3.65 AVERAGE

amilliknives's review

3.0

I really dug the premise of this and where it was going politically. Very very on the nose and relevant. Loved the flipped over Frankenstein’s monster concept. Wasn’t a huge fan of the lawyer aspect although I get it the author is also a lawyer. Just felt so unnecessary to be so detailed about only for it to not really affect the plot at all. Also I did like the neutral ness of the narrative voice but I did not love how everyone else sounded just as neutral but wasn’t meant to be. Not a whole lot of emotion. Short book and worth it in the end but could have been more nuanced.

celera's review

3.75
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
challenging emotional inspiring
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

smiliefaz3's review

4.5
hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

liz_vidal's review

3.0
funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

kellyjadepole's review

3.0
fast-paced
informative tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

eh. it was okay. i recalled some aspects on when the government was brought up and their policies to block réanimation. it was definitely an interesting take on frankenstein. just not my cup of tea.
kelseyg924's profile picture

kelseyg924's review

4.0
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I thought this was an interesting concept and had the potential to be really special. Unfortunately what ruined this book for me was the way all the characters talked to one another. The dialogue felt very stilted and not how natural human conversation flows which made it difficult to immerse myself in the story. 

bojanus's review

4.0
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I adore Frankenstein stories, and I found this a unique take. It's on the shorter side which is nice--especially since the plot itself is pretty tame, mostly a person discovering oneself interspersed with some political articles/transcripts. The contrast between the narrative and the political stuff made sense--I liked how it showed even when people are making sweeping generalizations or debating about groups of people on the news, those very people are all just like... people living their lives.

Though the Frankenstein sci-fi element is unique and has its particular nuances, the choice to embed much of the story in Mexican culture feels like a deliberate choice to parallel immigrant struggles, especially politically. Parts of people's bodies are combined and reanimated in order to make up for a struggling workforce and fill jobs, but there are many people who resent them just for existing. The political angle also has a strong focus on the president (a clear Trump-as-a-woman) pushing the reanimated as a violent and dangerous enemy that only she can stand up against, fabricating violence from the community to try and get her poll numbers up for the midterms.

With the politics, it sometimes didn't land for me, but I was depressed to hear the president's intended strategy of pushing a bunch of executive orders progressively taking away the rights of the reanimated... Living through that strategy in 2025 is depressing, and it makes this book published in spring of 2024 feel particular prescient. Some other things felt too on-the-nose; the pharmaceutical angle was a good little commentary, but the reveal just decreased the tension instead of increasing or even really releasing it.

The plot of the main character, who is unnamed as per "Frankenstein's monster" (which I loved as a choice, it made me as a reader feel unmoored and really honed in on the lack of identity he feels) is sweet, not particularly wild, but primarily focused on a domestic and everyday sort of feeling that (as I said) contrasts with the political parts to say "This is the genuine day-to-day of someone who the news is going crazy about". The romance is sweet but not particularly interesting. There's some great stuff about reconnecting and discovering lost identity that hit strong emotional beats.

Overall, this is a great and unique adaptation of Frankenstein that plays really nicely with Mexican/Chicano culture and pulls in a lot of themes about immigration and discrimination. It's also a short-ish read, so definitely worth picking up and taking a read if you're curious.