i'm a big fan of the podcast brea grant co-hosts with mallory o'meara, reading glasses, so being able to read and review an early copy of her graphic novel is truly an honour!

so much of this fits my wheelhouse. i adore mary shelley and stories that feature descendants having to face the modern equivalent of what their ancestors have to experience. identity and discovering your own path in life separate from family is a timeless woe, and is especially difficult when you discover you're a monster healer, while everyone else in your family wants you to be a writer. i love that mary is goth, too; goths are grossly underappreciated in graphic novels!

while i do think extra pages would have been perfect to further flesh out characters and their relationships to add a bit more of a punch to familial conflicts and some character reveals that read as a bit left-field at times, i think it's a perfect length to jet through quickly and have a fun time reading it while still empathising with mary's struggles. yishan li's art is absolutely beautiful, her character designs are all distinctive and i love the detail put in to all of the monsters and assortment of creatures you see through this graphic novel.

i also can't write this review without mentioning that one of my favourite horror authors possesses a toy bunny in this. it's incredible.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't quite enjoy this one. The description sounded great and I was really intrigued to know more since but I found it to be quite disappointing. The story drags a bit which makes it hard to keep reading and enjoying. had to put it down a couple times.

The character were alright but slightly boring so I also had zero interest learning more about them sadly.
Overal this was quite a disappointing read in my opinion.

Every female in her family is a writer since the famous Mary Shelley. That much was interesting enough for me to want to read this graphic novel. But it turns out that there is more to the Shelley's and it is a bit of magic.
I adore the drawing and like the Addams Family vibes, it gives me. The story is really good, however, it may progress to fast. This graphic novel is great when you are already a fan of Frankenstein and are interested in a modern continuation and meet new monsters.

This was a really unique take on the female descendants of Mary Shelley. I really enjoyed the story and the illustrations were fantastic. The illustrator has done some amazing work on well-known comics in the past so that comes as no surprise. The romance portion was a bit cheesy and instantaneous but it plays well to the nature of the story. What angsty teenager wouldn't fall for a cute zombie? I really love the friendship between Rhonda and Mary too. In a short novel, their relationship development was really well done. The only things I didn't like were that it was so short; I felt like parts of the story were rushed and confusing. I also didn't think it was very realistic that Mary simply accepted everything so nonchalantly. That was a bit strange but the fact that she was a Shelley constantly surrounded by weirdness may have played into that. This would be a great graphic novels for fans of Shelley, spooky lovers (perfect for Halloween!), and teenagers. Definitely check it out when its released in October.


Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolutely fantastic, engrossing, in parts funny, in parts a bit sad and touches on issues of family and what happens when you don’t live up to your mother’s expectations.

Mary is a high school student who doesn’t want to be a writer even though every member of her family has been for generations. When she meets Adam she realises she’s destined to help those who need her.

A great graphic novel. I’m already eagerly awaiting the sequel.

I will be publishing a review on my blog closer to the release date of this phenomenal graphic novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advance Reading Copy for review!

I enjoyed this, the art is beautiful (I wasn't surprised to read that the artist has worked on Hellboy) and the story was really interesting. It set up the characters and the story arc perfectly with parental intrigue, magical intrigue, romantic intrigue...there were a lot of things I found myself excited for after reading this. The instaromance was strong, but these are teenagers - and they act as such - strops, rebellion and crushes as swift and powerful as a jet plane. Who wouldn't have swooned over a zombie at that age if the zombie was that cute?
I'd guess it's aimed at slightly younger audiences than myself but it didn't detract from my enjoyment and oh lord I can imagine 15 year old me being absolutely obsessed with this graphic novel as I desperately tried to dress like Mary like the baby gothlet I was. I wish I'd had this graphic novel!
The only other negative I can think of is how easily Mary accepted what was happening. Someone appears with a missing foot and you're fine with it that quickly? I'd have liked to have seen a bit more shock, and maybe a bit more tension as she tries to desperately hide her new life from her family who also just... Know about all this? And are cool with it?
The above aside though, I'm too used to reading established webcomics now and wish there was a 'next chapter' button on this one...

**I received an e-ARC from NetGalley for an honest review**

I love Mary Shelley, so I was intrigued when I saw this graphic novel.

The overall story was basically your usual teenage "Who am I?", "What should I do with my future?", "I'm nothing like the rest of my family", "How can I be who the rest of my family wants me to be and still be myself?" questioning of a mid to late teenager, but it was done in a unique way.

I really liked that it followed the original Mary Shelley's great-something granddaughter, but I would have like a little more focus on the original's life and its parallels the the younger. Not bad for the beginning of a series.

Lovely artwork, the colors really suit the mood of the story. Can't wait to read the next part!

Stars: 3.5/5

Thank you to the publishers for an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realise just how into this story I was until around 1/2 way. I zoomed through it and probably finished it within an hour (though scattered).

At first I thought it was a bit jumpy - not clarifying certain scenes but you make your own assumptions and they're generally correct - this may be an issue I have with graphic novels and not just this particular book, mind.

I think aspects of the book were timed right. Without spoilers - say _ happened for two chapters - it was a good amount of time because any more and the story would be boring but any less and the story would not have been explained enough. That might be weird to point out but it's something I noticed!

I love Mary, the MC's vibe. I'm a bit of an internal goth where I like goth music and style but don't really suit it so I don't externalise it but seeing Mary, I want to dye my hair black and invest in a good choker. Just saying. Also her healing abilities - dope.

I like the history of the Shelleys too - a strong female history is not something you see a lot and it's both empowering for the reader and not for poor Mary! I really enjoyed this aspect of the story and I look forward to reading the second volume to find out more about Mary's mother and their ancestry... also Adam, hello!!

Big shout out to the illustrator - Yishan Li - loved her art though sadly it didn't translate great on my iPad... not sure why but the text was generally fine.

WARNINGS: zombies and demons?

RECOMMEND: for teenagers 13+ who are a lil bit goth and "going through a phase." Also people who like eyeliner and whoever else wants to read a cool graphic novel with writers, healers, ghosts and demons.

For ease of convenience I'm going to refer to this book as simply Mary. Mary follows Mary Shelley, the sixteen year old descendent of the famous author, and her family. Ever since their ancestor became famous for writing the first science fiction story, the women in the Shelley family have all been famous in their own rights, usually for writing too. Mary's grandmother wrote a best selling cookery book, her aunt is one of the world's most respected biographers, and her mother has a series of best selling mystery books that's been adapted into a hit television series. Faced with the success of her family, and the Shelley's who came before, Mary doesn't know what she's supposed to do with her life.

It's during this period of self reflection that something strange begins to happen to Mary. At first a frog she's dissecting in class seems to move on its own, then she begins seeing a strange pale young man, a man holding a foot. This young man finally corners her, and reveals that he needs her help to reattach his missing foot. Mary's reluctant, but agrees to help, and discovers that she somehow has the ability to reattach the foot, without any sign that it had ever been missing.

Whilst Mary just wants to forget the whole experience more and more strange creatures begin to appear in her life, asking for her medical assistance. This includes a harpy with tooth ache, and a ghost stuck in the body of a plushy bunny rabbit. It turns out that Mary has inherited a very strange ability from her ancestor, the power to magically heal monsters.

The plot itself is pretty interesting, and I love the idea of there being this secret history to Mary Shelley, that the monster she wrote about was actually a living person. It's something that takes the Shelley legacy in a new direction, and gives a lot of scope to have a bit of fun. And it's clear that Brea Grant is having a great deal of fun with the concept, introducing so very silly yet charming characters and monsters. The possessed bunny teddy quickly became a favourite of mine.

The art, by Yishan Li is really good, and all of the characters and monsters all look distinct and bold. Mary in particular looks great, and whilst she goes through a number of costume and hair changes she always stands out and looks distinct. Li's art seems to be a great fit for this book, and she draws people who look really good, but also bold and dynamic creatures.

However, there is something about the book that I'm not sure about, and that's whether this is just a first entry in a series or if it's intended to stand alone. Much of the book feels like it's just setting up a world and introducing characters, and we only ever really get a broad sense of who these people are, and the rules of the world they're living in. Come the end of the book it hardly feels like we've scratched the surface of things, and I found myself wanting more. I wanted to spend more time with these characters, to discover more of this world. Sadly, I can't seem to find any indication of if there's going to be more coming. If this is a first of many volumes it's a great start to a series, but if it's a stand alone it leaves the reader a bit disappointing.

I don't know if Mary's going to stick on this path, if Adam is the creature from Mary Shelley's original story, and how the demons who hate the Shelley family will be defeated. I really hope that there'll be more to come from this world as I'd love to see these questions answered.

Reasonable comic book for tweens, featuring a descendant of Mary Shelley in a world where all the women in the family since her have been famous authors. This Mary hates the pressure of living up to such a prestigious ancestry, but she's not to know just what her destiny actually is, until her school vivisection frog sparks back to life, and some dead-seeming hot guy wants her to sew his foot back on. It's a little too slapdash with grabbing anything from any myth or legend and doing something silly with it, and the relationship is clunky and then some, but on the whole this just about works.

Mary is a descendant of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. All of Shelley's descendants have been successful writers, except Mary. Mary doesn't want to be a writer, but she really doesn't know exactly what she wants to be. Then a boy shows up holding his foot in his hand and asking Mary to help him. It turns out that Mary has a gift for healing monsters. Several other unexpected things happen, and I can't wait to see what other unexpectedness occurs.

When i read the synopsis for this graphic novel . I thought the plot was intriguing. Bit this graphic novel became too bland for me . Even though the art work was very good.

Wonderful illustrations bring to life an interesting look at the fictitious descendants of Mary Shelley. Mary is a little creepy and a lot of fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cute graphic novel! We follow the 16 year old descendent of Mary Shelley, Mary, as she deals with the pressures of becoming a great writer from her family. At the same time she is discovering that there are creatures that have been living along side her, and that it might be her destiny to help them. It really fits into the teen supernatural genre, without feeling redundant. The art style is so beautiful and has moments of an almost anime-like feel, which I really liked! I'm definitely going to follow along with Mary's journey in the later issues!

I’m so sorry to say this just wasn’t for me. I started this graphic novel with huge expectations, loving Mary Shelley with a burning passion, and seeing that Yishan Li was giving the story of a distant relative a GREAT art, with amazing characters designs (even though Mary IS a Nemi’s double), solid colors, and interesting characters.

But, BUT… even though I loved the first chapter of the comic, loved the fast pace but complete introduction of the characters and the world… in the second chapter all of that is lost, and the world changes, and new characters (plain, unexplored) suddenly appears out of nowhere, and we don’t get to know them when we’re rushed into the action and all of that I could accept if the protagonist were as shocked or lost as the readers, but, no. She only cares that the 2000 years old monster is cute and wants to kiss him. And we lost lots of vignettes in almost kisses that I wish were used to explore the actual plot that was Mary discovering her “true calling”.

Everything happened too fast and Mary got kinda lost. The idea was AMAZING but I don’t think it was well executed. Sorry.

Every single woman in the Shelley family has gone on to be famous and talented, expect young Mary, named after her grandmother of many greats. She realizes however, that she has an affinity for healing monsters. Wacky hijinks assume.

The Frankenstein influence wasn't as strong as I thought, with the Frankenstein-ish character being a handsome boy. It's mostly just a menagerie of other monsters. Parts of this are a bit cringe. Young Mary dresses like a goth from the early 2000s.and the word "erudite" gets its' only use outside of Divergent. The plot isn't anything special, though I'm assuming it's going to be a series and this is all set-up. I am curious to see where the plot goes. I like the idea of the protagonist being a healer and not a fighter.

Give it a whirl if the premise interests you.

"Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter" was an imaginative take on finding out who you really are and standing up to external pressure to behave a certain way. I loved the idea that Mary Shelley sparked a line of creative, literary women and also deeply identified with present-day Mary's struggle to define herself in light of this legacy. The monster element made this graphic novel even more fun. If you're looking for a spooky yet heartwarming book to get you in the mood for fall, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy of MARY when it comes out in October.

Mary Shelley, author of the famous book Frankenstein, is the inspiration behind this graphic novel. Brea Grant tried to imagine what her descendants would be like while keeping the monster aspect in the story. Of course, she didn’t have a line of progeny trying to live up to her legacy but she, herself, tried to live up to the legacy of her parents. This graphic novel was a really nice read. I wouldn’t qualify it as horror because I thought it was quite funny most of the time. I liked Mary, the main character a lot as well as Adam, the cute and kind boy who is helping Mary. It is really easy to read and simple to follow. The only bothering thing in this graphic novel was the transition between Mary not wanting to follow her “destiny” and the moment when she was all for it. I didn’t really understand what made her change her mind so directly. The art is really nice and adds well to the story. I found the style quite adorable and gorgeous. I can’t wait to read the next book and I hope it comes soon.

A quirky and charming story about the angsty teen great great great great great granddaughter of Mary Shelley. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous and I love it! The story is a great start to the series and the plot is fun and interesting. I really liked Mary and how she’s just trying to leave up to here family’s legacy and ty to find her place amongst the talented women of the Shelley Family. I can’t wait to see where the story continues and read the next book!

*Thank you Netgalley*

What if Mary Shelley had children? What would a female line of Shelleys look like? 16 year old Mary Shelley is the 5x great granddaughter of The Mary Shelley - and her family Never lets her forget it, or stops asking when she's going to start writing. What if your talents don't lie with everyone else in your family? Families can be complex, but Mary has inherited more than a famous name.