i received a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. all opinions below are my own.

this blog post is part of the gotham high blog tour hosted by the fantastic flying book club. thanks for letting me participate and join in on the fun!

Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz & Thomas Pitilli

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!

i had so much fun reading this! gotham high is a graphic novel featuring dc characters as teenagers who go to high school together in gotham city. it’s so interesting seeing the small references to their future aliases scattered throughout the book.

the diversity is one of my favorite things about this novel. in the movies, most of the characters are white, so i wasn’t really expecting the situation to be different in this book, and i ended up getting a pleasant surprise! selina kyle (catwoman) is latina, poison ivy is korean, barbara gordon (batgirl) is black, and bruce wayne (batman) is chinese. batman’s mom’s side of the family is from hong kong, and it’s like a dream come true for me, because it’s the first time i’ve read a book with a main character of hong kong descent. ❤

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i also loved the art style and colors. each character has their unique aesthetic, and the illustrator took the effort to carefully plan out their outfits so that they could reflect the wearers’ styles and personalities. the neon pastel colors of the background, similar to that in paper girls, contrasted with the darker colors used for the characters, which i really liked.

the storyline is very simple, but that didn’t take the fun out of the reading process for me. i won’t reveal too much about the story, only that it involves several kidnappings and a love triangle. 😉 it’s compelling and easy to follow, and i was hooked from start to finish.

overall, gotham high was a short, entertaining read and i highly recommend it especially if you’re a fan of graphic novels and the dc extended universe. i hope there will be a sequel – the cliffhanger ending left me wanting more!

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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!).
She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.

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GIVEAWAY

win a copy of gotham high by melissa de la cruz & thomas pitilli (US ONLY). the giveaway starts on 7th april 2020 and ends on 21st april 2020. enter here.

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have you read gotham high? what are your thoughts? do you have a favorite dc superhero / villain? let me know in the comments below!