Monsters Run in Mary's Family: The Adventures of Mary Shelley's Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter

Sixteen year old Mary Shelley carries a 197-year-old burden. She's the great, great, great, great, GREAT granddaughter of the original Mary Shelley -- you know, the lady who invented the science fiction genre with her story about a doctor who revives the dead? Right, that Mary Shelley, and that book. And ever since that fateful publication, the Shelley lineage has been populated with authors, including modern Mary's grandmother (recipes) and her mother, Tawny, who writes a mega-successful mystery series about a crime-solving sleuth, also named Tawny.

Mary is the one next in line, with the expectations that she, also, will find her voice and take up the pen. But there's a problem with that.

She doesn't want to. In fact, she doesn't know what it is exactly that she wants to do, but she knows it isn't that.

Which is also good. Because there's another path for Mary to take. Which is bad for Mary, because she doesn't want to take this one either. Only this time she may not have a choice.

Mary has a gift: she can heal monsters. Yes, monsters, apparently, are real. And they get hurt, and they need help. And now that Mary has exhibited her power, she draws monsters to er like a beacon. But what will it take for her to accept her new responsibility?

This YA graphic novel from Brea Grant and Yishan Li reads quickly, and is populated with a variety of characters. In addition to the Shelley family members, there is Mary's best friend Rhonda, the stitched-together Adam who may have stepped right out of a cute-boy manga, a harpy, a possessed stuffed bunny, and a decent amount of demons -- who, being demons, aren't very friendly.

The plot of MARY is engaging, and the idea of the adventures of Mary Shelley's modern-day decendant having supernatural adventures is one that's fraught with possibilities for further adventures. The pacing is a bit uneven, particularly as we get closer to the end of this graphic novel, with revelations being made almost as if the author realized she was running out of pages but still had story to tell. Rhonda's story in particular could have been better served being served up slower, and in a second volume -- presuming such a thing is in the offing. Because it would be a shame if there weren't more volumes mining the potential of this property.