New girl Rachel Chavez is eager to make a fresh start at Manchester Prep. But as one of the few scholarship kids, Rachel struggles to fit in, and when she gets caught up in a prank gone awry, she ends up with more enemies than friends.
To her surprise, however, the prank attracts the attention of the Mary Shelley Club, a secret club of students with one objective: come up with the scariest prank to orchestrate real fear. But as the pranks escalate, the competition turns cutthroat and takes on a life of its own.
When the tables are turned and someone targets the club itself, Rachel must track down the real-life monster in their midst . . . even if it means finally confronting the dark secrets from her past.
Rachel is trying to escape her past at her high-end new school, but as she's not a one-percenter she struggles to fit in. Until she spots a prank being played on a classmate at a party, and wrangles her way into the Mary Shelley Club. It's a secret group dedicated to scaring their classmates in revenge for various slights and bullying. At first it's exactly what Rachel needs, but then the scares start to escalate and the danger starts to feel more real...
This novel is a love letter to horror in all its forms, from classic novels through movies from the 70s right up to current day. Rachel's taste are wide ranging (I've added some movies to my watch list!) and I love the idea that she watches them as a form of desensitising. It's really clever and makes perfect sense.
I really enjoyed the early days of the club, before the horror started building and everyone started suspecting everyone. There is nothing on earth like the feeling of finding Your People, and Goldy has captured it perfectly. I'm not at all surprised that Rachel got sucked in as quickly as she did.
The characters were brilliant and a couple of reveals really surprised me. If Goldy wanted to continue this universe, there's plenty more to unpack, but if not it ended in a good place, without any real cliffhangers.
I can't wait to start selling this one. I think it'll do really well.
This novel releases on the 13th of May, 2021 in the US, titled The Mary Shelley Club (top image) and on the 15th of May, 2021 in the UK, titled The Last Girl (lower image).
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