cover image Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters

Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters

Suzanne Weyn. Scholastic Press, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-545-42533-9

In 1815, upon receiving news of the death of their distant father, Victor Frankenstein, 17-year-old twins Giselle and Ingrid travel to Castle Frankenstein in Scotland's Orkney islands to live with their uncle and receive their inheritance. Though the castle is a "fearful place," surrounded by damp weather and superstition, Giselle plans a grand party while Ingrid buries herself in her father's notebooks and begins a romance with their neighbor, retired Lieutenant Walter Hammersmith, who suffers from "a disease of the nervous system." Strange events soon occur: Giselle starts sleepwalking and sees a "bad man" threatening to take them away, and someone has been committing murders in the vicinity. Ingrid begins to resemble her father in an obsessive quest to restore health to one she loves. Weyn (Invisible World: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials) has created an atmospheric and dramatic mystery, which incorporates many historical details and thematic elements from Shelley's gothic tale. The girls' alternating journal entries will keep readers equally invested in both of their stories in this psychological thriller with a dash of romance. Ages 12%E2%80%93up. Agent: Nancy Gallt Literary Agency. (Jan.)