New York Times-bestselling author Goldy Moldavsky delivers a deliciously twisty YA thriller that’s Scream meets Karen McManus about a mysterious club with an obsession for horror.When it comes to horror movies, the rules are clear:x Avoid abandoned buildings, warehouses, and cabins at all times.x Stay together: don’t split up, not even just to “check something out.”x If there’s a murderer on the … just to “check something out.”
x If there’s a murderer on the loose, do not make out with anyone.
If only surviving in real life were this easy…
New girl Rachel Chavez turns to horror movies for comfort, preferring stabby serial killers and homicidal dolls to the bored rich kids of Manhattan Prep…and to certain memories she’d preferred to keep buried.
Then Rachel is recruited by the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious society of students who orchestrate Fear Tests, elaborate pranks inspired by urban legends and movie tropes. At first, Rachel embraces the power that comes with reckless pranking. But as the Fear Tests escalate, the competition turns deadly, and it’s clear Rachel is playing a game she can’t afford to lose.
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YA thrillers are definitely not a genre I usually go for. I can’t remember the last in the genre I’ve read or even if I’ve read one at all so signing up for this blog tour was kind of a spur of the moment decision for me. The title as well as the cover initially caught my eye and the synopsis made me sign up immediately. And guess what? I loved loved loved looooved this book. It was such a good read and I need to get my hands on more books that are similar to The Mary Shelley Club as soon as possible because WOW!
This book is about Rachel Chavez who after a horrifying ordeal becomes a horror movie enthusiast to deal with her trauma. After moving with her mom and starting as the new girl in Manhatthan Prep she gets initiated into The Mary Shelley Club where a group of her fellow students hold Fear Tests that are based on horror tropes. Each member holds a Fear Test, picking a target and trying to make them scream. The longer Rachel participates in The Mary Shelley Club the more daring and riskier it all gets.
Right from the start I was right into this book. The story made my heart pound a lot, especially because of some of the twists that I hadn’t at all seen coming. None of them! There were also lots of references to horror movies and I just loved that. Rachel was honestly a great main character to read about. As soon as it started I wanted to know what exactly had happened to her in the previous year. Luckily I didn’t have to wait that long to find out and get the story about what she went through.
Her fellow members of group were Freddie, Bram, Felicity and Thayer. They were all a bunch of intriguing and contrasting characters. All of them were pretty different from one another but their love for all things horror connected them. I also really liked Rachel’s friend Saundra. I loved how Saundra took Rachel under her wing when she didn’t know anyone in school. Such a sweet character!
Another thing I loved about this book was that it was written in Rachel’s point of view except for the Fear Tests. Those chapters were in the POV of whoever was the target. I really enjoyed this particulary because it gives us a little break from Rachel’s POV (not that this was needed for me) and it was also really intense and thrilling.
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky was in one word: exhilarating. My heart was pounding a lot through the story and especially towards the end. The suspense was actually killing me. So yes I might have to read more YA thrillers!
Such a creative and fun ode to classic horror. Even though I’m not much of a horror fan myself on the screen, during the lead up to Halloween, I like to read in the genre, and this has such a unique premise, a totally twisted hook, and a fantastic cast of characters. It’s got a dark edge without being gory or gratuitous, and it was just creepy enough to make you think twice about reading it in the dark. I tore through this one!
After one traumatic night, Rachel turns to anything horror to self medicate. At her new school, she attracts the attention of the Mary Shelley Club. This secretive club creates “fear tests” to scare certain people. However, someone begins to target the club, putting others at risk. Rachel takes the initiative to find out who. Along the way questions from her past are answered.
This is the first horror YA book that I’ve read and I was not disappointed. I was hooked from the end of chapter 1 to the last sentence of chapter 54. It was very obvious that the author is well-versed in everything horror because of the amazing detail that she gave.
One thing that I found fun was trying to piece together what happened but I kept having to change my thoughts when different clues were presented. I wouldn’t say the end is left for your own interpretation because you find out everything, however, the last few lines looks like there could possibly be a sequel. If that’s the case I will definitely be purchasing.
This book kept me guessing until the end. The plot was unique and twisted. I enjoyed how the horror trope was woven into the twist and turns. The story sucked you right into the middle of a classic horror movie. If you love a good slasher-twisted killer, this is the book for you.
4.5
I absolutely loved everything about this book except the cover. The character development, the plot, the setting….all of it was outstanding. If a club like this existed in my high school years, I can definitely see myself being in it .
This book hooks you from page one and doesn’t let go until long after you have finished it. The writing is wonderful, and the constant references to classic horror movies, books, and tropes were especially enjoyable for a die-hard horror fan like me. There were some minor details or twists that I was able to guess, but even with those, I was still on the edge of my seat as I was reading, tense and anxiously waiting to see how everything would play out. I really thought I had the final big twist/reveal nailed down…and I was oh so wrong. I recommend reading this one when you have a lot of time on your hands because you won’t want to put it down!
This drew me in right away, and I quickly got annoyed at my slow ears with the audiobook from my library and bought the ebook so I could devour it. I don’t watch a lot of horror or read a lot of thrillers, which is probably why I was surprised by some of the twists and turns. I really enjoyed it!
This book is based on a club which includes a misfit group of high schoolers who have the common ground of a love for horror movies. This book brought me right back to high school when we used to have movie nights and to some of the horror movies that were popular during that time. I was quickly invested and trying to solve the mystery along with the characters. The second half of the book was very fast paced as I tried to read about the mystery and piece together the clues. It has left me spending the past few days thinking about it.
This book was super interesting. The prologue drew me in immediately. I mean starting off with a home invasion and then jumping forward a whole year with little to no details? Very intriguing. If you are like me you need answers and NEED to keep reading. Well I am so glad I did because this story was amazing. I loved the horror elements involved and the fast paced race to find out what was going on and why all the Fear Tests ended with someone getting hurt.
What a wild ride. This book was so interesting and spooky – it definitely gave me The Strangers vibes! I loved following the Mary Shelley Club and trying to see who was the saboteur! 100% must read for any ya thriller fans!
Fear tests. They can be born from movies, but the Mary Shelley Club brings them to life.
Rachel Chavez is recovering from a home invasion and neglecting her PTSD. Her mother has transferred them both from their former world in the burbs to a new one in NYC (which I’m unsure how she affords on a teacher’s salary). This life is a delicate new existence where Rachel tries to gently poke at her past when she’s comfortable doing so and avoid doing so whenever it’s possible. Until she sees something unusual happen at a party.
“I, too, crave chaos.”
Her new friends in The Mary Shelley Club are your horror movie archetypes. The jock, the outcast, the nerd, the comedian, and her–the traumatized girl with a past. And it’s the same dynamic where you never know if they are your best friends or your worst nightmare; one of them is clearly the ‘killer’ in the scenario, though.
The Mary Shelly Club is a nod to horror fans everywhere with name-dropping and fangirling or fanboying genres and films from the well-known to the mega-obscure. It’s a treasure-trove for pop-culture buffs, and even us book nerds can get some love here.
I found this a great suspense and a heart-pumper at that. I view a lot of the moves as telegraphed, though, and very easy to see coming. I think that could very well be a nod to the horror genre when you know that the killer is in the next room or who he is when the people don’t. The payout for the account I didn’t see coming until way late, though.
One of the things that made me laugh was that the author describes a girl’s hair ridiculously. Like whipped butter. Like honey. I couldn’t help but chuckle over it all.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary advance copy of this book.
Holy smokes!! I could not put this book down. You are pulled in by the prologue and then kept on the hook by the rest of the story. This was an awesome YA thriller. I was on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait to read more by this author. I recommend this one!
Did I guess all the major twists? Yes, yes I did. And normally that would’ve made me like a thriller less, but this really did read like a horror movie. I knew what was going to happen, but I stayed tense waiting for it, holding my breath, knowing that the monster was right behind the character, and screaming that they should turn around.
The writing, characters, and fear elements were top notch! Cannot wait to read more from this author!
This book grabbed me from the prologue. I love, love, love high school drama. I’m in my 40s and still love YA books, as long as it’s not fantasy or sci-fi. This was my first book by Goldy Moldavsky, it was the perfect first book for me. This audio held my complete attention til the very end. I must check out her other books. I recommend this book/audio for those of you that like high school/teen drama.
The Mary Shelley Club opens with Rachel Chavez a teenage girl home alone when someone breaks into her home and attacks her. Rachel fights the intruder with all her might barely escaping with her life. Rachel’s attacker wasn’t so lucky. The attack has left Rachel scared. To try and overcome her fear Rachel has become a horror movie freak.
To help put it all behind her Rachel and her mom move to New York where she hopes to start over. After her arrival at her new school, she is invited to join The Mary Shelley Club. A club where the members try to come up with the scariest prank ever to pull on the members. But before she can become an official member Rachel must first pass the “fear test”. The fear test is where someone comes up with a prank to scare the bejesus out of the initiate.
After Rachel witness, a few of these pranks she begins to wonder if The Mary Shelley Club is for her especially after a couple of the members are found dead. Is someone from the club killing their own members? Or is the killer a non-member? Does the killer have any ties to The Mary Shelley Club?
The Mary Shelley Club was way better than I ever thought it would be although I was expecting a great book after reading the summary. I would have to agree with others that The Mary Shelley Club reminded me so much of Scream. It reminded me of Scream because The Mary Shelley Club had this kind of vibe as if they were filming a movie within a movie sort of thing as if they were like making fun of Scream or maybe doing a remake.
The Mary Shelley Club did not like action or excitement from beginning to end. Once I opened it there was no way I could put it down until I had read the last page to know who the killer was and you know I was surprised with that ending leaving me wanting more as if Rachel’s story has not ended. As if she has more to say.
The Mary Shelley Club is a great book for young adults or new adults or anyone who loves a good horror story. I would like to recommend that you give The Mary Shelley Club a try by one-clicking your copy today for a great horror thriller murder mystery story!
When Rachel starts in a new school, after having survived a home invasion, she instantly finds a friend in Saundra. The other kids in her school are rich,entitled children. Rachel desperately wants to belong and when she gets invited to the exclusive, secret Mary Shelley Club she doesn’t have to think twice. In the beginning everything is just like she thought it would be, new friends sharing their greatest hobby – watching and discussing horror movies. But after a while, things starting to get out of control and Rachel feels like somebody is after her.
Really good story I read in one sitting and enjoyed.
This one sounded so good that I was excited when I saw there was going to be a blog tour for it. And in the end, it did not disappoint even a little bit! The Scream movies came out when I was first out of college and I loved them. I’ve always loved horror movies, I think I get it from both my mom and dad loving them. From when I was about 9 or 10 and my dad took me to the drive-in movies to see Friday the 13th, The Car and Blood Beach, then when he brought me back to my mom’s that night, I had nightmares all night. My mom was so mad at my dad. But I’d told him I could handle it. My mom was the one who read Stephen King books and forbid me from reading them until I remember the summer before I started high school and she just happened to leave one of her books laying around when she went to work and I picked it up and started reading it, and I was hooked!
However, I love scary books and movies. But I do not like Haunted Houses really. Not sure why, but that’s me. So I don’t know that I’d enjoy any part of the club in this book, other than the movie watching and discussions. My love of these types of stories though made this book a total winner for me! It was the perfect scary story, and would make a perfect horror movie along the same lines as the Scream series.
There was a lot of suspense and definitely tension for Rachel both with being the new girl, as well as what had happened to her at the beginning. The little bit at the beginning was even just like the beginnings of the Scream movies in its own way. And while I wanted so bad for Rachel to finally be fitting in and things to be on the upswing for her, I knew with this type of story, things weren’t going to be all roses and candy, things were going to go badly. And then did. I had a teensy inkling back of my mind though that something like what happened at the end was going on all along, but all the things I thought would prove it kept being swept away as not really happening. So the author did a great job with this!
And, the way it ended, exactly like a horror movie would end, just perfection from the beginning to the end!
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky was a very fast read for me, and it’s hard to believe it’s close to 500 pages. The way Moldavsky combined Rachel’s past trauma, the Fear Tests, the club getting together outside of school, and the usual teenage drama was a perfect mix. As a fellow horror lover, I thoroughly enjoyed all the horror references and I so wish I had a group of friends like that in high school…. At least the horror movie watching part, not so much the part where people start getting physically hurt!
Horror movies are full of tropes and the main characters fit nicely into those tropes (mean girl, broody guy, nerdy guy, final girl). Even though you knew where these characters fit, I would have liked to have seen more development with Felicity and Thayer. And while I knew who the bad person was early on (watching all those horror movies may have helped), I did enjoy their reason being basically that they are a sociopath… I love when a horror book ends, but still leaves you with questions or the possibility of a sequel. And Moldavsky executed that nicely.
For those who don’t read/watch a lot of horror, I can see this YA novel giving them some chills. And for those of us who do enjoy horror, I think you’ll like all the references and it’ll remind you a bit of a few different horror movies mashed together… which to me, was very enjoyable.