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bookishgoob's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Mary Shelley club. “The brain does curious things when suddenly presented with something it cannot comprehend.” what started as a game went horribly horribly wrong. my qualms with the book was definitely the eye roll worthy riverdale-esque dialogue, especially when it came to stuff like feminism, while still having a hint of misogyny in the main character. she’s very much an “NLOG” which makes sense given that she’s a 16 year old girl, but to have such intense PC dialogue about other topics and having the main character be “not like other girls” made my second hand embarrassment soar. on top of the second hand embarrassment, it took me out of the story when things like that happened, because teenagers don’t speak like that. however, the story was very captivating and so perfect for a spooky halloween read. it has a vague sense of dark academia with a secret society at a private school in new york, but other than that, i would not classify it as 100% dark academia. it’s a wonderful easy read, especially for teens and adults wanting to dip their feet into horror. it’s not too scary at all, but the mystery will keep you on your toes. once you finish the book, you’ll realize how everything was staring to right in the face. the puzzle at the end comes together so perfectly and naturally, it’s the first book i’ve read in a while that does not feel like it has a rushed ending. all in all, i give this a 3/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, and Medical content
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