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A review by miclikesbooks
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
I picked this book up as a deal with a Starbuck's coffee. As a long time horror fan, I thought it'd be a fun, quick, harmless read.
It exceeded my expectations.
The Mary Shelley Club is part mystery, part coming-of-age comedy, part psychological drama wrapped up in horror pop culture references that endeared it GREATLY to me. The premise is simple: A girl who loves horror movies is new to a rich-kid prep school. Her past trauma keeps her from making friends there. Until she stumbles into a group of misfits who band together to play elaborate Fear Pranks on others. What starts as a fun, horror-savvy club becomes much more serious when the pranks start going wrong and blood starts to flow. Goldy Moldavsky has an excellent Buffy-esque wit to offset the darker scenes that are all too true of growing up. The characters are captivating, if not likeable, and she clearly has a love of the Horror genre (which I greedily ate up). The mystery has a fun twist that did catch me off guard, and the tone of the book plays up the "high school is horror" trope.
My only criticism is that the ending feels a little too quick to wrap up. I think it needed another chapter to breathe and give closure on other characters. It doesn't ruin the story, but it does make it feel a little rushed.
4/5 Stars. Would recommend to any horror fan who likes a little meta humor.
It exceeded my expectations.
The Mary Shelley Club is part mystery, part coming-of-age comedy, part psychological drama wrapped up in horror pop culture references that endeared it GREATLY to me. The premise is simple: A girl who loves horror movies is new to a rich-kid prep school. Her past trauma keeps her from making friends there. Until she stumbles into a group of misfits who band together to play elaborate Fear Pranks on others. What starts as a fun, horror-savvy club becomes much more serious when the pranks start going wrong and blood starts to flow. Goldy Moldavsky has an excellent Buffy-esque wit to offset the darker scenes that are all too true of growing up. The characters are captivating, if not likeable, and she clearly has a love of the Horror genre (which I greedily ate up). The mystery has a fun twist that did catch me off guard, and the tone of the book plays up the "high school is horror" trope.
My only criticism is that the ending feels a little too quick to wrap up. I think it needed another chapter to breathe and give closure on other characters. It doesn't ruin the story, but it does make it feel a little rushed.
4/5 Stars. Would recommend to any horror fan who likes a little meta humor.