Brea Grant does everything! She acts, directs, co-hosts the wonderful Reading Glasses podcast, and now, alongside illustrator Yishan Li, she has started an exciting graphic novel series about author Mary Shelley's great-great-great-great-great granddaughter, who also happens to be named Mary.

Young Mary Shelley has quite a legacy to live up to. In a family of writers, it is expected that she will become part of "the family business". But at only sixteen years old, she is still trying to figure life out, and does not need the extra pressure. However, when genuinely weird things start to happen, and the world of monsters starts to become real, Mary realizes she has a bigger destiny than her family could ever have imagined.

Mary is an incredibly enjoyable graphic novel, and I really hope this is the start of an on-going series. It is funny, honest, and genuinely exciting. This first installment has a stuffed bunny possessed by the author Shirley Jackson, the Loch Ness monster, and a Harpy carrying a giant egg. Not to mention the "normal" challenges of trying to navigate high school.

Yishan Li's illustrations are clear, classic, and do not distract from the story. I especially love her take on the aforementioned Shirley, who has some hilarious facial expressions.

I love this new spin on a literary great. Brea Grant and Yishan Li have created an incredibly charming world, and some compelling characters. I really hope there are a lot more adventures to come.

3.5 stars! 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.

First of all, thanks to netgalley for sending me a copy.

This was such a crazy story.
It has excellent halloween vibes and is a very fast and fun read.

I think the illustrations are very cute and I love the main storyline.
Although it is not extraordinary, the plot is very captivating and immersive.

I also loved the way family pressure is addressed. Sometimes we are so afraid to disappoint the people around us that we end up not being ourselves.


Although I loved this book, I feel that the romance was a little unnecessary. This seemed very forced and unnatural.

I rate this book with 3.9 stars out of 5.

Dark, suspenseful and mystifying, this graphic novel follows Mary, a descendant of Mary Shelley, famous sci-fi writer, who has a huge legacy to live up to. She is constantly being pressured to become a writer but she couldnt be less bothered. Sudden;y she happens reanimate a dead frog and realizes her power to heal monsters, kept secret from her and starts to meet up monsters at every corner asking for her help. This was fun to read as Mary learnt to accept that she would never be a writer and instead chooses her own path. It was funny and i loved how fed up she was at her mom, cause so relatable. Cant wait to read the next volume.

Whoa! I have been officially blown away! I have to say this is one of my favourite graphic novels I have read. I absolutely adore the concept and the characters and just absolutely everything. This has everything I love: monsters, a strong female lead (who has the most amazing style), a beautiful art style, an amazing plot and so much potential for more.

The art style is beautiful and the attention to detail is amazing, as well as the colour palette. I had so much fun reading this, it was truly an experience that I will want to relive again. I will definitely be purchasing my own copy and I really hope there is more in the works for Mary! The whole concept of this is right up my alley! I was so excited to read this and it definitely didn’t disappoint, in fact it exceeded my expectations. I would definitely recommend this graphic novel to my friends.

🇬🇧 Mary is a YA Fantasy graphic novel by Brea Grant – with illustrations by Yishan Li – that transports us into the world of an angsty teenager called Mary Shelley.

Yes, you read that right! She comes from a family of descendants of Mary Shelley, the amazing author. However, Mary doesn’t want to follow in her families footsteps, she doesn’t want to be a great writer, no matter how hard her mother pushes her to be just that.

When a strangely pale and cute boy asks her to heal his mysterious wound, Mary learns something new about her heritage, a secret kept for generations that turns her life upside down. The first Mary Shelley had the power to heal monsters, and now that Mary does too, they won’t stop coming to her asking for help.

And all of this is happening while Mary just wants to pass biology.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It was super atmospheric, giving you those Mary Shelley vibes, with a smart, funny and independent main character and really cool illustrations – especially of the monsters!

It was a mix between a fun read and a book with a strong message – with Mary being pressured by her family to do something she doesn’t want to do and how that plot line is resolved.

Overall I think the concept is really interesting and the execution was pretty well done! I just hope that there are more volumes coming!!

If you enjoy graphic novels – or Mary Shelley –, I really recommend this one!
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🇵🇹 Mary é uma novela gráfica young adult de fantasia escrita por Brea Grant – e com ilustrações de Yishan Li – que nos transporta para o mundo de uma adolescente angustiada chamada Mary Shelley.

Sim, leram bem! Mary vem de uma família de descendentes da Mary Shelley, a autora incrível que todos conhecemos. No entanto, ela não quer seguir as pisadas da família, não quer ser uma grande escritora, por muito que a mãe insista para que ela o seja.

Quando um rapaz giro e estranhamente pálido vai ter com ela e lhe pede para curar uma ferida misteriosa, Mary aprende algo novo sobre a sua herança, um segredo guardado por gerações que vira a sua vida do avesso. A primeira Mary Shelley tinha o poder de curar monstros, e agora que a Mary também o consegue fazer, eles não param de a procurar para pedir ajuda.

E tudo isto está a acontecer enquanto tudo o que a Mary quer é passar a biologia.

Gostei imenso desta novela gráfica! Foi super atmosférica, dando-nos aquelas vibes de Mary Shelley, com uma personagem principal inteligente, engraçada e independente e ilustrações incríveis – especialmente as dos monstros!

Foi uma mistura entre uma leitura leve e divertida e um livro com uma mensagem a passar – com a Mary a ser pressionada pela família a fazer algo que não quer fazer e a maneira como ela lida com a situação.

Em geral, acho que o conceito é muito interessante e a execução foi bastante bem conseguida! Só espero que haja mais volumes em trabalhos!!

Se gostas de novelas gráficas – ou da Mary Shelley –, recomendo muito esta!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! I was so excited I squealed <3

I L O V E Mary Shelley. Like, really truly love. I've always admired her determination and persistence to be a published author, especially as a woman, so it comes as no surprise that I loved Brea Grant's graphic novel about the distant relative of *the* Mary Shelley.

Our beloved, angsty girl Mary is so lovable in a "she scares me, but I'd also like to hug her" kind of way. We love that. She's not only smart and brave, but also relatable. Her teenage crush on Adam is adorable.

The world surrounding young Mary and her family is incredible. Monsters? Mayhem? Mary being angst-ridden? YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

5 stars! I really enjoyed this stand-alone graphic novel!!

Such a wonderful graphic novel perfect for the spooky season! The story was engaging, the characters came alive right off the page and the illustrations tied everything together beautifully. This is a fantastic read for fans of Mary Shelley and those new to her alike. What's not to love about a paranormal coming of age story?

The artwork for this graphic novel was amazing I loved the details to the characters and scenes. Sadly this was the only thing I liked about this. The writing felt very fast and it left me confused after each page turn like I was missing every detail on what was happening between the characters. There was too much happening it felt all bunched up with what the characters and with what they were talking about.

(3.5 stars)

I really enjoyed this one! It was a quick read, and I always love a good story about strong women and witches.

I loved how the characters were portrayed as strong women and very independent. That's always something I love about a book.

The art in this novel was stunning, and I absolutely loved it the whole way through. The dialogue was fine, but there was a little lack of detail, which was a thing the whole way through.

Mary was a great character, and I really enjoyed reading about her. She's funny and she's smart, and I really liked that. Some of the monsters were really enjoyable as well.

Now I'm just left wondering if there will be more, because it did move fast at times, and I feel like I was really left wanting more.

I thought this was a very interesting concept for a graphic novel. I love the idea of having a decedent of Mary Shelly and having magical powers. Mary is a teenager who is struggling with finding out who she is and how is hates trying to live up the family expectation of being a famous writer of some sorts. Then one day she discovers that these creatures were asking for her help to fix them. I hope that there will be more to this series. I also love the art style of this graphic novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually really enjoyed this graphic novel. I'm not one for graphic novels, as illustrations do not do much for me, but I found the storyline of this novel quite interesting and it's a fresh take on the lineage of Mary's family.

I love the humour in this (especially from the Mum) and the 80% all-female cast!

The monsters are a nice touch and I'm quite excited to see how this series evolves.

This fun, fast-paced graphic novel follows Mary, descendant of famous author Mary Shelly, as she struggles to live up to her family's expectations and reconcile with a newfound power. I loved how this graphic novel balanced it's spooky and mysterious premise with humorous elements. Mary was such a self-aware narrator and her struggles over how to define her own future are something that a lot of teens today struggle with. Plus I loved how it gave her a personal connection to the original Mary Shelley. The speculative elements were incredibly interesting and I'm excited by the potential to learn more about this world of monsters and witches,

• Mary (by Brea Grant)

This graphic novel is fun in a freakishly awkward way.

It was really humorous and impossible but possible at the same time. This was my first novel regarding Mary Shelley and the imagination out in this book got me hooked.
1. there's that specific witch black confident best friend whom you will love from her first line.
2. The strict mom
3. The fun aunt who lets you be you
4. The caring grandma who knows everything that happens without even knowing them
5. The good looking mysterious guy that swoops you out of your feet
6. Then the fun and enjoyable side characters
7. Last but never the least the confuse female main character who is figuring herself out through out the book
Honestly these characters are all you see in now-a-days novels but the writer manages to still pull through with really awkward and funny situations and a short plot that this novel needs

Even the book ends with a good and satisfying really put together in a very mashed up fun way. So I loved it really

So I recommend this graphic novel to anyone who wanna dive in some monsters and humans stuff with humor without any proper knowledge of starting or end cause that's what will hit you hard

Also last but not the least kudos to the graphic artist. You did good.

• Character development- 3.5☆
• Story Plot- 3.5☆
• Side characters- 4☆
• Flow of the story- 5☆
• Overall - 4☆

Fab idea .... A descendant of the writer Mary Shelley struggles to find herself in a family of writers, then discovers her calling .... Healing Monsters! A great easy read with fantastic illustrations and imaginative characters (I am just in love with the gothy vibes of the main character - and don't forget bun bun doll!)

First of all, thanks to NetGally for letting me read this arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

Here we have the story of a descendant of the famous writer Mary Shelley, whose family has had a series of other great authors after her. Mary is the great, great, great, great, great, granddaughter and she doesn’t know if she is going to continue with the family tradition. Or rather she is frustrated with the expectations she has to fill. That’s her life until she meets Adam, a monster who asks for her help. And that’s how Mary gets involved in a family mistery and of course more monsters
The idea is amazing, the art is beautiful and dark. Here we have two main conflicts, one is Mary’s future and the other is the monsters, that eventually both are going to be mixed.
The characters are a little plain, even the main one, yes, she has the internal battle of the expectations she has to fill, but apart from that there is nothing special about her. Contrary to her aunts and Adam, they caught more my attention and I actually liked them better than Mary.
The monsters: Well they are the best part of this graphic novel, they are interesting and I wanted to know more about them, specially of the ghost inside a bunny toy. I just hope there will be more volumes, I am interested about the monsters’ problems, the treats to Mary, and how this “work” of helping creatures works
And finally, let’s talk about the romance, well that part I didn’t like, I mean, there have been some nights after they met and both have those eyes of “i’m in love” It was really instantaneous.
To sum up, this graphic novel is light, with an amazing and dark art, the story is interesting and it helps to spend some time to relax. 3/5 stars.
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Gracias a NetGally por dejarme leer esta copia por avanzado a cambio de una opinión honesta.

Aquí tenemos la historia de Mary una descendiente de la famosa escritora Mary Shelley, cuya familia se ha visto dotada de grandes escritoras después de ella. Hasta Mary, quien no quiere seguir por ese camino, o más bien está frustrada por lo mucho que se espera de ella y lo poco que puede seguir en ese ámbito. Así es su vida hasta que se encuentra con Adam un monstruo que le pide ayuda, y así Mary se ve envuelta en un misterio familiar y claro ¿por qué no? más monstruos.
La idea es increíble y el arte es precioso con ese aire oscuro que me fascinó. tenemos aquí dos grandes conflictos, uno es el futuro de Mary y el otro el de los monstruos, que al final se terminan combinando.
Los personajes son un poco planos, incluso la protagonista, tiene su batalla con las expectativas que tiene que cumplir, pero que fuera de eso no llama mucho la atención. En cambio siento que las tías y Adam son más llamativos.
Los monstruos, son lo mejor que esta novela tiene, son interesantes y quieres saber más de ellos, en especial el fantasma que está dentro de un conejito de peluche, es el toque gracioso y adorable. Realmente espero que haya más volúmenes, por que quiero ver más de los problemas que estos monstruos tienen, las amenazas que puede tener Mary, y cómo funciona esa clase de “trabajo” que pasa a ciertas generaciones.
Y por último hablemos del romance, ése si no me terminó de convencer, habían pasado un par de noches y ya tenían esas miradas de enamorados, fue demasiado instantáneo como para que fuera creíble.
En conclusión, es una novela ligera, con un arte oscuro y una historia entretenida para pasar el rato 3/5 estrellas

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I would give this a 3.5 stars!

This is a really original concept, and I love how it so heavily takes inspiration from the science fiction and creepy-ness of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein! It really captures the vibe, and does exploring identity and dealing with expectations from family pretty okay! Maybe wish it spent a little bit more time on that aspect, but overall pretty good!

My biggest issue with this is that I wish it was longer, actually! I wish it was longer so that it was allowed to explore everything even more! I don't know if this is intended to be a series, but god I kinda hope so because I would 100% be interested in seeing Mary's journey in healing, relating more to her dad who is a doctor, exploring her friend's magic. Everything!

This graphic novel took me by surprise!
Mary is the x5 Great-granddaughter to Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. All the women in her family have been successful writers, but Mary doesn’t think that writing is for her, and she’s not quite sure what her ‘thing’ is. She’s just a moody emo teen trying to make it past high school while dodging the hard conversations about being the next writer in the family.
But things soon take a turn when she meets a strange boy with the now very much alive frog she dissected in biology class. Soon, all sorts of mythical creatures come to Mary in need of a Doctor to help heal their ailments. Mary isn’t certain why or how this could be happening, could it have something to do with her family lineage? Was Mary Shelley’s book more fact than fiction?

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I really didn’t know what to expect going into this book, however, the results were brilliant.
I loved seeing Mary really come into herself and discover this hidden part of her family’s legacy. I thought the supernatural aspect of this book fit very well, I was highly engaged and very much enjoying myself.
I loved the artwork in this one, such a gorgeous style.
This was the perfect spooky fall read, highly recommended!
4 stars!

**ARC provided by Six Foot Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had so much fun with this read and the perfect way to get into the mood for the spooky season. It has such a fun concept and great artwork!

I had a little trouble following the beginning of the story, a couple of times having to go back and reread portions thinking I'd missed something. Things seemed to move super quickly, without much explanation, jumping from scene to scene. But once the story had some foundation and we got into the meat of the story, I really enjoyed where the adventure went!

I enjoyed seeing how this set up the world and introduced characters, and I was left wanting to see what other hijinks they get into. I will definitely be picking up the next volume when it comes out!

This was a super cute and spooky read! I loved the art style and overall I thought it was an entertaining read. It kept my attention well, and I thought the storyline was interesting. Highly recommend reading if you're trying to get in a spooky, Halloween-ish mood!