frankenstein is one of my favorite books ever, so i was kinda hesitant to read a ya retelling (which is so stupid of me) but wow! i did not expect to love this book so much that it’s one of my favorites of the year. it’s not perfect, but it’s perfect for me 🙂‍↕️

it was sooo interesting reading about elizabeth and victor’s relationship, from their time as children into young adulthood, from elizabeth’s pov. the elizabeth we meet in this book is not the one we’ve known for so long now, but i think kiersten white did such a beautiful job taking something classic and giving this story even more depth in a lot of unexpected ways. this elizabeth is calculating, complex, selfish at times, but the way her story and motivations unfold was such an experience to read and i love her.

the book is short, but the themes white was able to lace throughout, in a way that didn’t feel contrived, is so impressive and i came to appreciate this story more than i already do. as we follow elizabeth, we delve into women’s rights and the privilege of choice, toxic/codependent relationships, and the things we’ll do (or not do) to survive. not to mention, the writing is so engaging and atmospheric. i felt like i could actually imagine the story unfolding in my mind — which is a very hard thing for a girly like me, who can’t picture things very well, to do!!

also, even though he’s one of my favorite characters ever, i kinda hate victor frankenstein and i LOVED reading about that awful freak’s childhood and teenage years. the character work in this book is just SO good… until the very end. which is why this is more of a 4.5-4.75 than 5 star read for me. but yes, this is going down as one of my favorite books ever i think.