Reviews

Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body by Megan Milks

frecklebrows's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Death

vengefuldime's review

This was an interesting idea. There are three main segments, with first, second, and third person narration. As the description says, there are elements of several different series such as girls' groups. Since I used to read a lot of those it felt very nostalgic while being its own thing. The main character is distinctly unreliable, which is a lot of fun to read. The protagonist spends a lot of time thinking on the relationships between gender, race, and eating (among others) which brings up interesting points, while struggling with intense body issues and attraction to girls. Towards the end, it felt like it wanted to be more of an essay, and I see the bones but lose interest. There is a moment where a character says, "This is like one of those tediously oversymbolic dreams", and yeah, kind of. There are a lot of parts stitched together, that sometimes clash.

nikkihaske's review

challenging emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

cbarbs_1881's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

junojunejunie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

laineybarbour's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

bmitch's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Rape, Medical content, Sexism, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Vomit

scifibabe88's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kspears's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Where detective fiction promises knowledge and order, this story is aligned with unknowing” (p. 255). 

Margaret, a child sleuth, grows up and loses her sense of self. This novel is queer in every sense of the word. It explores the early queer isolationism, finding family, and recognizing that societal pressure is a red herring to genuine acceptance of self.

The final letter of the book sent me into a research spiral and emotional tailspin. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship

ciarakilroy98's review

dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0