Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz Review

Title: Gotham High
Author: Melissa De La Cruz
Format: Ebook/ Netgalley
Release Date: April 7th, 2020

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 have always loved superheros, so when I got approved for this I was psyched. I went in with high hopes and looking back, that may have been the issue.

What I Liked:

The Characters - Batman in high school. Who wouldn't want to see that, right? And wait.... he is FRIENDS with Selina Kyle and Jack Napier? This was intriguing and I liked being able to see teen versions of my favorite super heroes and villains.

The Artwork - This was a graphic novel and the artwork was amazing. I have recently gotten obsessed with Webtoons and this read a lot like one of those. Part of me thinks it would probably be a better fit for it.

Poison Ivy - Most people IRL know this about me, but I have an obsession with Poison Ivy as a character. She is my all time favorite character DC or otherwise. And I don't feel like she is nearly as enough stuff as she should be. She was in this, though she is an adult, which is fine by me. And to add to this, Harley Quinn wasn't in this, which was even better.

What I Didn't Like:

The Writing - The story was fine, but the writing wasn't. Now, I haven't read any of Curz's other books, but this was very choppy and superficial. I know they are teenagers, but even teens remember what they said three pages ago.

Predictability - You basically know who is behind the kidnappings from the get go. So when it is finally revealed toward the end I was like was this supposed to be the big reveal? You told me this at the beginning!

Richard Grayson - He was only mentioned for a second and was a kid that was getting bullied that Bruce helped. The reason he gets kicked out of his prep school. And then that is it. I would have liked to see more of Dick Grayson.

Overall I gave this a 3/5. I did like this book and the story. And unlike a lot of other reviews on Goodreads, I am not mad for the characters acting like the actual characters, I.E. Selina Kyle. But there was a lot I didn't care for, too.