Mary is tired of her restrictive home life. She isn't very
fond of her stepmother, and her father doesn't do much to
help. When dashing and exciting Percy Shelley comes along,
Mary can't help but fall for him, even though he is married.
Their love is the catalyst for several following scandals,
but for Mary, she cannot stop loving this man and plans to
get through it as much as possible.
HIDEOUS LOVE by Stephanie Hemphill gives an extremely
interesting look at famous author Mary Shelley's life in
this unique young adult novel. Hemphill shows her story the
clever and unique way of free verse, and though I was not
sold on that idea at first, I ended up loving it. The verse
makes the story go by very quickly, and I probably ended up
reading this in under a couple of hours, making it an
excellent quick and deep read.
The character of Mary is often a character tortured. She
loves Percy, but she wonders if he will ever leave her as he
did his wife, and it doesn't help that him and her sister
get closer. Though centuries apart, Mary becomes a relatable
character in this worry of loss of love and jealousy. As the
novel progresses, children come into the mix and the family
expands in a way that older readers can enjoy and also find
relatable. You can certainly enjoy it if you haven't read
the Shelleys' works, but for readers who have also read
FRANKENSTIEN, the insight Hemphill gives on the background
Mary had while writing is wonderful and intriguing.
parts, while over quickly, do get a bit boring, but given
that this is a reflection on a real person's life, it is
Though I did enjoy reading this, I did not love it. Certain
very normal for a person not to have action going on all the
time. Reading this is definitely an experience I won't
forget, and I will be looking out for more from this author.
From Stephanie Hemphill, author of the Printz Honor winner
Your Own, Sylvia and the acclaimed novel Wicked Girls: A
Novel of the Salem Witch Trials, comes the fascinating story
of gothic novelist Mary Shelley, most famous for the classic
Frankenstein.
An all-consuming love affair with famed poet Percy Bysshe
Shelley, a family torn apart by scandal, a young author on
the brink of greatness: Hideous Love is the story of the
mastermind behind one of the most iconic figures in all of
literature, a monster constructed out of dead bodies and
brought to life by the tragic Dr. Frankenstein.
This luminous verse novel reveals how Mary Shelley became
one of the most celebrated authors in history.
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