Title: Hideous Love
Author: Stephanie Hemphill
Genre: YA, Verse, Hsitorical
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: eARC received from publisher for honest review

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From award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill comes the fascinating story of Mary Shelley, a brilliant teenager who wrote one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time: Frankenstein.

An all-consuming love affair.

A family torn apart by scandal.

A young author on the brink of greatness.

Hideous Love is the fascinating story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home only to find herself in the shadow of a brilliant but moody boyfriend, famed poet Percy Shelley. It 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.

Mary wrote Frankenstein at the age of nineteen, but inspiration for the monster came from her life-the atmospheric European settings she visited, the dramas swirling around her, and the stimulating philosophical discussions with the greatest minds of the period, like her close friend, Lord Byron.

This luminous verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill reveals how Mary Shelley became one of the most celebrated authors in history.


Mary Shelley is a very popular figure in literature and for woman writers, and so when I saw that Hideous Love was based off of her life, i knew I had to read it. When i was in university I studied women in literature and I studied Mary Shelley pretty closely. We learned about her writing and about her personal life. So this novel was something I was very interesting. And it was beautiful!

Told in verse, Hideous Love takes the reader in a journey of Mary's love affair with Percy and how she ended up writing one of the most notable novels in history. I will say that because I had already studied Mary's life and knew everything there was to know, the story itself wasn't new, but what I loved most about this book was the way it was written.

Verse is not for everyone, because you not have to read the words, but you have to read in between the lines at what is not being said. The writing in this book was extremely beautiful and well done. It was almost like the emotions of Mary herself were written and we were just privilege enough to read it. I know a lot of teens might not like this type of novel, but to me it gives me a chance to look beyond the words and try and figure out the alternate meaning. I loved that.

It is no secret that Mary Shelley wrote amazing poetry in her lifetime, so it seems fitting that her life story be told on the same fashion. I really hope that readers will pick up this book and not only revel in the amazing writing, but also learn about this amazing women who wont through terrible heartbreaks at a very young age, and came out on the other end stronger, and full of brilliance. This is a must read for literature lovers of all ages.