Literary Merit: Great
Characterization: Great
Level: High School
Recommended: Yes

In this enjoyable and thoroughly researched biography of Mary Shelley, the intended teen audience will find much in common with their heroine. As an adult reading the engaging, well-told narrative, you can only wince at Mary's irresponsible, emotionally-charged decisions as a teen, but YA readers will likely find common ground as Reef captures the essence of young Mary's intelligence, passion, and her search for meaningful connections. The details of the story are rich but never overly complicated, and her story is endlessly fascinating. Lists of resources at the end of the book are a plus for students wanting more, and the pictures throughout paint a clear picture of not only how society saw Shelley and her inner circle but how they saw themselves.

One small nitpick that keeps this book from being a 5 out of 5: The somewhat sudden and unearned final chapter comments that Shelley is unfairly known mostly as the author of Frankenstein and the husband of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Unfortunately, the book is primarily about those two things, missing an opportunity to claim Mary's story as her own with a modern lens. ( )