Wonder Woman at Super Hero High by Lisa Yee

book-reviews-MG

Your favorite DC super heroes (and villains) pack the halls of a unique high school in Lisa Yee’s Wonder Woman at Super Hero High, an imaginative new take on these beloved comic book characters.

wonder woman at super hero highThis groundbreaking new middle grade series follows DC Comics’ most iconic female Super Heroes and Super-Villains . . . as high schoolers. At Super Hero High, the galaxy’s most powerful teens nurture their powers and master the fundamentals of what it means to be a hero.

I’ll admit, these days, I’m more of a Marvel girl — but I have a long-standing love of Wonder Woman that dates back to my early pre-teen years. Which is to say, middle school me would have adored this book. And grown-up me did too!

I got a kick out of seeing Lee incorporate so many beloved (or infamous) DC characters into one world, taking them all back to the oh-so-awkward years of high school. I loved seeing how the different characters came into play — Harley Quinn, Lois Lane, Steve Trevor, even Amanda Waller fills in as the school’s principle. (That’s the character played by Viola Davis in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, though she has figured in prominently in many other DC comics.) Lee brings in so many characters from the DC Universe, and incredibly finds a way for them all to work together in this high school setting.

What’s more, Lee uses these iconic characters — beloved by so many, especially by kids — and shows that while they can save the world, they also have a lot more in common with us mere mortals than you might think. Friendships, bullying, meeting parents’ expectations … these are all issues kids today deal with on a regular basis, and here Lee shows that even superheroes share these burdens, too. It’s a clever and imaginative way to help kids relate their issues to others on a grander scale.

And of course, it’s amusing to see Wonder Woman adapt to life outside of Paradise Island (Themyscira for all my fellow nerds); having grown up in such an isolated community, Wonder Woman definitely has to overcome some naivete and learns the hard way that not everyone in the real world is so kind.

That said, while I am pretty familiar with many of the players in the DC Universe, there are a lot of characters being incorporated in this book — and at times, I got a little lost in all the constant superhero name-dropping. (And, okay, I admit: it bothered me that Wonder Woman is called this throughout the entire story, and never referred to by her actual name, Diana. It was weird and I don’t know why that never came up.)

But overall, Wonder Woman at Super Hero High is a really fun read, with Lee cleverly incorporating the best of the DC Universe in a kid-friendly format and capturing some important messages for young readers in a superhero story they’ll love to devour. Look for it in stores now.

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