Brea Grant

Angsty teenager Mary Shelley is not interested in carrying on her family's celebrated legacy of being a great writer, but she soon discovers that she has the not-so-celebrated and super-secret Shelley power to heal monsters, just like her famous ancestor, and those monsters are not going to let her ignore her true calling anytime soon. The Shelley family history is filled with great writers: the original Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, the acclaimed mystery writer Tawny Shelley, cookbook maven Phyllis Shelley...the list goes on and on. But this Mary Shelley, named after her great-great-great-great-great grandmother, doesn't want anything to do with that legacy. Then a strangely pale (and really cute) boy named Adam shows up and asks her to heal a wound he got under mysterious circumstances, and Mary learns something new about her family: the first Mary Shelley had the power to heal monsters, and Mary has it, too. Now the monsters won't stop showing up, Mary can't get her mother Tawny to leave her alone about writing something (anything!), she can't tell her best friend Rhonda any of this, and all Mary wants is to pass biology.

The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter

Mary

Briar's Reviews

If you've ever read or heard about Mary Shelley's background you will know she was one angsty woman. She's exactly what you'd picture to write a book as chilling and gothic as Frankenstein. I have always been intrigued by this woman, so this book stood out to me.

Who wouldn't want to read a book inspired by Mary Shelley? Especially her great-many-greats granddaughter who's an angsty, gothic teen? It's likely to be interesting, right? Especially a graphic novel!

So, we have Mary - Mary Shelley's great-so-many-greats-granddaughter. She's in high school and is as goth as stereotypical goths can be. Her family is full of women specializing in literature, so you can imagine how that feels. Weird things are suddenly happening, which isn't going to make life easy for Mary. Have you ever had monsters just appear on your doorway? No? Well, Mary has. It's kind of weird.

This book is gothic and different. The illustrations aren't my favourite, but they seem to work with the story. The plot and action is amazing though. I am really impressed and enjoyed dipping into this gothic tale. It's a really fun read! It might not be for everyone, but I sure enjoyed it. 

Overall, this book is a cool gothic tale. If you like gothic reads and graphic novels, grab this book!

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Six Foot Press for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Crystal L

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Six Foot Press for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

5/5 Stars!!

This is such a great book! Intelligent, creative, and successful women raising the next generation of.... monster healers? 

Mary is a not-so-normal angsty teen in search of what she wants to do for her life. Her family is a not-so-normal group of extremely talented women who keep asking about her future and a physician father. Really, how is a girl supposed to live up to all this pressure? 

Well, for the Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter of Mary Shelly (and one more Great Granddaughter of Mary Wollstonecraft) it's actually not a difficult decision. First, there's the issue with the frog in science class - dead frogs aren't supposed to jump right?. Then, there's the creepy-cute dude that's following her around... and he only has one foot. And let's not forget about all of the other monsters who seem to need help. Also, there's a witch! 

Brea Grant crafts an amazing story and Yishan Li's art is absolutely perfect. Every character is unique and interesting in both personality and appearance. I am so excited about this book and cannot wait to read the rest of the story.

Shareca

This was quite the gem to read; I think what makes it fantastic is its ability to channel both adolescents and young adults. I didn't mind that this was tailored toward more adolescents because the narrative was quite good. I wish I had a book like this when I was in high school or even middle school. I thought the art was fantastic, it worked with the story and narrative, and this works all around. What a great read!

Anna Wilson

Thank you NetGalley for this graphic novel! This is my first graphic novel so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it and I’m pleasantly surprised! I thought a graphic novel story line would be hard to follow but it was very easy to understand the story and the art work omg!! It was so beautiful 😍 

Mary, a decadent of Mary Shelley, is struggling with what direction her life is going. She doesn’t know what her future holds. One day she finds an old book and then a mysterious boy (and a cast of monsters!) turn up in her life and she’s faced with a future she didn’t know she could have: 

I thought this was a fun and quick read. I thought the concept of Mary possibly being a monster healer was a fun connection to the Frankenstein books of her relatives. I did think there was a few scenes where I wish I had more details to piece the puzzle together. I feel like the ending came pretty abruptly, but that could mean there’s more to the story to come so I won’t fault that! Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel! #mary #netgalley

Brittany Mitchell

Thank you to Six Foot Press and NetGalley for my digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The moment I saw this title & cover, I knew I was going to love it. This is about a girl named Mary who the Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Granddaughter of Mary Shelly. Every woman in her family has been an author of some kind and she's struggling to find her place in both life and the family. She feels she cannot escape the pressures of what's expected of her, until one day she finds out she has a special skill. Queue in the weird... lol. I enjoyed both the art and the writing and really hope their will be more volumes to come.

this was just SO fun and home to some of my new favourite graphic novel characters

zilver 

3.5! 


16-year-old Mary Shelley (yes, great great etc granddaughter of) feels the pressure of living up to her ancestors’ legacies. Problem: she has no idea what to do with her life. That is, until she figures out she’s able to resurrect dead creatures. Now, she still doesn’t know what to do with her life but she’s suddenly overrun by a range of ghosts, dead guys with a missing foot and harpies with ancient eggs and dental problems that all want her help. 

Someone described Mary to me as the kind of novel that when you read it, you slightly feel as if you’re on drugs. 50 pages in I thought, “Well, it’s an interesting concept and fun in execution but on drugs? Nah.” 10 pages later I suddenly had an “Aha” moment (this was around the time the harpy with human tooth issues made an appearance. We’re not in the business of calling women harpies here, by the way. This is a literal actual harpy). Let’s say this though - they’re not bad drugs, Brent. Mary is great fun - both the book and the character. When previously mentioned harpy, named Polly, shows up in Mary’s treehouse, Mary self-awarely states, “I don’t want you here, and I’m 16. In a game of stubbornness you’re no match for me.” Who is a match for her? Oh, the giant rodent with laser eyes that comes to visit her, insisting he’s “a marsupial” and “closer to a kangaroo”. 

That also brings us to a couple of... issues? There’s a lot going on in 146 pages. Maybe a little too much. Definitely a little too much to explain. I’m left with questions about when this story is supposed to be set because Adam says he’s 200 years old and to prove that he makes Grey’s Anatomy references? Sir that proves that you have been around for the past 10 years. The rest of the world looks vaguely 2010-2020-esque. And that’s just a small one. I have a whole bunch more worldbuilding questions that leave me feeling... a little unsatisfied by the end of the book. Maybe it’s pacing, partly. There’s so much happening so fast that all decisions and developments happen really fast as well, and I think a little too much without explanation for my tastes. 

Again - great fun, though! Absolutely a delightful, light, funny graphic novel. Would recommend it for any teen who like a bit of spookiness, some monsters, and a whole lot of sass. 

I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

This was a really fun and interesting sort of horror-comedy-fantasy graphic novel, following the great-something-granddaughter of Mary Shelley, as she tries to figure what she wants to do with her life. It was funny and action packed, and I really enjoyed it.

Ethel

A funny and adorable graphic novel about the progeny of Mary sherley

Key words: romance, monsters, Mary Shelley, teenager, young adult, humorous

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. 

Thank you Netgalley for the copy in exchange of my honest opinion

Isabella Stocka

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.

Mary The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter

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