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Batgirl: Possession
(DC Superheroes)
By Jade Adia
Illustrated by Charly Palmer
YA Superheroes, Paranormal Suspense
Audiobook, Hardcover & eBook, 384 Pages
November 5, 2024 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Summary
Batgirl™ is on the case when strange attacks start happening at Gotham Academy. The long shadows of Gotham City stretch deeper than she imagined when evidence points to black magic and something more sinister still in this original suspense novel!
Thanks to a scholarship to the prestigious Gotham Academy, Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, gets to experience how some of the city’s wealthiest teens live with fast cars, expensive clothes, and more. But when these advantages and luxuries are not enough, Barbara discovers that the some of them have turned to dabbling in black magic to get their kicks . . . setting off a series of strange events and deaths. Batgirl quickly steps in to investigate, but finding the killer proves to be more difficult than usual. The prime suspect’s brother is an irresistible distraction from the case at the same her growing relationship with Robin, the Boy Wonder, is hitting an all-time low. If all that wasn’t troubling enough, the hard facts aren’t to be lining up. Batgirl isn’t one to believe in black magic, but there seem to be forces in Gotham City’s shadows growing hungrier and stronger, and if she doesn’t find a way to shed some light on the case soon, the creeping darkness just might take possession of her . . . forever!
Batgirl and supernatural thriller fans will love the mystery and horror lurking in this action-packed original novel!
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My Review
BATGIRL: POSESSION is an adventure for superhero fans, especially those who love strong heroines who are coming into their own. Full of great dialogue, friendships, action, romance, and fun Batman and Robin references, with a bit of a paranormal horror aspect. However, Batgirl herself and her story make this a highly recommended read!
Read this story if you like:
- Superheroes
- Fantastic dialogue
- Characters easy to relate to and love
- Coming-of-age stories
- Sweet first kisses
- Lots of action
- Paranormal suspense that's a bit gritty and dark
- Underdog stories
- Clean reads
I loved this story from the first page! Batgirl's voice was fabulous with all her snark, but also her vulnerability. I felt like she was consistent as a character, who is black, in the poorer half of the population, 16, at a new school, and trying to figure out how to separate herself into her persona as Batgirl. There is so much to relate to with her and this story. The author did a fabulous job in letting the characters with all the messiness of life come alive in these pages. Barbara "Batgirl" is completely loveable which also helped. I adored her friendships with Dick "Robin" and Alysia. I also liked how her relationship with Batman and her dad are portrayed. There also is some really good character development.
I also thought the plot was well developed, if a bit creepy. There were a few places the action had a few kinks and where a specific message was pushed a bit. Otherwise, the danger, fighting, and how Batgirl was still figuring things out felt pretty realistic. The villains were plenty villainous. The situation was plenty dire. And the heroes had to fight to the death, like you'd normally expect from a Batman story. No one escaped unscathed and not everything wrapped up perfectly, but it wrapped up ideally with a bit of sweetness.
There were a few lines that I thought represented the feel of this story fairly well. Here they are:
"Everyone’s wary of Batgirl because they don’t know what to make of me. I don’t know what to make of me either."
"It’s purple—Batgirl’s purple— not black. I smirk, take a deep breath, then leap off the edge. Cold air whips my face, adrenaline dances through my muscles. Surrounded by my city, I fly."
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was an entertaining and engaging story that pulled me in from the first page and kept me turning the pages. Definitely recommended to YA readers and anyone who enjoy superheroes coming into their own.
Content: Some pretty dark violence. One mild swear word. LGBTQ+ relationships and characters (very well represented).
Source: I received a complimentary copy through TBR & Beyond Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author & Illustrator
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Ethnicity, Race & Migration, and a certificate in Human Rights from Yale University. She recently survived law school, graduating with a specialization in Critical Race Studies from UCLA. Her debut novel, There Goes The Neighborhood, won the 2024 Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Her second novel, Our Shouts Echo, is forthcoming August 2024.
By existing at the intersection of creative expression and the Black experience and accepting the guidance of his ancestors, he creates, authors, and magnifies the truth and depth of Blackness. From loose sketches and tight lines to blocks of color and nuances of mixed media, his art manifests in visual expressions to the questions, “What came before?” and “What truth must be told?”
Palmer was recently appointed by the USPS to design the 47th stamp in the Black Heritage Stamp series, honoring Judge Constance Baker Motley. In 2020, he was chosen by John Legend to create the cover portrait for his Grammy Award-winning album “Bigger Love”. Additionally, TIME Magazine commissioned him to create the cover art and illustrations for their “America Must Change” issue in July 2020, due to his 20-year expertise in painting on the topic of race. He also designed the cover for the NBA’s 75th anniversary edition of the 2K22 video game, and most recently co-authored the New Brownies Book: A Love Letter To Black Families which won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction.
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