Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Mary Shelley Club

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky

44 reviews

sourcherryyy's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

this was a fun kinda murder mystery vibe with lots of plot twists :)

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agxxo's review

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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? It's complicated

4.5

I KNEW IT.

The only reason it’s not a full five stars is because the ending was kind of open ended.

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daralexandria's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

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markedwithanm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

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allisonsmith120's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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_seanna_nicole_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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fallingquinnlove's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Read this book in a day, couldn't put it down; felt extremely predictable in some respects

(Obviously, if you pick Bram's girlfriend, he is going to pick Saundra. Don't intentionally make enemies with people who scare other people for fun!)

, but with enough twists to stay interesting. Very easy to read; kind of the perfect book to get me out of a reading slump (I haven't read YA in years, but I think that's why it worked).
My main thing, I think, is the fact that it felt like it wanted to be a movie. It's extremely visual, and in the way that it borrows intentionally and makes explicit reference to a lot of horror movies (as opposed to horror books), I think there's something genuinely lost in the development of it as a book. I imagine it along the lines of "Do Revenge" or "Bodies Bodies Bodies".
Also, be prepared for Gen-Z language that feels a little out of place, particularly outside of dialogue.

It was when Saundra's POV had a line about how Rachel had been acting a little "sus" and someone else had a line about thinking that someone else should "prob/def break up".

I'm Gen-Z and it's not inaccurate, but it doesn't feel consistent with the mood that Moldavsky seems to want to create.
Overall though, I did enjoy it, I enjoyed the twists and the motifs

Everything to do with masks, especially Bram's masks, was brilliant. And I loved the Frankenstein motif, obviously, with the projector scene and the fact the masks are Frankenstein but painted, and everything about Thayer's Shelley lore drops. I also really liked what was being said about class divides in NYC schools.

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julsreadinglist's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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tors_tomes's review against another edition

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dark mysterious

Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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itzbrianna's review

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The Mary Shelley Club was a decent mystery. I enjoyed the horror tropes and the subtle references to some horror classics. If you enjoy a combination of mystery and horror tropes, I think you will enjoy this book. Rachel Chavez is a lovable character. She is the new girl, and the outsider at the start of the story. She is a typical teenager. One who blames herself and feels like she is on the outs due to her inability to cope with trauma. But she is a great protagonist nonetheless. You root for her and you want her to succeed. You want her to heal.

The Mary Shelley Club's fear tests start off innocent enough depending on who you ask. It's a very creative way to get back at a bully or someone who has tormented you. But the depth in which this club goes to finish the game is intricate and weaved deeper into society than even Rachel could have imagined. In my humble opinion, this is not a horror book. It's more mystery and thriller to me. Nonetheless, it was a great read.

*****The Following Section Contains Details that Could be Considered SPOILERS****

While I enjoyed this book, the biggest thing missing for me was the horror. I expected a higher body count and I expected more than just a mystery that turns into a murder mystery near the end of the book. There were so many questions at the end of the book as well that weren't answered. This read more like a mystery novel than a horror one. In fact, I am not sure horror fits to describe this book at all. That lack did not deter me from enjoying the story though. I just think if you are expecting a real horror story with this one, you might want to look somewhere else.

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