Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas

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Penguin Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780141386898.
(Ages 16+) Recommended. An action-packed and engaging novel based on the DC comics super heroine of Catwoman. One of the four books in the DC icons series in which popular Young Adult authors write origin stories focusing on the teenage years of DC comics heroes. Caring for her terminally ill sister, Selina Kyle will stop at nothing to keep her safe. Battling dangerous enemies in the boxing ring night after night to pay for her medical bills is just the beginning. When she is finally cornered by the police, with nowhere to go and the threat of her sister being thrown into a dingy foster home that wouldn't care for her medical needs, Selina is offered a deal she can't refuse. Her sister safe in a suitable, upper-class foster home, Selina is brutally trained as an assassin. Two years later, she returns to Gotham City as Holly Vanderhees, a wealthy and mysterious socialite, by day and Catwoman by night. Joining forces with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, the group wreak havoc across the city and spark the attention of Batwing, who is proving himself as the protector of Gotham while Batman is away on a vital mission. While her expertise helps her thrive as Catwoman, as Holly, Selina finds herself clueless when it comes to her wealthy, handsome neighbour, Luke Fox, who she discovers may just have some hidden depths to himself as well; for in Gotham, no one is really as they seem. However, Selina's desperate game of cat and mouse is only exacerbated when a dangerous threat from her past looms in the background; threatening her ability to pull off her most important heist yet. While the novel is action-packed, and has vibrant and complex characters, the descriptive language of Maas can be difficult to follow. Knowledge of the DC Universe is useful and presumed by the author, with little explained throughout the book. Exciting and representative of important issues such as LGBTIQ+ relationships and mental health, Maas launches the reader into the dangerous and fascinating world of Gotham City and brings them along a journey they won't easily forget.
Daniella Chiarolli

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