Calling all fans of Frankenstein, Helga is a gender bent Frankenstein retelling. It begins conversations about the themes of love, of parenthood, and class differences. This fun and hilarious retelling breathes fresh air back into a classic. Keep reading this book review of Helga for my full thoughts.
Summary
Helga is not the obedient science experiment her father intended. And though she has only just awoken, he leaves her in the care of his lab assistant Penny to go on a business trip.
Bursting with curiosity, Helga quickly escapes from the well-meaning Penny and heads into Amaris City. There Helga finds she is as untamable as the invasive blackberry vines overtaking the island. And because of the misdeeds of her father’s scientific community, the natural world grows more volatile.
Helga soon discovers the night market, rowdy clubs, delicious food, and cute boys. Enamored with city life, she’ll do anything to find love―but she has only two weeks until her father gets back, and besides there are ominous rumblings from the volcanic island that could put her dating schemes, and even her own life, in grave peril.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I read Frankenstein in college and have been intrigued ever since. Helga does a great job at approaching the maker/parent relationship between Frankenstein and the Creature while giving a gender bent spin to it. We can see the raw emotions of wanting love and approval, of being abandoned and rejected, and how it feels in its most pure and emotional form. All the ways it mirrors parenthood only becomes more apparent with a teenage girl as the main character. When we see the reflections of the rhetoric of expecting obedience from our children, of putting our hopes and dreams on their shoulders, and trying to program them.
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At the same time, Helga examines class. In the world there’s this strict divide between Uphill and Downhill strata. This was a theme that only grew in strength as Helga progresses. I enjoyed watching Helga examine her position as a newcomer to the system. It is a joy to watch Helga exert her own autonomy, to see her fumble with the same themes of wanting to be surrounded by people who will love us, who act like we want, but also coming up against her own existence. Additionally, I loved witnessing her relationship with Penny.
Helga strikes a great balance between honoring and paying homage to the classic, while infusing it with humor and lightness. There’s also a distinct sense of danger and consequences, but it’s tempered by exploring the joy of living and the support of those around her. Find Helga on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.