MY DEAR HENRY By Kalynn Bayron

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 3/7/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Historical, LGBT, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 266
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life— and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry's expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry's relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn't want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what's become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can't help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry's apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood...

Short and Sweet Review

The year is 1885 in London, and Gabriel Utterson is in medical school per his dad’s wishes. The medical school is predominately white, but Gabriel ends up meeting Henry another student who is black and they hit it off. Unfortunately, this time period doesn’t look to kindly upon the relationship these two boys form. Both of the boys are kicked out of the school and along with them Henry’s father, Dr. Jekyll. After being kicked out of school Gabriel is offered a position as a law clerk and he hasn’t seen Henry in quite some time, but Henry does make it clear that Gabriel should keep his distance. Gabriel begins watching the Jekyll house and comes across Hyde, a strange gentlemen who claims to be friends with Henry. Gabriel can’t understand why Henry would push him away but he’s not going to stop pursuing his friend until he finds out.

I can’t really say anything about Bayron’s take on the story of, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, because I’m not really familiar with the story unless you count that one episode of Scooby-Doo I watched as a child. That being said this was a book that held my interest, I wanted to know more about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and what exactly was going on in that house. Gabriel and Henry had a sweet relationship, but they were really risking it all to have a same sex relationship in 1885 and I don’t think it made it any better to those around them that they were both black. I did like the representation and the fact that both boys were intelligent. We do see that Henrys father Dr Jekyll is a mad scientist. Also Hyde was just so mysterious that it made trying to figure him out more fun, like why is he always stalking around at night? I did like that even though Gabriel felt alone without Henry, he did have a good support system, his landlady, his cousin, and another friend from med school.

The mystery of Henry was great to solve and I also learned a bit about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This is the third book I’ve read by Bayron and I just think her writing has a way of sucking you into the story. I would recommend My Dear Henry, its a good remix on a classic and it was short, fast, and captivating.