Scheduled to post 4/2/22.

Where did I stop reading? 20% in

Why? Between the florid writing and the military school jargon, I kept losing the plot. I was only able to half keep up with the jargon because my husband went to military school for six years, so I got some of what they were talking about (although his was army, not navy). The writing was incredibly redundant too, just circling back on the same jargon, the same points about being Marshal girls (I'm still not sure what that even is), and about something that happened the previous summer. There was no tension, the plot never seemed to move forward, and I never really got a sense of any of the character because I kept losing them too in all the superfluous words. It's unfortunate because I loved FOUL IS FAIR. This one feels like an experiment that didn't quite work out.

This is a book for E. Lockhart fans. I, unfortunately am not an E. Lockhart fan. While the prose was nice and the general atmosphere of the book was fairly compelling, I found this story predictable, repetitive, and all in all a bit flat. The first half of this story relied to heavily on a "you don't know what happened last summer but I do" plot point that was revealed a mere 50% into the story, at which point the rest of the book became almost entirely redundant. I do see the merit, and I do know the type of person I'd recommend this book to (see beginning of review). I just now know that Hannah Capin simply is not the writer for me.

It took me a while to notice a few things. The “chapters” were not normal chapters and the timeline jumbles. Once I caught on, like around the second half, it was easier to understand. The pacing was slow, but it worked for this type of story. I do not know if I like this story or not. For myself, it was like a read it and done.

The main character, Margaret, is the storyteller. We see everything through her eyes, thoughts, and feelings. For myself, I cannot tell if Margaret was a well-developed character. She felt more two dimensional or flat. Her personality felt bland and monotone. There was no connection with this character for me as a reader and because of this lack of connection, I did not care for her emotionally.

I had similar problems with the rest of the cast. The characters felt disconnected and two dimensional or flat. Their personalities felt better than Margaret’s, which makes it hard to determine if they too were well-developed characters. You can tell each character apart, so they were not the same characters written. But there was nothing there to connect with.

The setting of this story takes place at a summer camp called Marshall Naval school. It was easy to get into your surroundings, especially if you have been to a summer camp. The terminology mentioned throughout the story is understandable, as the author could explain what things were naturally. This story felt like it was about reflecting life through a teenager’s eyes. How things can change from one year to the next and one can accept it and embrace it or keep hold of it.

This story was not for me. The idea was intriguing, but that was it. I knew the twist a few pages into the story but wanted to see how it unraveled. In the end, I was disappointed. The writing style was awkward and hard to find what the main plot was. There is a reason for the jumpy timeline and poetic diary style writing. The main character wanted to be a poet, and the story was reflecting her thoughts.

I do not want this to stop people from reading it if it intrigues them. They may like it more than I. It does not hurt to give it a chance. If you like mystery, best friends, and young adult stories, this may be the story for you.

I Am Margaret Moore is what you would get if One of Us is Lying and Riverdale met at a naval summer camp.

I Am Margaret Moore feels fresh, different, and kept me captivated throughout the novel. It was a fast read, mainly because it was hard to put down. Part of that may have been the writing. I’ve seen some reviews of people who felt that the writing was disjointed, but I’d argue that the writing is supposed to be disjointed, with events out of order, because that reflects perfectly what it’s like to be Margaret Moore. The writing is lyrical, full of symbolism, told in poetic fragmented sections, and I absolutely loved how the repetition and time jumping between summers gradually gave me a view of Margaret as a character and what happened to her prior to the start of the novel.

A little about the book: For as long as Margaret can remember, she has spent every summer at the Marshall Naval School on Lake Nanwhesmot with her three friends: Rose, Flor, and Nisreen. Prior to this summer, her last summer at Marshall, something happened. Something the summer before, involving Margaret, a storm, a boy, and the early dismissal of her entire cabin. Now, girls are missing, a boy is dead, and people are whispering that it’s all because of Margaret… and maybe it is, if she can remember what happened last summer.

I loved the four female leads of the book— how different they were from each other, but also how fiercely they love and defend one another. Years are packed into this book, so as a reader you’re coming into it knowing nothing about all the summers that came before this one. It can be a little confusing at first, but as you get settled in and Margaret reveals information from previous summers, it starts to build a puzzle as to what Margaret and the others are trying to solve, and why the past summers at Marshall are so important. I personally really liked the way the novel skipped around and blended the events of Margaret’s time at Marshall, and there’s a twist that I think was really helped along by the semi-confusing nature of the narrative.

Overall, I don’t know that I would put this at the top of my bookshelf, but it was something different than things I’m used to reading. It was quick-paced, unique, interesting, and I think once you get the hang of the narrative structure, it’s a good book to settle in with.

I wanted to like this book but I found my mind wandering often. I usually like girls having bonds and thrillers. Here the writing style worked against the story where in past books it worked well with it. I found it really hard to connect with any characters with this style. It made the jumping between timelines more confusing and broke any spell that the story could hold.on me. By the time the book got to a point where there were any revelations, I wasn’t invested enough to care.

So that I don’t inadvertently say something spoiler-ish, I’m offering an extremely simplistic synopsis: Margaret Moore is a poet, a dreamer, a girl who believes that everyone is good, and she falls in love. In the process she keeps secrets from her best friends, the ones who would kill and die for her. And then everything falls apart in Hannah Capin’s I Am Margaret Moore.

I Am Margaret Moore is one of the most poetic and emotionally gripping novels that I have ever read. There was something in the repetition of Hannah Capin’s prose that caught me and dragged me down into this dark lake of a novel. I felt incensed, annoyed, and so very angry at times.

Very early on I understood exactly what was happening, although I don’t suspect that many readers will guess so early on. Because of this, I did feel some frustration with the beginning of the novel, which dragged for a bit to me. However, the writing was so mesmerizing that I never grew so frustrated that I wanted to quit. Quite the opposite in fact. I needed to know that there would be justice.

The prose is dense and poetic, like a dream, and very often a nightmare. I can’t help but feel that this would not be an easy or even desirable novel for readers who want quick and easy but the effect of the prose, this unbalancing of the reader who might even hope that the scientific idea that time does not travel straight might open up the novel’s world to a different outcome.

I Am Margaret Moore is a difficult novel to review because I can’t quite comment enough on the story without giving away vital points. Suffice to say, this is one novel that will stay with me for a long time mainly due to Capin’s ability to raise so many emotions with her writing. This isn’t an easy novel to read both because of content and style, but it is so very effective.

Last note. I Am Margaret Moore is listed as a young adult novel. I would suggest the upper ages of young adult.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I have to say that I am so very impressed by Hannah Capin's ability to drastically shift her writing style from book to book. I read her debut The Dead Queens Club two years ago and compared to this, that feels like something written by a completely different person.

This is definitely not going to be a book for everyone - it is a slow, winding journey through the mind of Margaret Moore that takes you to the most unexpected places. To be quite honest, I contemplated DNFing a few times throughout the first third of the book. However, there was something hauntingly beautiful about this book that kept me continuing. And oh my goodness, I am so glad that I did. I cried at 1 in the morning finishing this book, it moved me so much.

If you enjoy lyrical writing, female friendships that defy the laws of nature, and ghost stories, do not hesitate to pick this up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I like that this book is beautifully written - it reads almost like a poem. At first I was annoyed at how the story is told but little by little I got used to it. It is a quick read about Margaret Moore, one of the girls that every Summer would go to the Marshall Naval school. There she would learn things, see her friends, and also gossip and meet up with boys. But instead of a linear story, you get told from her perspective in a non linear way.

A unique and different type of book because of the writing style especially, but also because of the story and the perspective we get. I'm much like some of the others who have read and reviewed this in that the writing style threw me off a bit and had me feeling a bit off while trying to follow this style of writing. It was somewhat challenging to focus and follow things for the first quarter to the first half of the book, but then it started to smooth out and flow better as well as make it easier for me to follow.
This is a story about a girl who was in love with a boy and like always they found themselves in an unhappy situation after declaring their love for each other and then things happened from there. It's about a girl and her 3 friends who always come back to a special summer camp each year at the Marshall Naval School. At this camp, they are there for each other always and it's their safe place away from the world until one summer when girls are missing and a boy is dead. Margaret's friends disappear into the lies she tells about what happened with her and the boy she loved.
In this narrative, we follow as Margaret unravels the secrets of this summer and last summer to figure out and shed light on what happened. It's hard to tell too much about this story without giving things away because really the best way to read this is to go into it blind. The best thing to know is that if you're not used to this style of writing and haven't read anything by this author or like this, you might have a bit of a hard time at first, but if you get past the initial adjustment and disjointed narrative, it gets better. By the end of the story, I was left thinking a lot for a while on various topics and wishing that some things in life weren't so unfair. It also lead me into deep thinking and things that I haven't thought of for a while that caused me to reflect on life and death and the different states of being and how time works in different places and times of being. If you're looking for an intriguing mystery with some lyrical/prose writing that may lead you to deep thoughts then make sure you check this one out.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for letting me read and review this one-of-a-kind read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked the revenge at the end of this book and the writing style to a degree, but other than that, this was a miss for me.
I didn't love the writing style, and honestly, it confused the heck out of me switch between summers without actual warning and how it was written. I called the plot twists right off the bat because it was very evicted to me what had happened, and the red herrings were just that. Just not my thing!

A Strong Summer Camp Friendship

Summer camp is a place where strong friendships can develop. This is true of the Deck Five girls at Marshall Naval School. Margret, Flor, Rose, and Nisreen have been together during the summers and have formed a deep attachment. The final summer Margaret is different. Everything has changed and a boy is dead.

This is not an easy book to read. The writing is a cross between prose and poetry. It almost feels like stream of consciousness. The writing style is good for showing emotion, but it’s confusing when you are trying to follow the plot. The confusion isn’t helped by moving the plot back and forth between summers. Sometimes it’s not clear which summer you’re in.

From the blurb, I thought I would enjoy the book, but for several reasons, I didn’t. Although the book was filled with emotion, I couldn’t relate to the characters, particularly the main character. The pace was slow. I sensed that there was a deep story underlying the narrative, and I guessed what it was within a few pages. That didn’t help the suspense. I think the idea for the plot was great, but the writing just didn’t come off for me.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Well, this is unexpected and very uncomfortable for me to report, but I am pulling the plug on this one at 20%.

I loved Foul Is Fair. As in, gave it 5-stars loved and while this is unrelated, I was still so excited to see what Capin had come up with this time. I have listened to 20% of this audio and it is very clear to me that I am not the intended audience for this book.

I am not leaving a star-rating on Goodreads, or posting it to my blog, as I don't want to bring down the overall rating for this book.

Foul is Fair was written in a similar manner, darkly lyrical and full of allegory. The difference is that with Foul, I was in it. I knew exactly what was going on in the story and with the characters the whole way through, regardless of how poetic the writing became. In this one, I have no clue, I mean no literal clue what any of this means and sadly, I don't care to find out.

I know that may seem harsh, but I really don't mean it to be. I think, for me, this is too poetic. In fact, I think maybe this may be more for Readers who enjoy Dark Poetry. Poetry, of any form, and I, don't really get along. I have nothing against it. It's an amazing and valid art form, it's just not one I have ever understood.

With this being said, I would definitely take a chance on Hannah Capin's future work. She is an incredibly creative author and just because this one didn't work for me personally, I still congratulate her on its release!!

Also, a hearty thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I do appreciate it.

Lastly, don't take my opinion on this one. If you like lyrical prose with dark undertones, pick this one up and give it a try for yourself!

3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This book is described as a paranormal mystery/thriller and that's a pretty accurate description. The book is written in a unique style of writing, and based on other reviews, it's not for everyone. That said, if you can put yourself in the right headspace when you read this book, I think you will enjoy it. The writing is more lyrical and ethereal than straight-forward fiction, so if you like more experimental writing styles, definitely check this book out.

The book is narrated by Margaret Moore, a teenage girl that has spent each summer since age 9 at the Marshall Summer Naval School. There, she made three best friends who have spent each summer together since they started. They are upper classman now, going into their last summer at the camp, which is called first class summer, and basically means they are now "first class" - sort of like a military rank. (I can understand why some people get confused, because there are third, second and first class summers. If you think about it as 10, 11 and 12th grade, third class summer is 10th grade, 11th grade is second summer and 12th grade is first summer). They are in Deck Five, a loyal group of hardworking, hard charging girls.

The time line shifts back and forth throughout the entire book. Once you understand what the names of the "summers" means, it's easy to follow the plot. During the previous summer, Margaret started secretly dating a popular boy who is basically described as being out of her social class. Margaret believed them to be deeply in love, but circumstances occur to shatter the relationship. Events that she kept secret from her best friends, and all of Deck Five. I can't go into too many details because that touches on the mystery. Because of events that occurred the previous summer, Margaret's school term ends early and the summer finale Victory Race is cancelled. Naturally, the rest of the school is bitter about that and gives the returning girls of Deck Five a hard time.

Once I got used to the different style of writing (it's kind of like dissociative association and the speaker is kind of just rambling until they get to the point, repeating certain phrases and "thinking" out loud) I enjoyed the book. It did get a bit repetitive in the middle and the conclusion drug out a bit too long, but otherwise, it was a satisfying ending.

I enjoyed the plot and thought there were some interesting surprises in the book. It was fun to read something different and I encourage you to branch out and explore it and give it a try. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books. All opinions are my own.

I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin is a lyrical and summery coming-of-age murder mystery about the bonds of sisterhood.

While I typically love poetic prose, I found the writing quality writing extremely inconstant throughout the book. Some passages are gorgeous and biting. However, some of the extended metaphors didn't land for me and some sentences were downright grammatically incoherent gibberish that left me scratching my head.

It's also important to note that this is a non-linear story. The chapters are written as short vignettes in non-chronological order—quickly switching back and forth between timelines, which felt disorienting at times.

Overall, I appreciate that the author took stylistic risks. However, the execution was messy and could have benefited from a great deal more polishing.

I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Lapin is a different type of thriller told in an equally unique way. Lapin uses poetic prose to tell a story full of many emotions ranging from love and a feeling of belonging to anger, regret, and hate. I could feel every tiny nuance of each emotion as events unfolded. Unfortunately, I struggled to find a connection that would allow me to immerse myself in the tale. I could never go deeper and simply skimmed the surface, which made this a disappointing read for me. However, I can see the artistry in the way the tale unfolded. Surprisingly, the nonlinear timeline worked fine for me since the story is told in first-person narration. It added to the genuine feel of that very personal narrative style. But the characters lacked a depth that would have taken this character-driven story to a whole new level. They are shadows of themselves from start to finish. I did, however, enjoy the twist at the end. I honestly didn’t see it coming and found myself awed by the implications. The first big twist was one I caught onto from the beginning, but that’s because I’ve read a few story plots that take a similar approach. I would mention those stories, but I realized that doing that would be a spoiler. If you are looking for a more artistic approach to a thriller, I Am Margaret Moore is just the story you are looking forward to reading.

“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍.”

Since I love a good summer camp setting, I knew reading the description of I Am Margaret Moore that I needed to check it out.

I really loved the four main characters: Margaret (also known as Mar), Flor, Nisreen, and Rose. Their friendship was strong, celebrating female friendship and the deep bonds that can be formed. The setting of Marshall is a huge highlight - it is atmospheric and tucked away from the rest of the world, which makes for a spooky mystery setting, and its influence acted almost as a fifth friend in their group. I really loved the links to Hamlet and the quotes from some of Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Although I guessed one of the twists early on, another reveal made my blood boil and my heart ache for the character that it affected. Hannah Caplin’s writing is beautiful; the story is told almost in poetic stream-of-consciousness verse. However because of this, I found it quite confusing to follow; even now, two days later, I’m still not fully sure I understand what was “true” or what was not. The story is not told in a linear style, which I think lessened the impact it was trying to have. It also became repetitive in places, and could’ve been tightened up a bit. The positive is once you get used to Caplin’s style, it is a quick read (I flew through it in one setting).

I Am Margaret Moore is a chilling ode to friendship, dreams, summer and the impact the choices we make (and others make for us) can have. Although the writing style wasn’t for me, I am still glad I read it (especially for the second half of the story). Thank you to Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s & NetGalley for the ARC!

I wanted to love this as much as I loved Foul is Fair but the writing made this so difficult for me to get through. It flowed beautiful in some areas and in others left me feeling so confused.

When I read the description for this book, it sounded so good. It turned out to be just okay for me. The writing is very lyrical which is not my preferred style. It has an interesting twist with a satisfying conclusion.

This book was so much more than I expected! The writing is lyrical and beautiful, not quite a novel in verse but almost. I thought I had the story figured out early on but there were some twists I didn’t see coming. I loved the themes in this book: loyalty (good and bad), sisterhood, love, fear, betrayal, revenge. It was a powerful story. The time jumping towards the end didn’t bother me as it seemed to other reviewers. I did think the beginning was a bit slower paced than I would’ve liked but I didn’t think the story was hard difficult to follow. I loved the characters, the story was intriguing, and the writing was lovely.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is a tough one for me. On one hand, I found it beautiful and lovely to read. On the other hand, I think the story suffered for the beauty of the writing. There were times when I would get carried away by the prose, and be so focused on the word choice and the flow of the way the words were delivered.....and I would have no idea what the plot was for that section in hindsight. I think this would have made a lovely novella. With a shorter format, I think I could have allowed myself to get lost in the prose but still been able to wrap my head around the paranormal story.

In the end, this wasn't a favorite, although I could easily pick a dozen sections that were so hauntingly beautiful. It's a tough review to write.