Absolutely haunting and thrilling, I Am Margaret Moore takes the premise of an elite summer camp and turns it irrevocably on its head. Grappling with themes of misogyny and power dynamics, the novel begs readers to realize that some of the most dangerous monsters delight in daylight.

Lyrical and haunting, Hannah Capin's I Am Margaret Moore is a paranormal thriller that tests the hold of sisterhood and truth.

I am a girl. I am a monster, too.

Each summer the girls of Deck Five come back to Marshall Naval School. They sail on jewel-blue waters; they march on green drill-fields; they earn sunburns and honors. They push until they break apart and heal again, stronger.

Each summer Margaret and Rose and Flor and Nisreen come back to the place where they are girls, safe away from the world: sisters bound by something more than blood.

But this summer everything has changed. Girls are missing and a boy is dead. It’s because of Margaret Moore, the boys say. It’s because of what happened that night in the storm.

Margaret’s friends vanish one by one, swallowed up into the lies she has told about what happened between her and a boy with the world at his feet. Can she unravel the secrets of this summer and last, or will she be pulled under by the place she once called home?
"Lyrical writing distinguishes this haunting summer camp thriller as an enthralling literary mystery with crossover appeal...[an] ingenious story about misogyny and power dynamics." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

I was really excited for I Am Margaret Moore, and I got about 20% in when I realised it’s more of a paranormal thriller and I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t usually like paranormal anythings, so that was strike one and then the writing just wasn’t doing it for me. The storyline felt like it was going absolutely nowhere.

I started reading this book, but I had a really hard time with the writing style and had to DNF it. It's kind of prose like and lyrical and, for me, it was distracting, and I couldn't focus on the story. The premise of this story sounds really interesting, but I can't get past the writing. It didn't work for me.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am Margaret Moore was different from everything that I have ever read.

The writing style is very poetic and often repetitive. Assuming that it was repetitive so the author would emphasize the blur in MC’s head and also take us on a journey where we would, slowly, but surely, connect the dots that would lead us to big revelation in the end, I appreciate it in whole honesty.

Still, if I am being true to myself (and you guys), the writing style didn’t do it for me.
If anything, it only disconnected me from the main character and although I recognize how important the story is, and that it would be emotionally wracking to some readers, I couldn’t get into it, no matter how hard I tried.

Reading this book was like being in the mist myself, somewhere hidden in an imaginary woods, levitating above the creek and not being able to really see, feel or live the story Hannah Capin made.
Because of that, I feel sorry.

And I feel sorry this novel didn’t win hearts of readers all over the world, because in general, I think it was a beautiful story, written in a way that makes it difficult for readers to connect with, and my opinion is that it would work better as a short story.

*Arc provided by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for am honest review.*

Haunting and hearbreaking. I Am Margaret Moore is the story of Deck Five and the two summer's that completely changes their lives. The sisterhood in this book is something anyone who enjoyed summer camp and bonded with their roommates/cabin mates would enjoy. Margaret is an aspiring poet so the way she speaks is just feels different. She's incredibly relatable when it comes to balancing being a child but old enough to have her actions have real life changing consequences. It's a story about growing up, friends, and how sometimes you things happen that change the course of your life forever.

The description really made me want to love this book, but unfortunately I spent most of it being very confused with the time jumps. I wish it were more clear and I was able to follow Margaret's story better.
I loved the descriptive language throughout and that was the saving grace that kept this from being a dnf.

A lyrical, paranormal thriller with a writing style that might not resonate with all readers -- but it's still a captivating story! Especially with the twists the narrative takes as it meanders through time. Again, not all readers will like the repetition or the writing style or the potentially vagueness of events. But, if you give a chance, this book will be one that you think about for weeks afterwards and contemplate its meanings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for review

I was here for the lyrical writing, but I think that's about as far as that will go, honestly. Despite the great flow at the sentence level, the story itself is choppy with the particular arrangement of scenes being relayed out of order. Maybe this is the year of me not enjoying YA thrillers? Anyway, the particular choice of scene order left me feeling impatient for real answers and frustrated with the characters who didn't grow at the rate I would have expected. Also on-page rape isn't fun.

Somehow I missed that this was in lyrical type writing style. That is not for me, which is my mistake. But I really did enjoy this and found myself really enjoying the story.

this is a great idea and concept that was well executed!! it was fast-paced and intriguing and i really liked the cover as well! would recommend

A lyrical and haunting paranormal thriller about girlhood, friendship, and revenge. This story is essentially about rebelling against societal expectations and finding one's voice in a world that commands spirited girls to be silenced. With a poetic and mesmerising prose, this tale doesn't restrict itself to a girl and a boy who did her wrong but goes a step further to instil sensitivity and courageously unravel an aching romance. Unfortunately, the structuring of the novel confuses and the promised thrill is never delivered, making this a coming-of-age paranormal tale that only drops atmospheric prose.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I received a copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

I had a little difficulty getting into this book due to the Author’s style. However, I kept reading and began to understand and appreciate her unique style in this book.

The book takes place at an elite summer camp where boys and girls learn the usual summer camp skills as well as specialized skills such as sailing, rowing and semaphore code. Four young girls room together throughout their years at camp and grow close, becoming their own little family.

One of the girls, Margaret Moore, meets and falls in love the most sought-after young man. However, he is the son of a very influential man, and although their parents are friends, they are not in the same social class. As the story is told in a unique prose, we begin to relate and understand the dilemma this young woman is faced with.

Her friends run out into a storm looking for her, she is looking for him, but no one understands what happened to her. Where is she? If you want to know what’s going on in Margaret’s mind, you will have to read the book. I think you will enjoy the story, and will love the author’s style as you delve into this fascinating mystery.

I found this story to be very hard to follow. There aren't chapters, but instead subtitles that veer off into past and future prose. I had a hard time keeping track of what timeline was being discussed. The language was a bit too flowery for me and the repetition of phrases became tiresome. I had a hunch early on what had taken place the dark and stormy night that is constantly referred back to. The premise was intriguing, but the execution wasn't for me and sadly I was bored and confused throughout most of the book. There was too much inner dialogue and I could never tell when conversations were really taking place or had taken place; everything just flowed together. This one is just not for me. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed here are my own and do not reflect on any brands I may represent.

2/5 Stars

* * I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

This was just not the book for me. I wasn't a fan of the writing style and wasn't the biggest fan of the format. I just didn't really vibe with anything in this book. I didn't feel captivated or drawn in. I would say this book would be for a specific person but it's not an everyone kind of book.

3.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I Am Margaret Moore is a book about a girl who lives for the summers where she can go to camp and prove who she really is. Margaret loves nothing more than the girls who live with her in bunk 5.... except for the one summer where she chooses a boy over her best friends. That summer, something happened. But no one is talking about it-- especially not Margaret's friends or that boy whom she refuses to name.

I knew this book was going to be weird. I had previously read Hannah Capin's book Foul is Fair and adored it. This book does have some similarities. Both are about female empowerment, revenge, and friendship. Both have supernatural elements and a train-of-consciousness type of style. However, I have to say that I think FiF was executed much better than this title. The style of writing, while appropriate for the story, came across much more repetitive and overdone than it did in FiF. I wish the second half of the story had been a bit shorter (thus, less repetitive)-- I think it could have made a *SUPERB* short story/novella vs a full length novel.

That being said, I did genuinely enjoy this title and will continue to pick up Hannah Capin's books in the future. I will also be purchasing my own copy of this book for my personal library. This just wasn't my favorite HC book of all time.

i honestly really wanted to like this book, but i feel like it was just so confusing with how they constantly jumped summers and that it was so back and forth, it honestly didn't really make any sense to me. like, i honestly wish that they made it more distinct about what summer it was and how they didn't do as much jumping or at least didn't make it so confusing. and i mean, i honestly wish they didn't make it like that, and maybe every couple chapters they changed, like addie larue or something like that.

but, one thing i didn't really like was how slow the writing was. like, i think that so much of this book was just so slow, mainly because of all the jumping that it didn't feel like it was a quick read or something. and like it might have been because the first part of this book was just kinda slow, but then it did get kind of better and quicker than the end of the book. but, it was honestly kind of a clusterfuck, but it was still kind of a mess. and i think with the writing, it was kind of a mess aswell, like i feel like it tried to be way to poetic, which it didn't really work, because it honestly felt like it was being way to poetic and that it was kind of a mess. and in my opinion, they just tried way to hard to do it, and it didn't really work.

Book Review: I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin

I Am Margaret Moore is a dark fictional novel about first love, betrayal and sisterhood. It has elements of young adult suspense and the paranormal.
Told in a non-linear lyrical style I Am Margaret Moore is the tale of a girl that falls head over heels for a boy at her elite sailing summer camp. But it is also a feminist story highlighting how adults often fail young girls but young men of wealth and privilege are protected at all costs. As the book slips and slides through time the reader is left questioning everything and it is clear that our narrator is keeping secrets even from herself.
I Am Margaret Moore is not an easy book to love. It is dark and slippery and tragic in so many ways. It has a beautiful poetic style with a lot of repetition and imagery which can be difficult to get into at first. But by the middle I found myself really appreciating the story and rooting for Margaret Moore. I recommend this one for readers that like moody atypical stories with tragic heroines and strong sisterhoods.
3.75 stars (rounded up to 4)

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I truly enjoyed this book. The sisterhood between the friends is so empowering. The misogyny is so gross and I was cheering for the friends and Margaret by the end.