Franky Stein is one of the Library's Personalized Reading Assistants (check out her profile on our Personalized Reading Recommendations page). We recently checked in with Franky to learn a little more about her.
You might be familiar with my creator, Dr. Frankenstein. He named me after himself, so technically I’m Frankenstein the Second. But that’s a real mouthful, so these days I go by Franky.
My great-grandmother, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, wrote books. She passed down to me her love of the macabre. She loved the dark and shadowed edges of the world. Mary found that facing her fears made her fearless! She inspired my love of reading. Now I gobble up books, often the same kind she used to write. Mist-veiled past and present, and futures that may yet be, are all my kind of thing.
I even do my own bit of writing in my free time. Like this haiku:
If you are inclined
Toward futures of all kinds,
Come see Franky Stein!
That one’s about my love of all things futuristic. Like me. I was made in a lab, you know – that’s so futuristic, Tesla hasn’t even caught up yet. I’ve got thumbs! Have you met an android with thumbs?
This next poem is about my love of strange and eerie places. And stories. And things! Fear gets my blood moving, my heart pumping. And when you’re as old as I am (centuries, my dears, centuries) it’s a good thing to give yourself a little fright every now and again! So long as I can sit in my comfiest chair while I scare my own socks off.
Fears,
Reflections,
Aberrance.
Nimble
Knaves (spinning)
Yarns.
Slake (one’s)
Terror;
Eagerly
Impart
Nerve.
So, now you know a little bit about me. I hope you ask for me when looking for your next book! But wait, before you go – did I mention that I give recommendations for horror and science fiction to readers of all ages? There’s lots of age-appropriate materials for early readers, middle graders, and teens that delve into the spooky, the startling, and even the scary! I have a few to recommend, which I’ll share below.
“But wait, Franky, don’t go yet,” you might be saying – “Can you clarify the difference between Science Fiction and Fantasy?”
Why yes, dear reader, I can! Science Fiction usually has to do with some stretching of the present into the future – technology, science, and medicine usually resemble something like we know today. With a sprinkle of the author’s imagination, books in this genre speculate on what these elements of present-day Earth might look like in the future, sometimes on other planets, sometimes on a future version of Earth. Fantasy, on the other hand, embraces the impossible – magic, dragons, and places wholly unrelated to present-day Earth. Many books blend these two genres, but they usually fall on one side or the other. If you’re looking for Fantasy, I highly recommend you talk to my pal Ursula – they have Fantasy book recommendations galore!
That’s it for me, folks – it’s time I return to my cozy chair and continue reading, and recommending, great and wonderful books. I hope you enjoy the list I’ve curated below. Take care, and stay spooky!
Horror for young readers
This macabre tale is about courage and friendship! It just so happens to be about a friendship between a talking skull and a young girl.
Science Fiction for young readers
In a brutal and ultra-mean near-future world, a life-sized toy named Fred is determined to make the world a better place.
Horror for tweens
The dead have come back to haunt the living. Psychic Investigation Agencies have appeared all over England to destroy the ghosts, and Lucy, a talented young agent, is our main character in this tale full of humor, suspense, and terrifying ghosts.
Science Fiction for tweens
You might think that Max’s new robot classmate is a huge deal. Max does too – but just wait until these two band together to uncover a big secret that Vanguard One Middle School is keeping.
Horror for teens
This definitely isn’t Disneyland. But readers might find some similarities as this initially luxurious, “funnest place around” becomes the setting of a pulse-pounding tale of survival.
Science Fiction for teens
This is a soaring adventure into the depths of an underwater Las Vegas. Jin, a teen who used to dive with her father, joins a ragtag crew of pirates to pull off an epic heist.
Horror for adults
This is a clever, nay devilish, take on a tale about a haunted house. Clio is the youngest of three sisters and a social media influencer. She wants to flip the house her mother left behind and make content out of it.
Science Fiction for adults
This novel is a sprawling, interplanetary tale of one last heist. A billionaire tech god is the target – and the person hiring our main character, Edie, is none other than the person who got them sent to prison eight years ago.
