One of September’s New Releases May Be the Best Book of the Year
Adam, Mine. by K. Ancrum
Ancrum has become a force in YA over the last several years, and her latest endeavor is being described as a romantic queer horror thriller that is ultimately a love letter to Frankenstein. I’m sold.
Victor Frankenstein has everything he could ever want, except that money and privilege aren’t enough to prove himself or to change the world. He wants to figure out how to bring people who are sick and dying back to life.
It’s not entirely surprising that no one wants to allow him to try this, but after a drunken bet, Victor has to take things into his own hands. He’s taken a teenage boy from a neighboring village as his monster. That boy, Elias, taken under the dark of night, awakens covered in stitches and scars. His loved ones abandon him. Elias is, however, tethered to Victor, who has set out to find a way to reverse what he’s done to Elias. He’s afraid, and he feels guilty about what he’s done.
The connection Victor and Elias feel includes one another’s joys, pains, regrets, and more. Even though both are looking for answers and ways to end the other’s existence, the bond they feel may lead to something else entirely. —Kelly Jensen
