During sophomore year, many students at Skyline High School are required to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Being one of the most influential novels and instigators of the Sci-Fi genre, it was one that many enjoyed. But can a retelling of this classic story stay true to its roots while being original, inventive, and captivating? The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White does just that.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein tells the story of the familiar novel from the perspective of Elizabeth Lavenza-Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s childhood best friend and to-be bride. It provides a new feminist outlook while narrating with the same emotional turmoil that draws readers to Shelley’s Frankenstein. The beginning of the novel focuses heavily on Victor and Elizabeth’s childhood, something the original left up somewhat for speculation. This was an enjoyable addition because readers get to see how Elizabeth’s relationship with Victor and Henry Clerval blossomed from the time they were children until Victor infamously left for school at Ingolstadt, where he would go on to create the Creature. There were also many instances where we were able to learn just how involved Victor was with his studies even from a young age.

The focus that White puts on the relationship between Elizabeth and Victor and how it turns from friendship to romance to emotionally manipulative is extremely fascinating. There were hints to this poor relationship in the original book, but the emphasis that White puts on this brings so much life and animation into the story and forces readers to question what they already know about these characters. Even more so because this is told from the point of view of Elizabeth, who had seen Victor as her best friend and careful responsibility for her whole life, which makes her narration unreliable just like Victor’s in the original.

It is intriguing just how accurately White is able to write the cast of characters to match the mood and tone that they were portrayed in Shelley’s works for over 200 years. In this new novel, however, Elizabeth is given so much more depth and complexity as the morally-grey character she is.

It’s also fascinating how even from the perspective of Elizabeth, who was a somewhat minor character in the original novel, it is so easy to sense the tension and downfall of events as Victor strays farther and farther from human morals and Elizabeth herself. She tries to see the good in him for much of the novel, however, readers can pinpoint the fact that to Elizabeth’s knowledge or not, Victor does not love nor care for his friends and family once he gets too caught up in pushing the limits of alchemy.

Because this novel is so well put together, it is not necessary for readers to have read Shelley’s original text before diving into it, however, it was entertaining to see some of the nods White made to Frankenstein. It is marketed as YA, pertaining to the fact that Elizabeth is a young teen at the beginning of the story, however, this novel is great for readers of all ages who love classic literature and science fiction.

It’s no doubt that White had a very deep understanding of Shelley’s Frankenstein in order to write this piece. It is one that successfully brought new creativity and comprehension to a story that many believed to be already fully-explored. Whether you’re a fan of Frankenstein or not, this novel is a must-read for lovers suspense and readers of all ages.