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.

"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.