, and the moral compromises one might make to fit in. Parents should be aware of themes of social exclusion, mild bullying, and escalating peril within the secret society, alongside a central queer romance.

The Honeys meets The Secret History in a work of dark academia like no other -- a boarding school thriller about a queer teen from Mississippi who finds himself swept into a world of old money, privilege, and the secret society at the heart of it all. When Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school, he's thrilled to leave his past behind. Back home in Mississippi, he was the poor, queer kid who never fit in. But at Essex Academy, he'll be able to reinvent himself. Or so he hopes... But at Essex, Cal's classmates only see his cheap clothes and old iPhone. They mock his accent, and can't believe he's never left the country, or heard of The Hamptons. Cal, at his breaking point, is about to give up and return to Mississippi when he learns about a secret society on campus -- the key to becoming Essex royalty. Cal knows he's not exactly secret society material, but to his surprise, he finds an unlikely champion in the handsome, charismatic, and slightly dangerous Luke Kim. As they get swept up in the mystery and glamour of the Rush process, Cal finds himself falling in love for the first time. But as the initiation rituals grow riskier -- and increasingly nefarious -- Cal must decide how far he's willing to go, and how much of himself he's willing to sacrifice, to save everything and everyone he cherishes most. Because nothing at Essex -- not even Cal's first love -- is quite what it seems.