Review: Wonder Woman Tempest Tossed by Laurie Halse Anderson and Leila Del Duca

 


When I learned that Laurie Halse Anderson had author a graphic novel staring a teenage Wonder Woman, I just knew that I had to buy it. Add to that the fact that it is beautifully illustrated by Leila Del Duca, and the whole thing is a winner.

Like other graphic novels in DC's latest series for young adult readers, this one is a origin story, about the days before Diana Prince took on the alias of Wonder Woman to carry out her work. Diana is living peacefully on Thermyscira, under the watchful eye of her mother, when her intervention with some refugees who are caught in a storm lead her to being lost and placed in an immigration detention camp a long way from home. Fortunately, her knowledge of languages and compassion for others soon leads her to catching the eye of an official, and she finds herself in the USA on a student visa. But there, when trying to help some poverty stricken families, she discovers that something terribly sinister is going on. And she must put a stop to it.

A confronting read in places this one pulls no punches as it reinvents Diana Prince as a teenager with an overwhelming amount of compassion. The story is beautifully illustrated, depressing in places, but ultimately, there's a sense of who this young woman will become. 

Although I loved this one, it will probably be the last I read in the series for a while, as they really are intended for a younger audience, and parts of the story--while entertaining--may have greater relevance to teenager readers, for example Diana's sense that she doesn't truly belong on Thermyscira.  

On the whole though, Tempest Tossed it is an entertaining read, written for the right reasons and it delivers everything that is promised on the back cover. 

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