Helga - by Catherine Yu (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Helga is not the obedient science experiment her father intended. And though she has only just awoken, he leaves her in the care of his lab assistant Penny to go on a business trip. Bursting with curiosity, Helga quickly escapes from the well-meaning Penny and heads into Amaris City. There Helga finds she is as untamable as the invasive blackberry vines overtaking the island. And because of the misdeeds of her father s scientific community, the natural world grows more volatile. Helga soon discovers the night market, rowdy clubs, delicious food, and cute boys. Enamored with city life, she'll do anything to find love--but she has only two weeks until her father gets back, and besides there are ominous rumblings from the volcanic island that could put her dating schemes, and even her own life, in grave peril."--

Book Synopsis

Helga is not the obedient science experiment her father intended. And though she has only just awoken, he leaves her in the care of his lab assistant Penny to go on a business trip.

Bursting with curiosity, Helga quickly escapes from the well-meaning Penny and heads into Amaris City. There Helga finds she is as untamable as the invasive blackberry vines overtaking the island. And because of the misdeeds of her father's scientific community, the natural world grows more volatile.

Helga soon discovers the night market, rowdy clubs, delicious food, and cute boys. Enamored with city life, she'll do anything to find love--but she has only two weeks until her father gets back, and besides there are ominous rumblings from the volcanic island that could put her dating schemes, and even her own life, in grave peril.

Review Quotes

2025 CBC Young Adult Favorites Winner

"[Helga's] voice captures an entertaining yet heartfelt depiction of sheltered girlhood in rebellion. [...] A delightful update on a familiar classic, pulsing with youthful optimism and punk rock attitude."
--Kirkus Reviews

"[A] grotesque creature feature and existential examination of personhood make up this thoughtful interpretation of a snarky teen's second chance at grappling with body autonomy, personal agency, and familial obligation."
--Publishers Weekly

"Poignant and precocious, Helga oozes teen mentality in its purest, most uninhibited form. [...] A creative Frankenstein reimagining, begging to be read alongside the classic, Helga is dynamic, grotesque, and wonderfully strange."
--Booklist

"[S]punky, funny, and enlightening. [...] VERDICT This book is relatable to any reader just trying to be accepted and learn their place in the world."
--SLJ

"Helga is a stellar narrator."
--BCCB

"A delightfully counter-culture, charmingly grotesque romp of meat and stitches and torn fishnet stockings! Helga is the perfect mash-up of Frankenstein and all the girls finding their place in this bizarre, messy world."
--Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us

"Yu is a master of atmospheric, angsty horror. Helga is a vibrant retelling about finding your power and true acceptance."
--Adrianna Cuevas, author of The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto

"Catherine Yu has truly outdone herself in creating a Frankenstein retelling that takes all the horror of its predecessor while revamping it with the neon lights, bubbling humor, and punk sensibilities of the 21st century. Helga is a laugh-out-loud horror comedy romp that's bursting at the sutures with teenage excitement, island whimsy, and a healthy dose of existential fear drenched in sopping gore. This book is an absolute bloody delight."
-- Kayla Cottingham, New York Times bestselling author of My Dearest Darkest and This Delicious Death

About the Author

Catherine Yu writes dark speculative fiction. She is the author of Direwood, and her story "Balloon Girl" was published in the horror anthology Death in the Mouth. She was born in Nanjing and is now based in New York.