This was fun!! perfect for the time (October) that this plans on releasing. It was a little spooky and a lot of sass. I really enjoyed this book. Will be purchasing when it releases!

10/10 would not recommend reading this while you are home alone. Phenomenal writing that is perfect for your spooky collection!

Kathleen S. Allen crafts a haunting narrative around a young woman who disguises herself as a man to attend medical school—a premise that immediately draws interest and raises the stakes in a society that punishes such defiance.

The novel is rich in period detail, with gritty depictions of grave-robbing, medical advancements, and class divides. The protagonist is compelling and courageous, navigating both the literal corpses of her work and the figurative dangers of a patriarchal world. As strange occurrences and ghostly visions begin to surface, Allen seamlessly introduces supernatural elements that heighten the tension without overwhelming the historical foundation.

At times, the pacing slows in favor of atmospheric buildup, but readers who enjoy character-driven gothic tales will appreciate the slow burn. The themes of gender, power, and the thin line between science and the spiritual are woven effectively throughout.

The Resurrectionist is a dark and atmospheric gothic horror novel that skillfully combines medical mystery with a chilling exploration of ambition and obsession. Kathleen S. Allen crafts a vivid Victorian setting filled with shadowy laboratories, grave-robbing, and the eerie thrill of forbidden science. Seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart’s journey into her late father’s secret experiments unfolds with tension and moral complexity, especially as her rivalry with her twin sister intensifies. The novel evokes classic Frankenstein vibes while offering fresh twists that keep readers guessing. Though the pace occasionally falters under the weight of detail, the rich atmosphere and haunting themes of power and corruption make this a compelling read for fans of dark, historical suspense.

3.5
The Resurrectionist was a page turner that had me hooked from the start. It felt like a mix between Frankenstein and Anatomy a love story. Dilly was a strong female character with goals in life and no man would stand in her way to achieve them.
The book wasn't as dark as it could have been even though it had some dark elements. It was a quick read with lots of twists and turns.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with this eARC.

Frankenstein and feminism? Sign me up. This was such a.. dare I say.. fun book to read. I was curious how it would tie all together and I simply loved the ending.

This wasn’t a literary masterpiece as a YA novel, but definitely a quick morbidly fun book to read. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone.

I have a couple of small complaints but they contain spoilers so I’ll keep those to myself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

The best way to describe this one is as a YA reimagining of Frankenstein as a teenage year old girl, and set in Whitechapel in 1888. Dilly’s father has recently passed away, leaving her and her twin sister orphans. Since they have little support system, they’ll both need to find employment. Even though Dilly’s a woman and it’s “not the done thing,” she dreams of becoming a skilled surgeon like her father. Now that her father’s notes and texts are hers, she’s even more determined. When her attempts to gain admission to the local medical college are met with resistance, not even Dilly is prepared for how far she will go to prove herself.

This book is a phenomenal love letter to Mary Shelley. If you’re a fan of the creepy or of the gothic style, this one will be delightful. It continues to explore many of the same questions that Frankenstein did, but keeping more of a focus on the doctor. Many will find Dilly far more relatable than Victor, most notably in her familial relationships and her grief. She fascinated me. Even when the reader understands fully that the outcome of her decisions will be bad, it’s easy to see why she makes them. The author makes great use of dramatic irony by inserting at the beginning of each chapter Dilly’s future thoughts on the events about to occur.

I had so much fun with this one. No one between these pages can be trusted. The twists just kept coming all the way through to the very last page. They never felt disorienting, however. I was always leaning into them and eager for even more. In addition to reimagining classic literature, it does the same with historical true crime. Any true crime aficionados will recognize the setting of Whitechapel in 1888. That was the backdrop for the infamous Jack the Ripper. I was hunting for clues the whole time, and this book kept me guessing and turning pages. I finished this one in two days.

This was a wonderful retelling of the story of Frankenstein. It is wonderfully gothic with some twists to the story.
This telling takes place from the point of a woman in London who does not want the traditional life. She is hoping to become a surgeon like her father. However she pushes toward finding the secret to resurrection after her father’s death and his research notes are found. An accident with her sister has Dilly using her father’s notes to achieve what many have been working toward. Her discovery is tainted when the son of the man who removed her father from the society of surgeons, Ben, is driven to also make the same discovery.

You had me at feminine rage in a Frankenstein retelling. But then the author hit me with that opening line, “ I killed my sister. Twice.”

A dark and gothic story that was well done and a was a fun quick read. This book is beautifully macabre creating a sense of tension and paradox. Being both captivating, yet unsettling in all the right ways. We have medical science, grave robbing, murder and resurrection! What more could you ask for!

A true lesson in why you should not be messing with raising the dead. How it call all go so terrible wrong. The ending, that ending was completely unexpected.

I really enjoyed this! I can see this story being used in high school as a way to teach gothic elements with a touch of Frankenstein tied in as well. I thought the characters were well written and story flowed easily. I did feel like there’s just a little something off and missing, but I can’t put my finger on it.

It gave me the same vibes as Stalking Jack the Ripper because of the time period and the way a female was looked down on for being interested in being a surgeon or doing anything besides getting married and/or being a nurse.

The ending was perfect and I didn’t see that coming at all! Great for fans of gothic horror, Frankenstein, and just an overall eerie feelings!

This was the Frankenstein retelling I never knew I needed. I’m not a huge Frankenstein fan, but this one, I love.

Have you ever wondered what the story of Frankenstein (Victor that is) would be like if Frankenstein were a woman instead? A woman who is smart, ambitious, knows what she wants, and is willing to do whatever it takes to show the world that she’s right, all while battling the ideologies of a time where women weren’t allowed to be any of those things? Count me in every time.

This story is dark, yet not, which doesn’t make sense but it’s true. I loved watching our fmc slowly descend into a level of madness trying to make her resurrectionist dreams come true.

Thank you very much to Macmillan Children’s Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are genuine and my own.

🧠🫀🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️🕯️🪦⚰️🔪🩺💉🦠🩸🧬🌡️🧪

Dark + gothic + feminine rage + Frankenstein retelling + medical theme + grave digging??? What else could a girl ask for??
This was a quick & easy read! I knocked off a star because parts were very similar to Anatomy: A Love Story, and I just wasn’t vibing with the writing at some points. But also…
WHAT THE HECK ??? that ending ??? WILD

Thank you, Macmillan, NetGalley, and Kathleen for the ARC! I loved it and can't wait to it to my collection of books.

You know what? This book had me hooked from the very first page, when Dilly said:

I killed my sister.

Twice.

From there, it was just a wild ride as Dilly explained what happened and how it all led to that moment. I mean, come on! Stealing corpses, pretending to be a boy, killing people, and trying to resurrect the dead? (You'll have to read the book to find out if she actually pulls it off!) What more could I possibly want from a good story?

One thing I loved was how Dilly kept proving the guys she met wrong. She showed them she was just as good, if not better, when it came to medicine. And without giving too much away, she definitely proved it. Not just once, but twice! I'm 100% a Dilly fan. I did feel bad for her, though. She had so much weighing her down (and not just the whole "society being awful" thing). I was rooting for her the entire time. And seriously, the ending?! Like, hello?? What do you mean, her dad did that?!

Overall, I really liked this book. It totally kept my attention, and all the little twists and surprises made it even more exciting. Definitely recommend it!

Sadly the writing and I did not get along.

I was having difficulty setting the …setting of of the piece and I was not enjoying the read.

The cover is amazing and the story should have been something I loved but it just felt weird and disjointed.

I was genuinely excited by the blurb & cover but sadly I had to DNF as this was just not for me. I found the writing hard to engage with due to various anachronisms that pulled me out of the setting & I didn’t relate to the characters.

First of all, Edmund needs a raise. Second of all, WHAT AN ENDING.

This was not at all what I expected it to be and I loved it. The characters were engaging, it was well paced with a number of twists and turns to keep you wanting more. I will absolutely be recommending this to my book club come October.

Thank you, Net Galley + Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, for the arc!

The Resurrectionist was a dark and gothic feminine Frankenstein retelling. I enjoyed Dilly's character as she found herself in a dark and grisly world of death, corpse stealing and resurrection. This story was fast paced and kept me on my toes. I also enjoyed that this wasn't your typical YA book with a romance story. Definitely a graphic read at times, but I think fans of Frankenstein, Victorian women and grave robbing with a dash of medical intrigue are going to enjoy this one. A perfect fall read! I also LOVED the Jack the Ripper reference.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Kathleen S. Allen’s “The Resurrectionist” is a feminist, gothic reimagining of Frankenstein, infused with dark ambition and the dangerous pursuit of knowledge. Set in Victorian England, a time when women were barred from medical school, the story follows seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart, a brilliant but ruthless young woman who will stop at nothing to become a doctor—even if it means stealing corpses, defying the laws of nature, and sacrificing her own humanity.

After discovering her late father’s hidden journal, which details the steps to bring a dead soul back to life, Dilly becomes obsessed with finishing his work. She enters the macabre world of resurrectionists—graverobbers and scientists who believe they can defy death—searching for proof of a tangible soul within the human body. Her moral descent is starkly contrasted by her passive twin sister, Deidre, whose eventual resurrection reveals the horrifying consequences of playing god. As bodies pile up and ambition overtakes reason, “The Resurrectionist” creates a suspenseful, fast-paced story that explores the fine line between genius and monstrosity.

Allen’s writing is rich with gothic atmosphere, evoking the eerie streets of Victorian London as Jack the Ripper’s murders unfold in the background. Themes of scientific hubris, the ethics of medical experimentation, and the obsession with power and recognition make this novel as thought-provoking as it is unsettling. Dilly is a fascinatingly unlikable protagonist—morally gray, single-minded, and chilling in her detachment—making her journey both compelling and horrifying. This is a book you can easily finish in one sitting as you just can’t wait to see what happens to the characters. My favorite part of the book was the medical aspect, especially with the idea that there is a physical soul hidden in the body, and this soul can be transferred to others in order to bring the dead back to life. The idea of resurrectionists was so fascinating to me, and the morally gray characters (basically every character in this book) made this idea even more interesting.

With its thrilling twists, haunting imagery, and a conclusion that serves as a stark warning against tampering with life and death, “The Resurrectionist” is a must-read for fans spine-tingling gothic tales that linger in your mind long after the final page.

Oh don't mind me, just busy picking my jaw up off the floor after that ending! I devoured this book so fast. It's dark and twisty, perfectly paced, and has a captivating plot! Loved it!

The Resurrectionist is a dark, gripping, and utterly mesmerizing gothic tale that will haunt you long after you’ve turned the last page. Kathleen S. Allen masterfully weaves a story of ambition, morality, and the dangerous allure of playing god, set against the eerie backdrop of Victorian England. This is a book that will appeal to readers who love atmospheric, twisty tales with a gothic edge. Kathleen S. Allen has crafted a story that is as thought-provoking as it is thrilling, and I cannot recommend it enough. *The Resurrectionist* is a haunting exploration of ambition, morality, and the lengths we go to in pursuit of greatness—or infamy. A brilliant, spine-tingling read!