This book club kit pairs well with its intended book, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It offers potential book clubs plenty of content to discuss and immersive add-ons, such as the playlist or printable paper doll. I especially enjoyed the passages which discussed the inspiration for the book, the historical information on Mexico and its mining industry, and the genre itself. I would have liked to have seen more questions on these topics, especially the overarching themes of the book involving colonialism, racism, feminism, and gender roles.
The inclusion of the paper doll of Noemí Taboada was a nice touch, with the potential for dual meaning in its connection to the main character herself and the story’s darker themes.
Overall, a well rounded kit that would work well for most book clubs, that would spark critical thinking and open up discussion for a deeper analysis of the text.

3.75 It started out slow but I really came to like the mc. It picked up about halfway through. It went pretty far out there with a cultish vibe. The story was full of dread. Unsettling. The house is bizzare and the grandad even more so. The setting is realistic and dark. I enjoyed it.

Unfortunately this book club kit left me wanting. I thought the questions were very surface level and are very basic questions that could get asked about any book. There were so many unique themes in this book - class structure, difficult family dynamics, colonialism, fear and courage - that weren't touched upon at all.

While the paper doll illustrations were pretty, I fail to see how they enhanced the storyline here, and they seem like a juvenile "craft" instead of a prompt for further discussion and enjoyment of the book.

I would have preferred a deeper interview with the author with some more insights about what inspired her about this book and what she hoped the reader would get out of it.

All in all, I don't think this kit would do much to enhance a group discussion

Full disclosure: Mexican Gothic is on my list as a forever favorite, automatic recommend to others, perennial reread. So I may be biased. But this book club kit is fantastic. Instead of the standard readers guide questions one would expect (though there are those in this too) it provides bonus content such as Moreno-Garcia detailing the Real del Monte (Mineral del Monte) the town she drew inspiration from and discussing the gothic heroine, along with an extensive playlist and an illustration of the family seal. But the dress up paper doll of Noemi is where I was sold! What a clever idea, more book club kits and readers guide needs things like this that pair the serious literary discussions with more creative marketing ideas. An engaging and wonderful supplement to the novel.

When I read this I didn’t know it was the discussion version and not the actual book. It does give a lot of facts about the book.

This was just a book club kit and did not include the book. I have not read the book so I this was useless to me.

Fantastic kit for use in book club meetings. We struggle with discussing the book (we usually say a few worked about it and then start chatting about anything in general) and this will help us to stay on track.

This is a really great resource to use while reading the book. It gives a lot of background and insight into the era that the story takes place. Very helpful!

Im giving this 3⭐ it was really nice to the book in some other way if it was the doll or the play list and the other thing the we in this it was really nice to see the

🍄‍🟫📖Gloriously gothic and eerily atmospheric! I loved every creepy sinister macabre moment. Bizarre is an understatement, it got more grotesque the further I read. I really appreciated the feisty fmc’s ability to stay strong and undeterred despite such claustrophobic decaying decadence. This was a unique gothic novel that twisted into naturalistic horror, repulsive but relatively tame. I chose this book during National Hispanic Heritage Month but it was also perfect for spooky season! Sylvia Moreno-Garcia is such a talented author who uses a wide vocabulary which I enjoy immensely. The fact that this book has a Spotify playlist makes it even better. I cannot wait for the streaming series to be released! Thanks to this book I have added all of Moreno-Garcia’s titles to my TBR!!!📚

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't realize this was just a book club kit! Was the first book I requested, before I realized how Netgalley worked.

This Book Club Kit contains discussion questions, a letter from the author, a playlist as well as a paper cut out doll designed to accompany a book club meeting about Mexican Gothic. I really liked the interactive elements of this kit for example the playlist and dress up doll as these really help to bring the book to life. I particularly enjoyed the playlist and think it would be fun to have it playing in the background of the meeting to mirror the atmosphere of the book.

My only complaint is that I found some of the author segments extremely wordy and the text was presented as a thick block of text which was quite off-putting. I also think it would be difficult to have conversations surrounding these pages as there is too much information to try and digest in a short period of time during a book club meeting.

If you’ve read this book and are looking for resources to help lead conversation about it, this is for you! A great tool, and I would recommend!

Thank You Penguin Random House for allowing me to review this ARC. This book was outside of my normal genre's I read. This was a good book has a slow start to me but it picked up. We love a book club and this one is intresting!

“The world might indeed be a cursed circle; the snake swallowed its tail and there could be no end, only an eternal ruination and endless devouring.”

TW: incest, gaslighting, honestly so many weird things I don’t know how to describe.

Noemi is sent to check on her cousin, Catalina, after she sends a frantic letter to the family that causes concern.

Noemi reaches High Place where Catalina lives with her his and his family and they have strict rules but Noemi is stubborn and not afraid to fight.

Catalina is clearly not well and Noemi wants to take her home.

This book was on my shelf for way too long. It’s so spooky and a perfect horror read to get your spooky season started.

The setting is it’s own character snd gives me subtle Rebecca vibes. I give this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟.

This Kit would be very valuable to someone hosting a book club for Mexican Gothic. It includes an interview with the author where she discusses the setting of the book and how it may be inconsistent with the stereotypical idea of Mexico and the British influences on the country. A discussion of the idea of what is "gothic" would also be deepened with context provided in this Kit, as well as the general discussion questions about the book. There are also paper dolls of Noemi's iconic looks for printing and cutting that would make such a fun book club activity!

I loved Mexican Gothic, so the discussion questions were really useful for thinking about the book and drawing my conclusions.

This kit delves into the history of the Gothic novel and also has fun add-ons like paper dolls. Adding this kit to a book club meeting would help facilitate conversations and make for an entertaining activity.

Full of interesting prompts, and wonderfully aesthetically pleasing. The playlist was full of songs I absolutely love, which is very nice to see.

Imagine, your cousin that you used to party with suddenly marries a wealthy white dude, and then one day you get a letter equivalent to "HELP ME." When you get there you quickly discover that there is something very off about your cousin's new family, and you aren't leaving until you find out what is underneath the masks these people wear.
This book left me feeling so unsettled.
Some of the horror elements were truly disturbing for my mind.
The writing was also great, very detailed without being to too dry.
There were some choices with romantic elements that I am not a fan of.
I also discovered that horror is not a preferred genre for me.