(1) YA With a nod to Frankenstein, this debut graphic novel delivers an intriguing take on the classic coming-of-age story. After Maura dies in a tragic scientific accident, her sister, Frances, and Frances's (nonbinary) partner, Gin, sew her back together and revive her with the electricity from a lightning strike. Maura has absolutely no recollection of her former life, but Frances is confident that her memories will come back. And if not? Well, they can always take her apart and put her back together again until it works. Shortly after Maura overhears this, she looks in the mirror and sees not her own reflection--not her bald head or numerous sutures--but rather the spirit of Maura, the real Maura. This Maura agrees to coach M (as the protagonist now thinks of herself) through this charade. However, the more she learns about Maura, the more M realizes that she is a completely different person and that she must ultimately confront Frances with the truth in order to discover her own identity, make her own choices, and live her own life. While the gripping storytelling largely revolves around M's internal conflict and growth, the tri-color (black, white, and shades of green) art breathes life into the vivid setting and the intriguing supporting characters.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Ever since a car accident seven years earlier, Frances has not left the old mansion where she lives with her scientist parents, Victor and Mary. While attending a conference, they leave Frances in the care of a robot; she outfoxes the robot and plunges into the secrets of her grandfather's infamous laboratory. There she awakens a long-dormant creature who rampages through town. Frances pursues the creature, joined by new friend Luca and the head (only the head) of the robot. A furious constable follows them, convinced that the children are responsible for the monster's swath of destruction. The plot dashes through near-misses and various dangers, with a cinematic sense of pacing and pratfalls. The return of Frances's parents brings several dire conclusions and a revelation about her past (ample clues may lead readers to it much earlier). The ending teases new monsters, both creature and human. This "remix" repurposes Frankenstein's plot points and characters into a madcap adventure, nicely balancing whimsy and peril. Character arcs and the scope of the plot are incompletely realized, but there is room for a sequel to capitalize on this book's promise. The lessons (the nature of monstrosity, knowing yourself) may land with a wobble, but Frances is both a terror and a delight. The author clearly had a rollicking good time, and readers will, too.

Reviewer: Anne St. John | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Júlia Sardà. This volume relates the seminal evening when author Shelley supposedly conceived the first modern science fiction novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, weaving in formative events that possibly helped inspire her masterpiece. Bailey's text is framed by her subject's penchant for dreaming, and serves as a solid introduction to Shelley. Sardà's decorative watercolor and digital illustrations in a macabre style feature sharp-edged, ghostly-looking characters. Bib.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) 4-6 Servant Felix tells of how, in 1816 Switzerland, his employer Lord Byron's night of revelrous storytelling with friends (including Percy and Mary Shelley) is interrupted by Lizzie, a blind and scarred girl seeking her sister. Horror unfolds as Lizzie recounts her experience with loss, lightning, and an unprincipled woman scientist. Literary-minded readers will recognize Lizzie's haunting story as the germ of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Felicita Sala. Like a scary campfire story, Fulton's short, descriptive passages and occasional fictionalized dialogue set the mood and drive her focused retelling of the night author Shelley supposedly first conceived of her mad scientist and his creation. Nicely complementing the tale are Sala's striking watercolor, ink, and colored-pencil illustrations, which display a Gothic sensibility, with angular features and a dark color palette containing shocks of white for dramatic effect. Bib.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(2) YA This novel based on Mary Shelley's life gives readers insight into the complex author of Frankenstein, including details about her life and her creative process, in first-person verse covering lots of chronological ground. There are moments of true poetry, but even more impressive are the numerous monochromatic watercolor illustrations that envelop the verse, imbuing the work with a Gothic atmosphere of gloom, dread, and fate. Bib.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(3) YA Shelley's reputation as the author of the classic novel Frankenstein--written when she was just twenty years old--has eclipsed the scandal and heartbreak that accompanied her romance, marriage, and childbearing with Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Reef (Jane Austen; The Brontë Sisters) chronicles Shelley's life capably, including commentary, primary source quotes, and black-and-white paintings and photographs throughout. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt

(4) 4-6 Wollstonecraft Detective Agency series. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Though their detective agency has been forbidden from pursuing any more cases, nineteenth-century tweens Ada Byron (Lovelace) and Mary Godwin (Shelley) are enlisted to help Princess Alexandrina Victoria (future Queen Victoria) locate her special book of doll sketches, which has gone missing. The fourth installment once again reimagines history with humor, wit, and good-natured implausibility. Front- and back matter clarify the imagined events and relationships.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(1) YA In this electrifying re-visioning of Shelley's classic horror tale, Victor Frankenstein considers helpmate Elizabeth his property, and obsesses over the re-animation of body parts to achieve his ultimate goal of keeping Elizabeth and himself alive forever. The crisp, clean prose has a definite Gothic flavor; captivated readers will avidly plumb this novel's "dark and hellish" depths in the company of the complicated and compelling narrator/protagonist Elizabeth Frankenstein.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) YA High School Horror series. Victoria (Tor) Frankenstein's scientific curiosity outpaces her ethics when she reanimates a teenage boy after running him over on a rainy road. Revived but suffering from amnesia, "Adam's" attempts to fit in at high school are simultaneously comic and alarming, and strange local murders soon lead to questions about his mysterious past. Baker's series-starter facetiously parodies both Shelley's classic and high-school social dynamics.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(2) YA In an alternate-universe steampunk 1818 Geneva, Alasdair Finch is responsible for killing his brother Oliver and re-animating him entirely with clockwork parts. Now, two years later, Alasdair keeps him hidden. In a retelling of Frankenstein, Lee elaborates on Shelley's themes of humanity and playing God--concerns still timely now. With masterful prose, this macabre novel is charged with unmistakable signs of life.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(4) 4-6 Calico: The Art of Time Travel series. Illustrated by Courtney Bernard. In each book, two kids flash back in time to meet famous artists of different disciplines: Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Shelley, Monet, and Shakespeare. The structure is formulaic--an unimpressed character gains appreciation while having an impact on a pivotal moment in history--but gentle unpacking of biographical information may spark history young buffs' interest. Each volume is illustrated in a different monochromatic color scheme. Review covers the following Art of Time Travel titles: Get Ella to the Apollo, Mary Molds a Monster, Monet Changes Mediums, and Shakespeare Saves the Globe.

Reviewer: Andrea Curtis

(3) YA Shepherd's trilogy following the female descendants of mad scientists ripped from nineteenth-century horror novels (The Island of Dr. Moreau and Frankenstein) concludes elegantly as Juliet and Montgomery take refuge in a Scottish manor and struggle to untangle questions of moral and biological heritage that have shaped their lives. Full measures of suspense, action, and romance are employed to tie up every loose end.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) 4-6 Wollstonecraft Detective Agency series. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. In a reimagined nineteenth-century London, Mary Godwin, fourteen, and Ada Byron, eleven, form a secret agency to pursue the case of a missing jewel. Percy Shelley and Charles Dickens assist their efforts. The characters are entertaining, but the plot feels forced at times. Detailed bios of the real historical figures and an author's note addressing the liberties taken are included.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(2) YA In this first-person, present-tense verse novel, Hemphill tracks Mary Godwin Shelley's actions and emotions from the time she becomes infatuated with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley through their scandalous elopement, penury, European travels, and the births and deaths of their several children--up to Percy's drowning on an ill-conceived sailing trip. A good beginning for readers curious about the author of Frankenstein. Reading list.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2013

(3) YA Seventeen-year-old twins tell their story in alternating diary entries as they journey to claim an inherited castle and learn about their father, Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Giselle longs for social grace; Ingrid strives for education. But both are haunted by strange dangers and a series of murders. This curious takeoff on Shelley's classic is ornamented with absorbing gothic elements and a brooding romance.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Dark Graphic Novels series. Illustrated by Meritxell Ribas. Durable, chilling, and in graphic-novel format--what more could librarians want out of a horror series? Purists should be warned that significant liberties are taken with the classics to make them quick, accessible reads, although the detailed illustrations (particularly the stunning, woodcut-inspired sketches in Frankenstein) help round out the stories and retain their original emotional impacts. Reading list, websites. Review covers these Dark Graphic Novels titles: Dark Graphic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Reviewer: April Spisak

(3) YA Steampunk series. Illustrated by Zdenko Basic & Manuel Sumberac. Stark illustrations featuring shadowed landscapes, silhouetted figures, roiling clouds, eerie mists, and, of course, omnipresent gears give a new steampunk flavor to this unabridged version of Shelley's gothic tale. Precise detail and sharply contrasting tones help make the illustrations mysteriously chilling. The elegant design and high-quality production values will help increase the appeal of this classic story to new readers.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Monsters and Mythical Creatures series. Beginning with Mary Shelley's creation of the famous literary monster, this book traces the history of Dr. Frankenstein's creature through literature, film, and popular culture. While the layout is awkward and pictures often do not match the content on the surrounding pages, the resources, analysis, and overview of media adaptations will be useful for report-writers. "Did You Know?" boxes add interest. Reading list, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(3) YA In 1818, teen pickpocket Billy thinks he's seen everything the streets of London have to offer--until the day he encounters monstrous Mr. Creecher. Soon their mutually beneficial partnership evolves into a hunt for Mr. Creecher's creator, Victor Frankenstein, who is at work on a new project. The team-up of Shelley's monster with a Dickensian-type urchin makes for an engaging literary-themed adventure.

Reviewer: David Elzey