Member Reviews
I really liked the dark universe of thecomics. The heroine side with a slightly gothic look, coming from a family with a history filled with success while she herself doesn't have the impression of being able to make her family proud.
I also really liked the graphics that totally match the universe of the story.
However, I was less conquered by the intrigue, the outcome of which did not seem very clear to me. I had the feeling that everything was solved suddenly without logic. Moreover, even the denouement aside, I did not manage to fully cling to the plot itself from the start.
In fact, I don't think it's a bad book, but more of a plot that I didn't find myself in and which failed to satisfy me despite its good sides.
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.
A fun look into Mary Shelley's great-great-great-great-great granddaughter. Mary is in a lot of pressure to follow in the footsteps of every other woman in her family and become a great writer just like her very famous ancestor who penned the first sci-fi novel. The only problem? She doesn't want to be a writer. Mary is kind of stuck in her life and isn't sure what she wants to do exactly. During a high school biology class she discovers she has a hidden talent and this quickly becomes the forefront of the story as she learns what her gift is and how to use it. This graphic novel is full of themes of finding yourself and coming into your own, family and the things you feel are required of you, and there's tons of fun creatures! Who doesn't love creatures?
The art was really well done but the pacing brings this graphic novel down a bit for me. It felt very slow for most of the book but then very rushed towards the end. I'm still not clear on if there's supposed to be another volume because this just abruptly ends with a wanting for more.
Thanks to Netgalley and Six Foot Press for providing a digital ARC
I'm not one for classics but this was a fun read. The story kept me engaged throughout even if I didnt completely connect with the main character. The dark tones and various monsters gave me major halloween vibes.
Freakish, surprising and beautiful. Thankyou netgalley for providing the review copy.
This book was quite a surprise to me, when I started it I thought it would be a normal twisty mystery kinda book but lo and behold monsters and a variety of them too, I loved it a lot.
A pressured environment to be what the family legacy is, a troubled mind about the future, the pressing need of telling people off to mind their own business and leave you alone were some of the strongest emotions of the book and I absolutely loved that vibe.
The story was a but sketchy and initially I didn't know what was happening but as the story progressed I grew more and more intrigued about what her choices would lead to.
I love a good graphic novel with superb art illustrations and this was one of the best ones. The art was fabulously detailed and the characters were actually accurate and some swoon-worthy.
I would love to read more if this book has sequels and the distinctive monsters had my interest, some quotes were also well used. The school work and the landscape scenes were well written as well. This can be a quick, fun and slight spook surprise read for graphic novel lovers with cool illustrations. #netgalley #mary
This was such a fun take on Mary Shelley. I loved that this was about her ancestors and that they all were famous writers. Except for Mary, who wants nothing to do with the family business. Mary doesn't really know what she wants to do and she tired of getting pressured by her family to decide on a career path. While on her way to her dad's clinic one rainy night, she runs into Adam, who is holding his severed foot in his hands. Mary soon discovers her true calling - being able to heal monsters. Her life quickly becomes more complicated as she deals with her new powers, her overbearing family, and still trying to pass her classes at school.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and I hope there's more! I liked the art style and the story was pretty good to. To me it was a little obvious what was going to happen but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I think this would appeal to a lot of people, especially fans of horror.
3.75 Stars ( I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)
First of all I do want to say that the art style in this graphic novel is decent but just not a style that stands out to me. I love that the beginning has Mary Shelley introducing the story from a portrait breaking the fourth wall. Her descendants have all achieved great success but the Mary we are following is at a standstill in her life (even though she is only still in high school). She does have a great amount if pressure to be a writer from her mother and also lives with her aunt and grandmother who also have done a lot with their life’s. She likes spending time with her dad who is a doctor and seems to have an affinity for biology and that leads further into her discovery of her destiny. Overall this was an enjoyable story and you do of course have to disband your disbelief for some of the situations. I didn’t like that Mary’s female family members leave her in the dark about some information regarding the family history. The love interest, as well as her best friend do have some convenient plot points but it was quick read great for the Halloween season.
Mary offers a solid twist on the legend of Mary Shelley - Mary Shelley: Doctor to Monsters! The story of a girl trying to figure out her future only to find her family legacy is more complicated than she thought, Mary doesn't offer an surprises but is a solid, engaging story that readers will enjoy. The sidekick monsters give the story an extra level of charm, the art supports the story nicely and the story overall begs for a sequel to explore Mary's world.
I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This is a fun concept, making the descendant of Mary Shelley into a healer of monsters. I liked the combination of diverse creatures, sarcasm and the relationships between the characters.
I believe it would be suitable for age 13 and over. The horror aspect is not too gruesome, there is no sex and the worst language is the use of the word virginity. I enjoyed this and will be adding it to our buying list.
This is a delightful spooky tale, perfect for Halloween written by the amazing Brea Grant. It’s funny and sweet, with the perfect autumn feeling that will make you want to cuddle up to read it over cider. I know it just came out but I already want more!
2.75. It was alright, but there were times I was confused and not following the story. I loved the illustrations and concept, but the execution wasn’t 100% there for me.
This was my first time ever reading anything Brea Grant, this was a great interesting discovery. Definitely more suited for a young teen audience. Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter by Brea Grant and artwork by Yishan Li, is about a teen named Mary that's family legacy plays a part in her character that involves the discovery of Monsters.
The positives for this comic with no spoilers are that the art style is very nostalgic to me and the plot of this story had a lot of potential. The negative is the plot was rushed and not really built on. I wonder since the target audience seems youngish, but the author should not underestimate their readers. Even teens like details and slow pacing when it leads to a more fulfilling story.
Major thanks to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Mary in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts in this review were my own.
*3.75 Stars*
I loved the illustrations of this and the story was pretty good but I felt like something was missing. I didn't fully connect with the characters because the story felt a bit rushed to me, especially at the beginning.
I still really loved the concept and I found the plot pretty interesting. Also, it was a super fast read, and these days, that's always good.
I know I make little sense, I'm sorry.
So yeah, all in all, I liked it.
My thanks to Six Foot Press for a temporary digital edition via NetGalley of the graphic novel, ‘Mary: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter”. It is written by Brea Grant and illustrated by Yishan Li.
Mary Shelley is an angsty teenager, who is not at all interested in continuing her family’s celebrated literary legacy. She lives with her mother, aunt, and grandmother, who all have had successful writing careers.
However, one rainy evening on her way to visit her dad’s medical clinic, Mary meets a cute boy, Adam, who asks her to tend a wound that he received under mysterious circumstances. Mary learns from him that she has a secret power inherited from her famous ancestor: the ability to heal monsters.
Mary is reluctant to accept this, though strange things continue to happen and she receives a number of unusual visitors to her tree house den including Polly, a harpy, and Shirley, the ghost of a famous horror writer currently possessing an adorable toy rabbit, Bun Bun. She eventually starts to appreciate her new found skills and brings her best friend, Rhonda, into her bizarre new world.
While I recall Brea Grant from her role in ‘Heroes’, I hadn’t realised that she had established herself as a filmmaker and writer in the world of comics creating two miniseries. While I assume that ‘Mary’ is a stand-alone graphic novel, I would welcome more adventures for Mary and her crew.
I found this coming-of-age tale a great deal of fun. Even though my angsty teens are long over, I could relate to Mary’s moodiness and stubborn streak. I also adored her goth style as interpreted by Yishan Li.
Indeed, I was full of admiration for Yishan Li’s full colour artwork throughout ‘Mary’. Aside from interpreting Brea Grant’s characters, both human and monstrous, in great detail, she blended the Gothic ambiance of the Shelley household alongside the brighter, more mundane locations of the high school and clinic contrasting Mary’s two worlds.
Following the main text there is a monster compendium and a series of character designs.
While the modern Mary is a fictional descendant of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Brea Grant does include background on the original Mary’s life that hopefully will inform readers unfamiliar with her legacy.
A perfect read for the Halloween season.
Thanks to Netgalley and Six Foot Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The art style really appealed to me, and I really wasn't expecting the story to go in the way that it did. The cast of characters were entertaining and interesting, but Mary was definitely my favourite.
The only reason I haven't rated 5 stars is because I felt it dropped off quite abruptly at the end - I can only hope that there will be another one continuing Mary's adventures!
<i>The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>
This was a cute fluffy graphic novel for baby goths. I'd like to say that even with the dangers I know I'd certainly want to help heal monsters. I appreciate that our heroine doesn't play coy she says what she means and she's honest with her friends. While she may have some massive ancestral shoes to fill she just might be discovering that there are so many pathways to finding ourselves and our callings.
🦶
*Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review,all opinions are my own*
It just wasn't good, the idea of the story itself is very good but the execution left something to be desired.
The story is meaningless and does not have a good explanation for events.
The art is also not my favorite and the characters are terrible.
Overall I don't recommend it was a waste of my time and I just finished reading it because it was a graphic novel.
An enjoyable graphic novel that introduces the reader to several relatives of the infamous Mary Shelley. The main character who is the great, great, great, great, great granddaughter of Mary Shelley suddenly finds herself at the mercy of ghosts and monsters requesting her help. At first, she has no idea why they are all asking things of her, but she soon learns she has magical powers that allow her the power to heal all of them. The only con I had was that I felt it ended too abruptly and it seemed like there was more of the story to be told.
Mary Shelley is a teenager and being pressured to follow in the family legacy of celebrated writers. Mary doesn’t want to follow in the footsteps of the Shelley women. However she soon discovers the hidden family secret of being able to heal monsters.
This is my first graphic novel. A great little story, I like the characters but felt like I needed more. I finished it within an hour. Really hoping for more editions so we can delve deeper into the characters. I did love the artwork by Yishan Li. The whole thing animated my goth teen self.
Thank you to Six Foot Press for this advance copy.
This graphic novel was interesting to say the least. I loved the premise of this story, Mary Shelley’s great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter having magical powers to heal monsters? Who wouldn’t love that? I’m not going to say I didn’t like it, because I did. It was a fun story to read, buuuut, it was very fast paced, to the point where it felt like it skipped important scenes to get to the point, and a lot of it was quite unrealistic for something that had monsters roaming the world.
Spoilers start here.
For example, Mary (our protagonist), was very unphased by the presence of real life monsters in her world. She had barely any reaction to the fact that there was a monster, which to me just didn’t seem right. Surely a sixteen-year-old would be freaked out about monsters being real? This dude turns up out of the blue and has one foot, and asks her to sew his other foot back on in her dad’s office. She has no reaction. It just baffles me.
End of spoilers.
I really enjoyed the actual story, despite its jumpiness, it was pretty easy to assume what had happened and go from there, I wish it wasn’t the case, and I’ve never noticed this in any other graphic novel I have read. It kind of took away from the story a little bit if I’m being honest.
Can I just say-the art style of this graphic novel was phenominal!! I loved it so much, it really kept my eye from wandering and the colouring was beautifully done.
The writing was a little cliché, but it hooked me nonetheless.
3/5 stars.