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meganpkin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
May be triggering for someone who has been emotionally manipulated and for anyone whos attacked in their home by an intruder because that is described often.
A good mystery that was hard to figure out, all in all though I'm not sure it was worth how I ended up feeling by the end of it which is a personal reflection only. It was well written, paced well, I read it in 3days wanting to find out the truth and the prologue completely had my attention and drew me in. I liked the amount of trivia about film and such, that was enjoyable. Would be intrigued by a sequel.
A good mystery that was hard to figure out, all in all though I'm not sure it was worth how I ended up feeling by the end of it which is a personal reflection only. It was well written, paced well, I read it in 3days wanting to find out the truth and the prologue completely had my attention and drew me in. I liked the amount of trivia about film and such, that was enjoyable. Would be intrigued by a sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Classism, and Mental illness
Minor: Torture, Violence, Gore, Racism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicide
twelvekindsoftrouble's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.25
It was okay. The characters felt a little flat, which kind of put me off. The twist was pretty good, and well-foreshadowed and tied everything up very nicely, which was satisfying, but it didn’t have the OOMPH of an emotional impact that I was looking for. The writing style also didn’t feel. Horror-y enough. Also the modern references to social media are. I can’t do that. Those last two are nit picky. But still.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Suicide
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 Stars
I went into this without reading the description, so everything was a surprise for me. Despite the page count this is actually a pretty quick read. The font is quite large, so I was flying through the pages. The pacing was weirder though; it simultaneously felt fast and slow. It's one of those where it feels like there's always something happening, but also not at the same time. It's hard to describe.
Who needs enemies when you have these people as friends ? My god, everyone was the absolute worst friend in this book. What awful people ! It felt like the characters in this club were trying to force themselves together even though they only had one common interest. We also never really got to see who they were outside of the club, so it just seemed like everyone was being miserable the whole time.
Don't get me started on the Fear Tests ! Once they explained what those were all I could think was, "This is the US, someone is going to get fucking shot". I have absolutely no idea why they never thought that people would fight back, or maybe have a gun in the house. It really just seemed incredibly stupid and naive. I was never surprised when someone got hurt.
I did really enjoy the horror references ! I think there was only one that went over my head as I had not seen the movie before. Usually books only reference horror classics, so it was neat to actually see some very modern movies represented. I did find it unbelievable though that that many people in the same grade were obsessed with horror and had seen every movie. I would have jumped on a group like that in a second if it existed when I was in high school though.
I did end up being quite engrossed in this book. It made me feel anxiety as to what was going to happen next, and it raised my heart rate a few times. However, the plot is predictable, none of the characters are likable, and I wasn't a fan of the ending. I closed this book thinking about how dumb the Mary Shelley Club actually is, and how their whole concept is actually quite disrespectful to the horror genre rather than embracing it. However, in the end, it does keep with the theme: people are the true monsters.
I went into this without reading the description, so everything was a surprise for me. Despite the page count this is actually a pretty quick read. The font is quite large, so I was flying through the pages. The pacing was weirder though; it simultaneously felt fast and slow. It's one of those where it feels like there's always something happening, but also not at the same time. It's hard to describe.
Who needs enemies when you have these people as friends ? My god, everyone was the absolute worst friend in this book. What awful people ! It felt like the characters in this club were trying to force themselves together even though they only had one common interest. We also never really got to see who they were outside of the club, so it just seemed like everyone was being miserable the whole time.
I did really enjoy the horror references ! I think there was only one that went over my head as I had not seen the movie before. Usually books only reference horror classics, so it was neat to actually see some very modern movies represented. I did find it unbelievable though that that many people in the same grade were obsessed with horror and had seen every movie. I would have jumped on a group like that in a second if it existed when I was in high school though.
I did end up being quite engrossed in this book. It made me feel anxiety as to what was going to happen next, and it raised my heart rate a few times. However, the plot is predictable, none of the characters are likable, and I wasn't a fan of the ending. I closed this book thinking about how dumb the Mary Shelley Club actually is, and how their whole concept is actually quite disrespectful to the horror genre rather than embracing it. However, in the end, it does keep with the theme: people are the true monsters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Gaslighting, and Drug use
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
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
bookbitch111's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
IT WAS SO GOOD!! The Mary Shelley Club is one of my ultimate favorites, would definitely recommend. The book got me into horror, and I will never forget it :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Drug use
Minor: Hate crime, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
ukalaylee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Drug use
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