#BookReview: Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter by Brea Grant, Yishan Li

Synopsis: 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. Th2020en 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. 



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: This was a great graphic novel that I fell in love with!! I think that even those who don't care for the story of Frankenstein or Mary Shelley would enjoy this one! The artwork was amazing and the story was so iconic!  I can not wait for more! 

Review

"The example of Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein at the age of 19 has long put pressure on those writers who do not conjure up one of the horror genre's most iconic tales while still a teenager. But how much more pressure would it put on a present-day descendant of the novelist? That is the question raised by Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandaughter, a new graphic novel from writer, director, and actress Brea Grant." - Entertainment Weekly

"I love Mary, and I love this story. I can easily say I enjoyed every bit of this and eagerly look forward to more….Legacies, monsters, humor, romance, teen angst―this is a well-balanced story, and one that will appeal to those of us who love the spookier, goth-ier things." - Sequential Tart

"Writer/director/producer/actress Brea Grant gives voice to Mary Shelley, the young lady who seems to feel no connection to the world her great x 5 grandmother created, or the extraordinariness it has brought upon the name for the generations preceding her. But Mary sees herself as very plain. In the graphic novel, Grant creates an exciting journey for Mary through her storytelling, with wonderfully moody illustrations by manga artist Yishan Li." - The Fandom

"Mixing the supernatural with the trials and tribulations of a typical teen (familial expectations, crushes, friendship tension, passing Biology…), this graphic novel is both fun and relatable, ideal for drawing in reluctant readers and voracious horror fans alike." - DreadCentral

"We are introduced into a world of angst vs rebellion, a place in time where preordained future collides with an opportunity to do truly remarkable things. The main character Mary leaps off the page as someone you begin to root for as she becomes an empowered character now chasing her own path. By the end you will find yourself firmly on team Mary and be entered into a dynamic world you would have never expected to encounter on page one...The art is Dark and realistic and fits the story as the perfect outfit for it to wear and invites you into the world of the Shelleys. With a fantastic story that will leave you wanting more, this comic book is a shining example of how great stories that do not fit a narrative of what you expect comics to be, capes and tights, can expand your ability to appreciate the power of stories that can be told within the pages of comics." - Geek Insider

"It’s not easy being the great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Mary Shelley. And it’s really not easy being a teenager when monsters start begging for your help. But that’s the story of Mary, a new graphic novel from actor/writer Brea Grant." - The Hashtag Show

"If you’re a fan of Mary Shelley and are looking for a quick, atmospheric graphic novel, make sure to give this one a read." - SlothReads

Review

Praise for Yishan Li
"The visual humor in [Paradox Girl] is spectacular... In the deft hands of Yishan Li, this book is a visual wonder." - Image Comics

About the Author

Brea Grant is a filmmaker/writer best known for co-writing/directing the apocalyptic feature, Best Friends Forever, and acting on shows like Heroes and Dexter and features like Halloween II and Dead Night. She has co-written two comic series -- We Will Bury You, a 1920s zombie series, and The Suicide Girls, based on the popular website. She also wrote a short story for the collection Zombies vs Robots: This Means War! She wrote and created the series, The Real Housewives of Horror for Nerdist and most recently wrote and directed an episode of the Netflix show, EastSiders. As if she’s not busy enough, she also co-hosts a weekly podcast called Reading Glasses on the Maximum Fun network. You can currently see her award-winning short Feminist Campfire Stories on Funny or Die and her acting work on the series The Arrangement. She wrote and will star in a feminist slasher called Lucky later this year. In her spare time, she enjoys reading science fiction and watching too much TV while pretending like it's research. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Yishan Li is a professional UK/Chinese manga artist currently living in Shanghai. Yishan has worked with publishers such as Top Cow, DC, Darkhorse, Random house, Titan comics, Delcourt, and Dargaud. Her recent works include: HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D.: 1956 (Dark Horse); Paradox Girl ( Top cow/ Image); Buffy the High school years graphic novel (3 books, published by Dark Horse), Sugar ( Top Cow/ Image), Lady Di and Me (Glenat France) and Blue Beetle (DC Comics). She lives in Shanghai.

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Posted in: 5 Stars, Review, Young Adult