Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Synopsis
When his twin brother falls ill in the family's chateau in the independent republic of Geneva in the eighteenth century, sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein embarks on a dangerous and uncertain quest to create the forbidden Elixir of Life described in an ancient text in the family's secret Biblioteka Obscura. A prequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Suggested level: secondary.
Is This Dark Endeavour appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 12 and up.
A dark, atmospheric prequel to Frankenstein featuring a teen protagonist seeking forbidden alchemy to save his dying twin brother. Contains mild peril and themes of grief and obsession but no graphic content.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include death of a loved one, grief, and chronic illness (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Readers who love gothic mysteries and dark historical settings will be drawn into Victor's desperate quest to save his brother using forbidden alchemy.