GOTHAM HIGH WRITTEN BY MELISSA DELACRUZ ILLUSTRATIONS BY THOMAS PITILLI

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• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (April 7, 2020)
• Language: English

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Alex and Eliza and The Witches of East End comes a reimagining of Gotham for a new generation of readers. Before they became Batman, Catwoman, and The Joker, Bruce, Selina, and Jack were high schoolers who would do whatever it took--even destroy the ones they love--to satisfy their own motives.

After being kicked out of his boarding school, 16-year-old Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to find that nothing is as he left it. What once was his family home is now an empty husk, lonely but haunted by the memory of his parents' murder. Selina Kyle, once the innocent girl next door, now rules over Gotham High School with a dangerous flair, aided by the class clown, Jack Napier.

When a kidnapping rattles the school, Bruce seeks answers as the dark and troubled knight--but is he actually the pawn? Nothing is ever as it seems, especially at Gotham High, where the parties and romances are of the highest stakes ... and where everyone is a suspect.

With enchanting art by Thomas Pitilli, this new graphic novel is just as intoxicating as it is chilling, in which dearest friends turn into greatest enemies--all within the hallways of Gotham High!

THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Gotham High tells the story of Bruce Wayne as a teen in high school with a cast of characters that will suddenly become well too familiar. De La Cruz wrote this fast paced and highly entertaining graphic novel reimagined for old fans and new. 

In this world, Bruce Wayne is half Chinese, with his uncle Alfred from Hong Kong managing his billion dollar trust fund, Catwoman Selina as part Latina and Ivy as Korean. 

Their back story was introduced which included a love triangle, kidnapping, hardships and poverty that shaped their characters prior to developing their alter egos as Batman, Catwoman, Joker and Ivy

The illustrations by Thomas Pitilli was on point with the right amount of dark and gothic element, appropriate for what you may imagine the atmosphere of Gotham City and Gotham High would be. The artistic choices on the characters, the outfits and the background detail push the story to a different level adding to the dark and enthralling story line. 

Overall I enjoyed this creative retelling and ready for the next installments.

Thank you @DCcomics for providing a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).