Booklist: Eleven YA books about Mary Shelley and/or Frankenstein's Monster.
A while back, the Guardian ran a brief essay by Neil Gaiman about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein:
It was the place where people learned we could bring life back from death, but a dark and dangerous and untamable form of life, one that would, in the end, turn on us and harm us. That idea, the crossbreeding of the gothic and the scientific romance, was released from into the world, and would become a key metaphor for our times. The glittering promise of science, offering life and miracles, and the nameless creature in the shadows, monster and miracle all in one, back from the dead, needing knowledge and love but able, in the end, only to destroy … it was Mary Shelley's gift to us, and we would be infinitely poorer without it.
So, let's take a look at A VERY FEW of the YA books out there about Mary Shelley and her most well-known creation:
Hideous Love, by Stephanie Hemphill: Verse novel about Mary Shelley's life, and according to reviews I've read, Frankenstein takes a backseat to the details of her even-be-more-fascinating real life. I can't believe I missed this one when it first came out, and I'm REALLY looking forward to picking it up soon.
Angelmonster, by Veronica Bennett: I read this fictionalized biography of Shelley years ago, and some of the the imagery is still seared into my brain. Loved it.
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters, by Suzanne Weyn: A sequel to Frankenstein about his secret twin daughters. It wasn't a great fit for me, but I'm just one lady, right?
Man Made Boy, by Jon Skovron: The hacker son of Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein goes on a road trip with Jekyll and Hyde's granddaughters. WHAT? And also: YES, PLEASE.
Marina, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: It sounds like the connections to Frankenstein are more hints than overt, but it involves a mad scientist and creepy marionettes, which are two of my most favorite things. GIMME.
Henry Franks, by Peter Adam Salomon: Henry doesn't remember anything about the accident that killed his mother, but he's got 4,317 stitches to show that he survived it. This one appears to be a love-it-or-hate-it title—SLJ panned it, while Booklist starred it—SO I'M GOING TO READ IT AND MAKE UP MY OWN MIND.
Mister Creecher, by Chris Priestley: A pickpocket and a giant team up to track down Victor Frankenstein. HOW HAVE I NOT READ THIS YET GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW.
Department 19, by Will Hill: A boy is rescued by Frankenstein's monster and introduced to Department 19, a secret organization to police the supernatural world, originally founded by Abraham Van Helsing. This also sounds like something I'd love—I'm a sucker for B.P.R.D., etc.—but despite the joy that the terribly punny tagline gives me, I've been avoiding it because of the Pitticus Lore connection on the Amazon page (I didn't even make it through I Am Number Four). So, have you read it? Worth a try?
Broken, by A.E. Rought: This modern retelling of Frankenstein was not a good fit for me at all—AT ALL—but it very definitely belongs on the list.
The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein (This Dark Endeavor and Such Wicked Intent), by Kenneth Oppel: I LOVED the first one—it's about Victor Frankenstein before he becomes DOCTOR Frankenstein—and am both appalled and delighted that I haven't read the second one yet.
Madman's Daughter trilogy, by Megan Shepherd: The first book in this trilogy, The Madman's Daughter (looooooooooove), is a reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau. The second, Her Dark Curiosity, draws from The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The final book, A Cold Legacy, is based on Frankenstein.
