Didn't read the whole explanation of what this was before I downloaded the kit. I actually do want to read this book and will be adding it to my list.

It is a book club kit for Mexican Gothic novel. It is useful to have a detailed discussion with your peers and book club members on this book.

This book contains:
1. A letter from the author
2. Discussion questions
3. A playlist curated by the author with a spotify link
4. An essay from the author about what inspired Mexican Gothic
5. A Noemi inspired paper doll with a handful of different outfits

A fast-paced Gothic story that takes all the classic tropes of a haunted house, nightmares, weird vibes, and being stuck in this hellhole, but mixes everything well into an atmospheric & mysterious plot driven on the strong shoulders of a fierce woman who won't bow down to any horrifying occurrences, while the bad and the good side characters contribute enough to either make this experience worse or show a ray of light respectively. Excellent writing and brisk narration set the tense voice so perfectly, it's a pleasure to read this horror—even though High Place doesn't have an ounce of anything pleasurable within its walls.

This is a good supplementary piece for anyone has had the book. It includes a letter from the author, background information on the genre, location of the book setting and fashion of the main character throughout the book, and of course the book cub question prompts.

I enjoyed this kit visually and the content is good, but I expected there to be a bit more to it. For anyone reading as a book club read its a good starter reference but be expected to add to it for a deep book club discussion. It also ends very abruptly, which I was confused by.

Overall, not something I would recommend unless you are really keen on the book and want that extra context and letter from the author.

This is a very well put together book club kit for Mexican Gothic. This is something I'd encourage you to pick up if you're planning to have an in-depth discussion about Mexican Gothic.

This book contains:
1. A letter from the author
2. Discussion questions (varying degrees of thought needed for the questions)
3. A playlist curated by the author with a spotify link (very cool idea)
4. An essay from the author about what inspired Mexican Gothic
5. A Noemi inspired paper doll with a handful of different outfits (this is really fun and unexpected)

Please note: this isn't useful as a stand alone book. This is strictly a supplement you'd want to use for additional activates/discussion when you host Mexican Gothic in your book club

Im not exactly sure what i was expecting but this wasnt it. I feel let down. Not really sure how deep discussions could be with this guide during book club

I thought this was the book, but realize this was a book club kit! Sorry for the mistake! I haven’t reviewed the kit because I did not read the original book. Thanks!

It is really helpful to have this book club kit and I wish I had that for more books. Thanks for it!

I would like to thank the publisher, Penguin Random House Library Resources, and netgalley for providing me this book club kit! I am really looking forward to using it!

This book club kit helped me to digest the book in absence of my book club! I read this book on my own and missed the different perspectives of other readers. The comments and questions benefited me in the same way a robust discussion does. I would recommend this kit to readers reading together or on their own (like I did).

This was nothing that I was expecting since I was not able to read the book in the first place. This book is more for the people who have read the book and want to do a study about it.

This was a rather disturbing read, to be honest. I think it needs a trigger warning; there is drug use, rape, cults, suicide ... but the imagery is beautiful, and the symbolism is on-point. The pictures that Moreno-García paints are stunning, vivid, magical. The world building is beautiful, but the magic system was, admittedly, strange. Even though it was a bit of my comfort zone at times, I really enjoyed the story. This Book Club Kit was the perfect book to pair with the novel, because it asked thoughtful discussion questions and provided great context and background about what influenced the author and story.

Mexican Gothic takes us back in time to an old-fashioned world, where women are painted as mercurial and melodramatic, and expected to "mind [their] words and learn [their] place". In an old house darkened by rotting memories, the inhabitants desperately cling to the past. But Noemí Taboada is a modern woman, a bright light, and she will do anything in her power to save her cousin Catalina from wasting away into the darkness. But is she strong enough to save Catalina from the gloom that engulfs High Hill?

With Mexican Gothic, Moreno-García uses many traditional horror tropes in unique and interesting ways. I don't want to give too much away, because above all, it was a great mystery. I think it is rare that a book actually keeps you guessing for so long. There are lots of hints and hidden symbols in the text, but not so blatant as to give away the ending. I don't read many mysteries but this was one that I truly enjoyed puzzling out. But, instead of spoiling the ending, I am going to delve into analyzing some of the fortune-telling symbols I found throughout the story.

Fortune telling was a driving element in this book, which is a theme I love finding in books. This one was steeped in historically arcane traditions, helping to lend an authenticity to the magic system created by Moreno-García.

Belief in the 'Evil Eye' stretches back centuries and worldwide. Cultures across the world have their own explanations and beliefs surrounding the Evil Eye, but the basic idea remains the same. Many maintain that the evil eye is a curse cast by a malevolent or jealous glare, usually upon an unaware victim. It also refers to talismans or amulets that are meant to protect the wearer from receiving the misfortune or injuries directed by malevolent glares. In Latin America and Spain, the 'Mal de Ojo' is deeply embedded in popular culture. There are traditional folk cures that involve red ribbons or raw chicken eggs, but the most popular ward is a charm that can be worn, carried, or hung inside the home. There are various designs, but the ones worn by Noemí and Catalina may look like the one pictured above.

"The infinite, above us, and below."

I am in love with using the classic haunted house as a metaphor for how the patriarchy oppresses everyone and everything. But Moreno-García went even further to address this by using an ouroboros as sort of family crest. The ancient symbol of the snake eating its own tail is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death, and rebirth; the skin-sloughing process symbolizes the transmutation of souls. At the same time, there are implications of male/female fertility, with the circle symbolizing a womb and the snake a phallic symbol. This was an interesting choice to use to represent the patriarch of the house. In reality, oppressive systems are the real ouroboros', feeding on the compulsion of men and the possession of women.

Light and darkness was another heavy theme throughout the book. There was a constant play between dark and light, the wicked and the divine. There were some beautiful dichotomies created, the constant battle between shadow and light, the blurred boundary between dreams and reality. I think this will make for some stunning visuals in the upcoming Hulu adaptation! Eeeeek!

After all, nothing in this place is what it seemed. There were secrets upon secrets.
I don't read many horror mysteries, but I liked what the author did with Gods of Jade and Shadow, and I have seen so much hype around this book! It has spend nine weeks on the NYT Bestseller list, and the novel has been so successful that it will soon be coming to the little screen with the go-ahead to adapt it as a Hulu original series. If you are looking for a creepy House of Leaves/The Yellow Wallpaper style read for Halloween, this one is perfect.

As a reader of Mexican Gothic, I enjoyed the book club kit. It provided a neat look into the history, geography, and folklore of the book. Mexican Gothic is a popular book club book at my library, so I can see our patrons getting a lot of use out of it.

Good for book clubs. Included questions and info on main topics and had some fun activities eg. Dressing up the main character.

A quick overview of the book and some really good questions for a book club. Gives a good description of domestic noir genre, vs gothic genre

This was not the actual book, it was some sort of set up for a game.

Was hoping for the actual book, since I was really hyped about it.

When requesting this book I did not realize it was a book club kit. But once I actually gave it a look it was very helpful. It includes information on the author as well as useful questions to discuss with your group. Overall it was very enjoyable and a great tool for any book club.

Great Book Club Kit! I love downloading the book club kit companions for my books, being head of a book club, it makes my job easier to have this, before I type and print out our discussion topics. The book club kit helps a lot in guiding discussion as well, as it helped me gain a lot of knowledge and understanding I didn't previously have about the book.

Book Review

Title: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Genre: Horror, Fantasy

Rating: ****

I haven’t read anything by this author before but I have heard great things about this book and decided to pick it up as I love a good horror. The opening to Mexican Gothic was interesting as we are introduced to Noemi Taboada, girl who comes from a high standing family when she is called home from a party one night. Noemi’s father explains that he received a disturbing letter from her cousin, Catalina who recently married Virgil Doyle and he wants Noemi to go to their home, High Place and make sure Catalina is ok. Noemi agrees because her father agrees to allow her to take a Master’s Degree if she does and immediately prepares to leave. When Noemi arrives in the town that houses High Place she immediately feels like she has stepped into another world complete with an intensely creepy atmosphere and is introduced to Virgil’s cousin, Francis and his mother, Florence. She does get to see Catalina briefly who tells Noemi that she has been sick with TB and plagued by fevers but I can instantly tell by Catalina’s reserved and blank demeanour that there is definitely something else going on here and I hope that Noemi gets to the bottom of it.

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we continue to follow Noemi as she tries to settle into High Place but is struggling but she puts on a brave face for Catalina. By the time the family doctor visits, she wants a second opinion as she has seen a family member with TB before and Catalina acts nothing like she did and she immediately suspects that the family are trying to keep her hidden away for some reason. Virgil agrees if she can get the local doctor to agree and she uses Francis to gain access to a car and goes into town. There she meets with the doctor who tells her he wouldn’t be welcome at High Place but she manages to convince him to come on Monday and then heads to the local healer for a remedy Catalina bought off her before. Through Martha she learns more about the bloody history of High Place and about Ruth Doyle who killed her entire family except her baby brother, Virgil. She even shot her father but he managed to survive and Noemi pays quite handsomely for this information as it gives her a better understanding of the family. Martha also mentions that she believes the house is cursed as Florence’s husband and Francis’ father, experienced the same things Catalina is experiencing and he ends up dead but Noemi isn’t overly worried yet. However, the father constantly seems to be drawing Noemi into discussions about eugenics and making some sinister comments and possibly some advances towards her and right now the book is giving me similar vibes to Get Out and I am eager to see where this goes.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, despite the haunting atmosphere and stories nothing has really happened with Catalina or Noemi apart from some odd behaviour and strange dreams so I am hoping it picks up soon as I can’t stand slow paced horror or thriller books as it gets boring very quickly. When the other doctor comes to visit the house, he can’t determine whether or not Catalina actually has TB without an x-ray which they aren’t going to get but he does agree that Catalina need psychiatric help but Virgil refuses to do this even when Noemi confronts him directly about it. However, she is beginning to notice more and more strange things about High Place as she begins experiencing strange dreams where Howard and Virgil come to sexually assault her and the images of snake and mushrooms constantly appears. One repeating image is that of the ouroboros, which happens to be the family crest but it is also the symbol of immortality which might hint at some of the secret the family is keeping and why they are so few people in the house and why so many have died there. Noemi is also having to confront the cemetery where Catalina is insistent about as she believes something lives there and she wants Noemi to find it although her mood swings make these desire difficult to comprehend. Throughout all this, Noemi is also finding herself enjoying Francis’ company and even contemplates more than once that she can see herself developing a relationship for him but his family is the main reason she wouldn’t especially Howard as everyone in that home is required to bend to his will and rules and Noemi makes a point of breaking these rules.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Noemi is getting more and more bound to the house, not just by her growing feeling for Francis but because Catalina seems so bound to High Place and she can’t abandon her despite her fear. Noemi continues to dig deeper into the Doyle family, learning more about their dark and bloody past and how the house itself seems to have latched onto this and is pushing it onto other members of the family. It seems that those that are kind hearted and gentle like Francis and Catalina are more affected than other and when Francis says that Ruth should have burned the house to the ground, Noemi is coming to realise how much of a hold the place has over the family which is why they never seem to leave even though they should be able to. This is definitely starting to give me vibes similar to The Woman in Black where the restless spirits seem to be more attached to the house rather than the people and Noemi needs to find out why and who is behind it. I think it could either be Ruth who had the worst time at the house or possibly Agnes, Howard’s first wife whose headstone says mother but from what Noemi knows of the family both of Howard’s children, Virgil and Ruth came from his second wife, Alice. As the mystery surrounding the house and the Doyle family deepens we can see how Noemi is being sucked in to and if this continues for much longer she might not be able to leave. Despite this, the slow pacing is infuriating as I want more to happen especially with the horror and supernatural elements of the novel.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, time is passing but things are getting weirder the longer Noemi spends at High Place. First it is small things like Noemi sleepwalking again like she did when she was a child and experiencing strange dreams. The dreams seem to be coming from Ruth and she is trying to tell Noemi something about High Place and the Doyle family but Noemi doesn’t seem to understand what the message is. Francis is also giving Noemi a lot of hints but she isn’t understanding those either and he eventually is going to tell her something but they are interrupted by Howard who seems to be dying. Noemi’s dreams continue to get stranger as Virgil invades them, drawing to her to him and attempting to seduce her but Ruth is there helping Noemi awaken when she is lost in these dreams. While these dreams unnerve Noemi and she believes that Virgil knows more than he is letting on she writes them off as dreams until one day she experiences one while she is wide awake. In the daydream, the mould in her room is moving and she almost kisses it until her cigarette burns her and she awakens. However, Florence and Virgil arrive in her room claiming she has yelled when Noemi has no memory of doing such a thing and she begins to believe that she is losing her mind but her logical side is also telling her that there is far more to the story she has yet to uncover. I think Ruth is guiding Noemi to the truth but she is also scaring Noemi to the point where she now wants to leave High Place but the heavy rains are currently preventing it. We can feel that the novel is building to something but I hope that all this built up pays off in the end.

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Noemi is set on leaving High Place and for the first time the Doyle family make her feel accepted in the house, like they are trying to convince her to stay but when it doesn’t work they tell her she should at least say goodbye to Howard before she leaves and she agrees. When they enter Howard’s room she finds him corpse like with festering boils all over one leg and they drag her over to him so he can force some of the black bile down her throat. When she awakes Francis explains that there is a fungus running all under the house and cemetery which Howard discovered could extend his life but it wouldn’t make him immortal in his own body. Over generations he has inbred his family to make sure they keep their compatibility with the fungus and when he “dies” he moves his consciousness into the body of one of his male children and bred with the female children which is what happened with his sisters, his many wives and he even wanted to marry his daughter, Ruth to her cousin to ensure this would continue. Ruth was the first to openly oppose this which leads to her death but the family have discovered that the inbreeding has left them unable to have children. Florence was able to have a son but also have many still births and miscarriages and this has become more common so they introduced new blood in the form of Catalina to correct this and Howard is going to be moved into Virgil’s body. However, when Noemi arrived they realised she was more compatible with the house as it willing showed her things without Howard’s prompting and they decide she was going to married to Francis and made part of the family. Francis doesn’t want this as he genuinely cares for Noemi and agrees to try and help her escape but she needs to weaken the fungus’ hold on her which Catalina was doing with the tonic but her strength of will isn’t as strong as Noemi’s. However, Howard has the ability to manipulate people with the fungus and Virgil has used this same control on Noemi more than once in her dreams, so time is running out for her now.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, I was a little disappointed by the time I reached the end of Mexican Gothic. I have to say it was interesting and unique as I haven’t read a horror that features murderous mushrooms before but I did think with the amount of build up that the ending was a little lacklustre and I personally felt it could have benefited from a more ambiguous ending or a completely 180 similar to that of Rosemary’s Baby. Overall, I really enjoyed Mexican Gothic but I did feel the ending was the weakest part of the novel and the pacing was too slow with too little going on for the majority of the novel.

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This book club kit was very well done! It was incredibly helpful in our book club discussions, The informative content, added context and the questions all helped facilitate our thoughts about the book. It was easier to get people communicating and sharing their thoughts when we had a base to start with.