Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created FRANKENSTEIN

Judge, L. (2018) Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created FRANKENSTEIN. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.
This book is a historical fiction or biographical fiction story about the how Mary Shelley created Frankenstein.  The author tells us of dark side of a young girl along with her sister who both fall for and runs off with a married man named Percy Bysshe Shelley.  She becomes pregnant so her father rejects her.  The travel to multiple countries and live the lives of poets after her lover gains his inheritance.  They have multiple children of which only one survives.  One dies after only ten days and another dies of fever.  Her sister Claire also lives a life of disgrace, by also having relations with Shelley while her sister is pregnant and an eventually has an illegitimate child with Lord Byron who is connected to the theater and also a poet.  Byron suggest that all of them write stories of horror, and she write Frankenstein.  Later Shelley's wife commits suicide and later he a Mary get married.  But, I had to read that in the author notes.  I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully illustrated and expertly written book.  It was an extremely fast read with all sorts of gossipy details.  I was sad they way that women were treated in Mary's time and how much death and despair that she endured.  I can see how she would write from such a dark place.  I was pleased at the end that Lord Byron confirmed that she had written Frankenstein through letters and that she had documentation to confirm it.  I especially think young adults will enjoy this read.  My favorite quote by Mary is "I have released those monsters onto the page".   Lita Judge has written many children books such as Red Sled, Hoot and Peep, and Flight School.