Mary's Monster

Starred review from January 1, 2018

Gr 7 Up-Judge details the life of the great Mary Shelley through poetry in this atmospheric and illustrated volume. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a classic masterpiece of horror and science fiction, and Judge treats it as such, hyping up the events that would lead to it's creation-from her tumultuous relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley to trials and tribulations of being a disowned woman in the 1800s. Readers will be enthralled by the dark and exacting verse, beautifully accompanied by haunting black-and-white watercolor spreads. In the poem "I Am Seventeen": "Already/I am daughter to a ghost/and mother to bones." This work does not skimp on the details, however sordid they may be. The pain, fervor, and tragic events that drove Shelley's inspiration for Frankenstein will sit with readers well after the volume is finished. It also discusses the issue of women's rights at the time (or lack thereof) in a somberly poignant way that mirrors many of Shelley's own experiences. VERDICT A must-purchase for any middle and high school or public library YA collections, particularly where Gothic horror is in demand.-Molly Dettmann, Moore Public Library, OK

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2017
That a teenage girl in 19th-century England could have written a novel as original as Frankenstein has fascinated generations of readers. This fictionalized biography in first-person free verse unveils how Mary Shelley's unusual experiences shaped her imagination and inspired her to give the world the first "mad scientist" in science fiction. From extensive source material, Judge pieces together a timeline from 1812 until the anonymous publication of Frankenstein in 1817. As a pregnant teenager, Mary is banished by her father for her relationship with libertine poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her social circle of prolific Romantic-era writers includes poet Lord Byron, who challenges the group to write ghost stories one rainy evening. (Among the tidbits in the backmatter are thumbnail biographies of these secondary players and a bibliography of related titles.) The author/illustrator pulls no punches in her portrayal of Mary's dismal life. The book is heavily illustrated in black-and-white wash, with darkly evocative images that echo the grief behind Mary's writing, including the loss of a baby and sharing Percy Shelley with her stepsister, Claire. A prologue and epilogue from the Creature's point of view pull modern readers in: "She conceived me...till I was bold enough to climb out of the page / and into your mind."Students of literature will appreciate the powerful poetry that brings life to Mary Shelley's story the way that Shelley herself breathed life into her novel of a scientist who animates a corpse. (introduction, biographical note, author's note, notes, bibliography) (Historical verse novel. 13-17)

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December 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Originally published in January 1818, Mary Shelley's revolutionary Frankenstein has bewitched readers for centuries. In this novel-like, free-verse bookand just in time for Frankenstein's two-hundredth anniversaryJudge (Hoot and Peep, 2017) illuminates the life of the legendary author. Told in nine parts (a nod to the nine months Mary spent drafting Frankenstein), drawn from Mary's own meticulous journals, and kindled by supremely haunting black-and-white watercolor illustrations, Judge's book spotlights the circumstances that inevitably spawn Mary's unforgettable Creature. There was the death of Mary's mother, renowned feminist Mary Wollstonecraft; an adolescence spent in Scotland, severed from her family; and a tumultuous romance with married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and its consequences, including familial and social exile. Through it all, Mary remains a creative force, enchanted by a zeitgeist of galvanism, radical poetry, and indomitable nature. Complete with extensive back matter, such as a What Were They Reading? compilation, this is a stirring, impeccably researched portrait of a remarkable woman and her literary progeny. Much like Mary, Judge forges a Creature all her own.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)