 | Harley Quinn : breaking glass : a graphic novel Author: Tamaki, Mariko | |
| Price: $13.93 | ||
Summary:
With just five dollars and a knapsack to her name, fifteen-year-old Harleen Quinzel is sent to live in Gotham City. She's not worried, though--she's battled a lot of hard situations as a kid, and knows her determination and outspokenness will carry her through life in the most dangerous city in the world. And when Gotham's finest drag queen, Mama, takes her in, it seems like Harley has finally found a place to grow into her most "true true" with new best friend Ivy at Gotham High. But when Mama's drag cabaret becomes the next victim in the wave of gentrification that's taking over the neighborhood, Harley's fortune takes another turn. Now Harleen is mad. In turning her anger into action, she is faced with two choices: Join activist Ivy, who's campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or team up with her anarchist friend Jack, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time. In graphic novel format.
| Illustrator: | Pugh, Steve |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: UG Reading Level: 3.30 Points: 2.0 Quiz: 507794 |
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2019 Harley Quinn is notorious for her allegiance to the Joker, but how did she start on her path to chaotic villainy? That’s what this origin story tackles, starting when Harleen Quinzel arrives in Gotham City, where she lives with Mama, a larger-than-life drag queen living in her late-grandmother’s building. As Harley settles into her new school, she makes friends with smart, justice-oriented Ivy, and together they lock horns with John Kane, the scion of Gotham’s hottest real estate developers, who are swiftly gentrifying neighborhoods like Harley’s. Tamaki’s take on Harley Quinn is remarkably nuanced. Harley’s motivations are largely noble, though her actions are far more volatile than those Ivy chooses, like protest or civil disobedience. That, coupled with Tamaki’s exceptional talent for writing snappy dialogue, makes for deeply multifaceted characters. Pugh’s beautiful artwork carries that dynamism out, as well: his realistic figures are shaded with plenty of depth and represent a refreshingly realistic array of distinct body shapes and sizes. This appealing entry point to the DC universe presents a captivating, vivid portrait of a so-called villain. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 08/01/2019 Gr 9 Up—Teenager Harleen Quinzel is from everywhere and nowhere—the type of kid who wanders the world with just five bucks and a knapsack. The story begins when she steps off the bus in Gotham, a city experiencing rapid gentrification led by the ultra-rich Kane family. Harleen is taken in by Mama, a club owner whose cadre of drag queens embrace the teen and her manic enthusiasm for life. While joining new friend Ivy's protest to get the school's film club to screen movies by women and people of color, and hanging out backstage at drag shows, Harleen grows to love dressing up as a clown. When someone calling themselves "the Joker" tries to enlist her on a mission to take down the Kane family, Harleen must choose between joining a rebellion to protect her new community and staying on the right side of the law. Tamaki's reimagining of Harley Quinn's origin as a teenager deeply embedded in countercultural movements is thought provoking. Through Harleen's evolution, readers engage with complex ideas of community action, gentrification, and protest. The author also explores drag culture and identity politics and even makes nuanced references to the AIDS crisis. Tamaki's Harleen is no white savior, nor is she a manic pixie dream girl—she's curious, funny, and deeply original. Pugh brings this unique character to life with moody shadows and wildly expressive eyes; his artwork shines at emotionally heightened moments. VERDICT A modern, funny, and satisfyingly fresh take on the origin of a superhero revolutionary.—Anna Murphy, Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
