Mary

This was such a fun story! I'd totally read a sequel. :)

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!

3.5!


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.

I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.