The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky
Rachel is new to school and an elusive club wants to recruit her.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Pros: well written, lots of horror film references that I appreciated, intriguing/layered characters and a lot of twists that I did not see coming
Cons: I don't really have much to complain about, it was exactly what I hoped it would be.
Trigger Warnings: Death, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Bullying, Blood
I don't remember where I first heard about this book but if you are the one who recommended it... THANK YOU. I had a blast reading this book for so many reasons that I can't wait to tell you about. This YA mystery/thriller combo was just what I wanted it to be, I highly recommend.
The story follows a girl named Rachel who has been through an unspeakable trauma: no spoilers though, not yet anyway. As a way of coping, she has begun to really enjoy horror movies. Same!
She is starting a new high school - a very uppity one in Manhattan and starts to make some friends... and some enemies and there are rumors around school about a secret club that pulls pranks on random students but no one knows more than that. High school is weird but Rachel is more than intrigued.
The writing was really enjoyable and fun to read. Moldavsky made a lot of horror movie references that I appreciated as a horror film fan, myself. It is harder to fully enjoy them these days because with age, my anxiety has gone up and my tolerance has gone way down, but I am still a horror fan at heart... even if I am only able to absorb it by peaking past my shaky fingers that always seem to cover my eyes.
I do not like to post spoilers on books that I really enjoyed because I want to encourage YOU to enjoy it in real time and give nothing away. Some books are best experienced with no hints to what it holds. This is one of those books so I won't be including a detailed spoiler section.
I will simply end by saying, there were many times, but one in particular that when I read it... I put the book down, picked up my phone and called Hannah to scream about it.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA thrillers; if you are new to the genre(s) I think this would be a great read to start your journey.