Title: Frankenstein for iPad and iPhone
Cost: 4.99 (promotional)
Platform: iOS

Whether it’s the compelling re-telling by Kenneth Oppel, This Dark Endeavor, or Liz Burns’ TeaCozy read-along, Frankenstein seems to be experiencing a resurgence among both teen readers and librarians.

Now Inkle has developed a stunning iOS app based on the classic Mary Shelley novel but with a rather HyperCard-feeling twist.

Victor’s story becomes something of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure as the reader decides how to advance a conversation or even choose how to navigate streets at selected points which then determine the next passage. It’s an interesting slice-and-dice approach to a classic. The app also features the complete text of the original, as well as a gallery with the many anatomical images and landscapes used throughout.

As with many of the book apps based on older works, this project also suggests how you might work with teens to demonstrate how something within the public domain can be monetized and transformed into something original and compelling. I love the ides of teens creating their own variable versions of curricular texts as a form of assessment.

For more Apps of the Week, visit the App of the Week archive.