The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
melody_t's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
it felt like a bunch of ideas all put into one book and hoping for the best lol not my fave mystery book I've readÂ
I will say miss girl LOVES her metaphors and similesÂ
I will say miss girl LOVES her metaphors and similesÂ
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
themoodreader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
sallytiffany's review against another edition
dark
tense
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
This is a solid book. It kind of moved slowly for me and not a genre I usually get into. The characters are well written but I couldnât relate to them because I just donât like horror movies. A fine book, just not written for my taste.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
decklededgess's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
trigger warnings: murder, gore, anxiety, ptsd, home invasion, bullying, death
This book was absolutely phenomenal. This is a standard horror movie with all the classic horror tropes but it draws inspiration from Mary Shelley's life and her writing retreat with Lord Byron and the crew when she came up with Frankenstein.
The thriller/horror components were so well done and the audiobook really enhanced the atmospheric tension of the story. I was on the edge of my seat listening to this and was absolutely flabbergasted by some of the things that happened.Â
Incredible stuff.
This book was absolutely phenomenal. This is a standard horror movie with all the classic horror tropes but it draws inspiration from Mary Shelley's life and her writing retreat with Lord Byron and the crew when she came up with Frankenstein.
The thriller/horror components were so well done and the audiobook really enhanced the atmospheric tension of the story. I was on the edge of my seat listening to this and was absolutely flabbergasted by some of the things that happened.Â
Incredible stuff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Vomit, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Violence, and Sexual harassment
imstephtacular's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Drug use, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence
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. âThe brain does curious things when suddenly presented with something it cannot comprehend.â 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. sheâs very much an âNLOGâ which makes sense given that sheâs a 16 year old girl, but to have such intense PC dialogue about other topics and having the main character be ânot like other girlsâ 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 donât 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. itâs a wonderful easy read, especially for teens and adults wanting to dip their feet into horror. itâs not too scary at all, but the mystery will keep you on your toes. once you finish the book, youâll realize how everything was staring to right in the face. the puzzle at the end comes together so perfectly and naturally, itâs the first book iâve read in a while that does not feel like it has a rushed ending. all in all, i give this a 3/5Â
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
sidbookreviews's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow, this book was so good! I seriously read about 90% of this in one day (and stayed up late to finish it, admittedly not the best idea for a horror book), I could not put it down! The Mary Shelley Club is an addictive blend of thriller, horror and high school drama all rolled into one irresistible package. There is something distinctly enthralling about the pacing and content of this book that makes it compulsively readable and impossible to put down! I loved the NYC private school setting, and of course, I can't resist anything with a secret society! I also LOVE psychological and slasher horror, so the prominent featuring of both in this book, both as topics of conversation for the Mary Shelley Club members and as elements of the plot, was absolutely perfect for me. This book was an excellent read, I'd highly recommend it!
Full review to come on my blog!
Full review to come on my blog!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Vomit
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
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thanks to Henry Holt Books for the free advance copy of this book.
đ Friends, every single YA thriller I've ever read, I hated. I also hate horror movies, I do not like to be purposely scared. Enter THE MARY SHELLEY CLUB. Whew, I could not put this down! I had to know! I guessed wrong! I kept guessing! I trusted everyone, I trusted no one. I loved it.
đ This book is not only a look at the weird things rich people do to keep busy, but also their classism and racism, plus an exploration of PTSD and the varying ways people cope with it.
đ I will say, if you like your thrillers to have action on every page, this might not be it for you. But I wanted to see each club member's Fear Test, so I didn't mind a little repetitiveness because it still moved quickly.Â
đ Friends, every single YA thriller I've ever read, I hated. I also hate horror movies, I do not like to be purposely scared. Enter THE MARY SHELLEY CLUB. Whew, I could not put this down! I had to know! I guessed wrong! I kept guessing! I trusted everyone, I trusted no one. I loved it.
đ This book is not only a look at the weird things rich people do to keep busy, but also their classism and racism, plus an exploration of PTSD and the varying ways people cope with it.
đ I will say, if you like your thrillers to have action on every page, this might not be it for you. But I wanted to see each club member's Fear Test, so I didn't mind a little repetitiveness because it still moved quickly.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Violence
pastelwriter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
Let me start this review by saying that this has been the first book that isnât a romance to have me hooked to the pages by the end of the novel. I finished reading this earlier than I anticipated because I really wanted to know once and for all who the culprit behind everything that happened was. I may have rated this 3.5 stars but donât let that make you think I didnât enjoy this reading experience. I really had so much fun reading this book.Â
For the majority of the book, I was sincerely just Vibing. I found the book very easy to read and gripping. It wasnât until the like 75% mark that I was really glued to the pages, but before then I was certainly invested. I found the writing style compelling. The pacing of the story wasnât super fast, but it never felt like nothing was happening. There was a steady build-up to the conclusion of the book.Â
In addition, from early on I knew I would enjoy this book no matter what because the humor in this book was definitely my jam. I highlighted so many passages in this book because so many of the things characters said was genuinely funny to me.Â
I also really liked the characters here! Rachel was definitely a character I enjoyed following. I love her need for controlâher urge to gain agency over the traumatic experience she had. I love how she was trying to use horror movies and the Mary Shelley Club as a coping mechanism. All in all, she was a great lead.Â
I also liked Rachelâs best friend Saundra. She wasnât the deepest of characters, but she was sweet and reliable. She was always in Rachelâs corner even if it could cost her social capital. She also was always encouraging Rachel to have a normal teenage life and experience, and that was so important for Rachel who could have easily stayed home all day just watching horror movies or hanging out with the Mary Shelley Club.Â
Speaking of the Mary Shelley Club. Thayer, Bram, Felicity, and Freddie the rest of the members in the group were all compelling in their own ways. Thayer was cute as hell. I definitely developed a soft spot for him. His interactions with Rachel were primarily so sweet that I couldnât help but love him. The fact that Rachel early on just Got Him and his humor and his way of being was just so valid.Â
Bram and Freddie were like two sides of the same coin. I had so many fraught emotions when it came to these two boys. I loved them. I hated them. I wanted to trust them. I didnât trust them. I wanted to know everything about them. I wanted Rachel to get away from them. I wanted Rachel to get closer to them. I wanted it all. They were playing with my heart from the very start because deep down Iâm but a simple bitch. I didnât even mind the love triangle vibes because in so many ways the two of them were so unreliable.Â
The only âconâ I have to mention is that a big part of me was confused as to when this book was set. The characters talked about Miley Cyrus, Pitbull, and Lady Gaga (specifically the Paparazzi song), and I was just confused. The teens didnât always sound like teens nowadays so thatâs why I was like ??? Iâm confused. But really it wasnât a big deal. I was just confused. Still. Iâm willing to chalk this up to the fact that weâre dealing with characters that are super rich.
Anyway. Something else I loved about this book is that we follow Rachel, a working class kid, who is transplanted into this world of super rich kids. She clearly feels the divide between them and herself. Yet she finds solidarity with the Mary Shelley club. Sure, most of them are still rich kids, but at least they get her interests. They donât judge her for the things that happened in her past. They just join forces to pull off these Fear Tests where they prank other students to scare them. It was just pulled off really wellâespecially with the solidarity Rachel and Freddie build because theyâre both kids that come from much humbler backgrounds than their peers.Â
Overall, I definitely recommend this book. I had a lot of fun reading it. I think that if you love horror and enjoy self-aware and meta media, you will enjoy this.Â
P.S. The main reason I didnât rate this higher than 3.5 stars was because I couldnât believe how much of a class traitor Freddie was. Lol. Like, listen. I just canât believe Freddie would turn on Rachel when they were both working class Latinx kids in a school full of rich kids with so much money they were in a different stratosphere. Like, I could never. I was hoping the twist would be that Freddie and Rachel would turn against the other members of the group. Like, sorry, but Iâm different. Down with the rich. Lol.Â
But seriously. I was hoping so badly that the antagonist wouldnât be Freddie, and it was really because I wanted him and Rachel to turn against all these rich kids. Which is to say that Iâm not against the two of them turning âevil." Freddie turning evil wasnât inherently my issue here. I can stand behind antagonists in fiction in the sense that I can find a well crafted villain very compelling and can even root for them.Â
So, I guess my other issue here is that Freddie played me like he played Rachel. I was really rooting for him. His interactions with Rachel really had me swooning. I really bought that he was interested in her and genuinely liked her. He was always so kind, and I really am a sucker for sweet soft boys which is what he portrayed himself as. So, although I wasnât really surprised that he was the antagonist because the seeds for it were definitely planted, it still hurt because ultimately I guess Iâm a sucker for the tope of lovers who do evil together. Why couldnât I have my two Latinx kids saying "eat the rich"? Oh well. Freddie really could have been baby, but he went ahead and turned against Rachel. So sad.
For the majority of the book, I was sincerely just Vibing. I found the book very easy to read and gripping. It wasnât until the like 75% mark that I was really glued to the pages, but before then I was certainly invested. I found the writing style compelling. The pacing of the story wasnât super fast, but it never felt like nothing was happening. There was a steady build-up to the conclusion of the book.Â
In addition, from early on I knew I would enjoy this book no matter what because the humor in this book was definitely my jam. I highlighted so many passages in this book because so many of the things characters said was genuinely funny to me.Â
I also really liked the characters here! Rachel was definitely a character I enjoyed following. I love her need for controlâher urge to gain agency over the traumatic experience she had. I love how she was trying to use horror movies and the Mary Shelley Club as a coping mechanism. All in all, she was a great lead.Â
I also liked Rachelâs best friend Saundra. She wasnât the deepest of characters, but she was sweet and reliable. She was always in Rachelâs corner even if it could cost her social capital. She also was always encouraging Rachel to have a normal teenage life and experience, and that was so important for Rachel who could have easily stayed home all day just watching horror movies or hanging out with the Mary Shelley Club.Â
Speaking of the Mary Shelley Club. Thayer, Bram, Felicity, and Freddie the rest of the members in the group were all compelling in their own ways. Thayer was cute as hell. I definitely developed a soft spot for him. His interactions with Rachel were primarily so sweet that I couldnât help but love him. The fact that Rachel early on just Got Him and his humor and his way of being was just so valid.Â
Bram and Freddie were like two sides of the same coin. I had so many fraught emotions when it came to these two boys. I loved them. I hated them. I wanted to trust them. I didnât trust them. I wanted to know everything about them. I wanted Rachel to get away from them. I wanted Rachel to get closer to them. I wanted it all. They were playing with my heart from the very start because deep down Iâm but a simple bitch. I didnât even mind the love triangle vibes because in so many ways the two of them were so unreliable.Â
The only âconâ I have to mention is that a big part of me was confused as to when this book was set. The characters talked about Miley Cyrus, Pitbull, and Lady Gaga (specifically the Paparazzi song), and I was just confused. The teens didnât always sound like teens nowadays so thatâs why I was like ??? Iâm confused. But really it wasnât a big deal. I was just confused. Still. Iâm willing to chalk this up to the fact that weâre dealing with characters that are super rich.
Anyway. Something else I loved about this book is that we follow Rachel, a working class kid, who is transplanted into this world of super rich kids. She clearly feels the divide between them and herself. Yet she finds solidarity with the Mary Shelley club. Sure, most of them are still rich kids, but at least they get her interests. They donât judge her for the things that happened in her past. They just join forces to pull off these Fear Tests where they prank other students to scare them. It was just pulled off really wellâespecially with the solidarity Rachel and Freddie build because theyâre both kids that come from much humbler backgrounds than their peers.Â
Overall, I definitely recommend this book. I had a lot of fun reading it. I think that if you love horror and enjoy self-aware and meta media, you will enjoy this.Â
But seriously. I was hoping so badly that the antagonist wouldnât be Freddie, and it was really because I wanted him and Rachel to turn against all these rich kids. Which is to say that Iâm not against the two of them turning âevil." Freddie turning evil wasnât inherently my issue here. I can stand behind antagonists in fiction in the sense that I can find a well crafted villain very compelling and can even root for them.Â
So, I guess my other issue here is that Freddie played me like he played Rachel. I was really rooting for him. His interactions with Rachel really had me swooning. I really bought that he was interested in her and genuinely liked her. He was always so kind, and I really am a sucker for sweet soft boys which is what he portrayed himself as. So, although I wasnât really surprised that he was the antagonist because the seeds for it were definitely planted, it still hurt because ultimately I guess Iâm a sucker for the tope of lovers who do evil together. Why couldnât I have my two Latinx kids saying "eat the rich"? Oh well. Freddie really could have been baby, but he went ahead and turned against Rachel. So sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Gore