Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created by Lita Judge (review)

A motherless, pregnant teenager, spurned by her hypocritical father, flees with her mentally unstable lover and her stepsister. She is neglected by her lover, who is still attached to his pregnant wife and then manages to form a new relationship with the stepsister, and he gives little comfort at the death of his and the girl's out of wedlock baby. The teen stands by her man, though, and triumphs over years of lovelorn trial to become an acclaimed novelist. Step aside, YA potboiler romance—you can't compete with the real-life ordeals of Mary Godwin Shelley. Judge reframes Mary's childhood and her affair (and perfunctory marriage) with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley not only as the heart-wrencher it indisputably is but also as the steady accrual of intellectual and emotional experiences that culminate in her tragic masterwork, Frankenstein. Mary voices the free-verse narration, which tears along at breakneck pace gratifying to those intimidated by poetic form but which supplies touches of lyrical grace for those inclined to linger over it. This is a godsend for high school students approaching the Romantics with skepticism (and for teachers charged with demonstrating their relevance), with lively contextual notes on Mary Shelley and her times, thumbnails on family and acquaintances, source notes, a bibliography, and even a "What Were They Reading?" list of influential contemporary works. Add Judge's roiling gray-tone watercolors that embellish every spread (and feature moments of rather detailed intimacy unlikely to adorn high school textbooks), and you have a booktalk-ready title with broad YA appeal. EB