REVIEW: Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters, by Suzanne Weyn

Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters
2013

When Doctor Victor Frankenstein died, he left behind a legacy of horror...as well as two unacknowledged, beautiful twin daughters. Now these girls are seventeen, and they've come to Frankenstein's castle to claim it as their inheritance.

Giselle and Ingrid are twins, but they couldn't be more different. Giselle is a glamorous social climber who plans on turning Frankenstein's castle into a center of high society. Ingrid, meanwhile, is quiet and studious, drawn to the mysterious notebooks her father left behind...and the experiments he went mad trying to perfect.

As Giselle prepares for lavish parties and Ingrid finds herself falling for the sullen, wounded naval officer next door, a sinister force begins to take hold in the castle. Nobody's safe as Frankenstein's legacy leads to a twisted, macabre journey of romance and horror. 

Frankenstein is one of my favorite classic horror novels (Mary Shelley's original version.) Consequently, I'm more than a bit skeptical about ANY novel that extends or retells the story.

You'd think I'd learn when Suzanne Weyn is the one wielding the pen. Dark and suspenseful, just like you'd expect of a Frankenstein story. This is an extension story that well-deserves a place next to the original.

The two girls, Giselle and Ingrid, made me think more of the characters in the original. Giselle is blissfully unaware of all that's going on in the family's castle, and Ingrid is her father made over--intense and frightening in her resolve to continue her father's research and experiments, all to save the man she loves.

The plot moved. And moved and moved. There was just the right measuring of romance and innocence, of mystery and fear, of paranoia and dangerous intensity. My one sticking point is that the ending raced to the finish too quickly, something I do think Weyn does too easily. A great story doesn't have to hurry and end...it just needs to end as well as it began.

What do you think??

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Scholastic Press/Scholastic Inc. through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

REVIEW: The Bar CodeTrilogy

Not my usual M.O., but I decided to review the entire trilogy, not just the recently released third book. I re-read the first 2 because I realized when I started book 3, that it had been far too long since I'd thought about Kayla's story.
Note: these books do not stand alone well. But, that's okay.

The Bar Code Tattoo
Originally published in 2004

 The bar code tattoo. Everybody's getting it. It will make your life easier, they say. It will hook you in. It will become your identity.

But what if you say no? What if you don't want to become a code? For Kayla, this one choice changes everything. She becomes an outcast in her high school. Dangerous things happen to her family. There's no option but to run . . . for her life. Indivuality vs. conformity. . Identity vs. access. Freedom vs. control. The bar code tattoo.

Debut near-future dystopian novel. Interesting premise, not so awesome writing. It's most certainly not Weyn's best work, but it is what got her some attention. There really wasn't a huge amount in this genre at the time and she did well breaking in with something different.

I've read reviews that tell you the story is predictable. It's not. Well, it wasn't for when it was first published. Sure...it is now, when dystopian YA fiction is all the rage. The characters are all a little weak, and yes, Weyn has some disjointed connections here and there. But the book isn't a lost cause.

The story doesn't wrap up neatly, which is a plus. You want some closure for Kayla and the love triangle she finds herself in while running from the government. So...you pick up the second book.