Cassandra Cain is the daughter of super-villains and a living weapon trained from birth to be the ultimate assassin. But that doesn’t mean she has to stay that way, right? She’ll have to go through an identity crisis of epic proportions to find out. But how do you figure out who you’re supposed to be when you’ve been trained to become a villain your entire life?
After a soul-shattering moment that sends Cass reeling, she’ll attempt to answer this question the only way she knows how: learning everything she possibly can about her favorite hero–Batgirl. But Batgirl hasn’t been seen in Gotham for years, and when Cass’s father threatens the world she has grown to love, she’ll have to step out of the shadows and overcome her greatest obstacle–that voice inside her head telling her she can never be a hero.
Mark has managed to choose the perfect two books to introduce me to the world of DC. I read You Brought Me the Ocean earlier this year and I absolutely adored it, and now we have this one. I love the idea of these newer DC stories being aimed at teen/young adult readers, and they suit me perfectly.
Shadow of the Batgirl follows Cassandra Cain, who is growing up and learning about herself, as well as living in a library. What’s not to love? I immediately fell for the art style and colour palette, which was vibrant and beautiful. Purples, blues and pinks are used throughout the spreads and I just adored it, I could look at the pages for hours and still find new details I didn’t spot before. The library made for such a lovely setting and was, as you can see below, portrayed so beautifully.
I really liked Cassandra as a character and her innocence. Throughout this story she is constantly learning more about herself and overcoming mistakes. She is also always learning from those around her and this made for a wonderful found-family. Local restaurant owner ‘Jackie’ Fujikawa Yoneyama and librarian Barbara Gordon made for slightly odd but equally likable fairy godmothers. I really loved the relationship between them both and Cassandra, and how they became the people who took her under their wings.
The combination of (very little) dialogue and beautiful, expressive illustrations made for a delightful read. I loved the artwork so much, I feel like this will become a real comfort read for me.
★★★★
4 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
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