Today, I’m really excited to be hosting a stop on the blog tour celebrating the amazing The Last Girl by Goldy Moldavsky. Thank you so much to the amazing Siobhan McDermott at Farshore and Antonia Wilkinson for inviting me onto the tour and sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I’m lucky enough to be sharing a guest post from Goldy herself today, showcasing her playlist to accompany The Last Girl. I love being able to fully immerse myself in a story and matching playlists often add that extra level to the experience.
I’ve previously posted my full and glowing review of The Last Girl, which you can check out here.
When it comes to horror movies, the rules are clear:
– Avoid abandoned buildings, warehouses, and cabins at all times.
– Stay together: don’t split up, not even just to “check something out….
– If there’s a murderer on the loose, do NOT make out with anyone …
New girl Rachel Chavez turns to horror movies for comfort, preferring them to the bored rich kids of her fancy New York High School. But then Rachel is recruited by the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious student club that sets up terrifying Fear Tests; elaborate pranks inspired by urban legends and horror movies.
But when a sinister masked figure appears, Rachel realises that her past has caught up with her. It’s time for the ultimate prank to play out …
As a general rule, I find that music and writing don’t mix well. I know this is an opinion that not many other writers share. It may even be controversial! But I find that when I’m trying to get some writing done music is way too distracting. I like to tune everything out when putting words to paper.
But all that changed with THE LAST GIRL (also known as THE MARY SHELLEY CLUB in the US.) The story is about a new girl at an elite NYC prep school who gets mixed up with a secret society obsessed with horror and they play a twisted game that eventually turns deadly. I wanted the story to feel like one of those fantastic, pulpy, melodramatic teen movies from the 90s. I’m talking Scream, The Craft, Disturbing Behavior—where everyone wore leather and dark tees and scowled all the time. To get that juicy 90s feel I had to dive deep into my fave late 90s music (with a few contemporary standouts to round out the more modern vibe.)
Well, I still can’t write while music is playing, but for this book I did make a playlist. I pulled it up anytime I needed to get into the right mindset for the book, or think up some new scenes and ideas. This meant playing these songs every time I took a walk or did the dishes.
Here is a list of the songs I listened to over and over again for THE LAST GIRL and what scenes they apply to. (Very minor spoilers ahead!)
The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Garbage
“She’s not the kind of girl who likes to tell the world / About the way she feels about herself.”
At the start of the novel the main character, Rachel Chavez, is keeping a big secret and she suffers from anxiety and PTSD. She feels bad about herself, she’s mistrustful, and when she gets too overwhelmed she has to remind herself to keep breathing before she does something too reckless…
Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger
“I had visions, I was in them, I was looking into the mirror / To see a little bit clearer, the rottenness and evil in me.”
This song has some dark ideas but the melody is so pump-your-fist-in-the-air-thrash-your-hair-back-and-forth fun, and that’s exactly the kind of feeling I was trying to convey with the book. It’s dark but you’re going to have a blast. When I listen to it I think of the scene where the club is running through the streets of Manhattan, joyful after their first fear test. Maybe a little paranoid, but ultimately effervescent.
6 Underground by Sneaker Pimps
“Don’t think ’cause I understand I care / Don’t think ’cause I’m talking we’re friends.”
This song screams Bram and Rachel to me. They have a contentious relationship, if you can call it that. Really, Rachel doesn’t know where she stands with Bram, if she can trust him or if she even likes him. And Bram doesn’t give anything away. When I hear this song I think of their scene on the swing set right before Rachel’s fear test. They’re talking but they are in no way friends.
How Soon Is Now? By Love Spit Love
“I am human and I need to be loved / Just like everybody else does.”
At the core of the story Rachel struggles with who she is. She doesn’t believe she is a good person and she doesn’t know how to deal with that. She finds outlets for this struggle, some healthy and some definitely not. She thinks she’s a monster, but she needs to realize that she’s human like everyone else.
Every You Every Me by Placebo
“‘Cause there’s nothing else to do / Every me and every you”
I love how matter-of-fact this song is, plaintively telling you how interpersonal relationships can go sour. And that’s kind of the Mary Shelley Club in a nutshell. They’re doing bad things and people will end up hurt.
Glory Box by Portishead
“Move over and give us some room.”
This lyric especially, to me, has a duality to it. Give them room so they can get to know each other more intimately, or give them room so they can have it out. This song is sexy and moody and it belongs to the scene where Rachel and her mystery Jason Vorhees are dancing at the Halloween party.
Summer Daze by Luscious Jackson
“I like it, I like it, I like it, I like it”
This is probably the happiest song on this list and to me it encompasses the feelings Rachel has surrounding her finally having found her people and also her budding romantic relationship with Freddie.
My Favourite Game by The Cadigans
“And I’m losing my favourite game / You’re losing your mind again”
I like this song because the beat is still pretty spritely even though the lyrics are on the cusp of darkness. It’s just like in the novel, where they’re still playing the game even though they’re starting to lose control of it. Is it even still fun anymore? Do they have to take a step back?
Destroy Everything You Touch by Ladytron
“Destroy everything you touch today / Destroy me this way”
I hear this song playing in the scene that immediately follows the one at the cabin. Everything starts going sideways and Rachel is at her lowest, blaming herself for everything that’s going wrong.
We Must Be Killers by Mikky Ekko
“We all know how to fake it baby / We all know what we’ve done”
This song captures the mood of the last third of the novel. The game the club is playing isn’t fun anymore. There’s a body count. They’re riddled by guilt and doubt. This song encapsulates how they feel.
Cut the Cord by Pushmonkey
Finally, a song to encapsulate the whole novel. I’m not sure if there’s a connection to be made with the lyrics, all I know is that the feel of the song is the feel that I was going for with The Last Girl. And I hope I got it.
Thanks for listening!
Thank you again to Siobhan McDermott at Farshore and Antonia Wilkinson for including me and make sure you check out the other superb posts on the blog tour.
A Short Book Lover 
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