Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed

by Laurie Halse Anderson, Leila Del Duca (Illustrator)

Overview

New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak, Shout) and artist Leila del Duca reimagine Wonder Woman's origins in this timely story about the refugee experience, teenage activism, and finding the love and strength to create change.

Princess Diana of Themyscira believes that her 16th birthday will be one of new beginnings—namely, acceptance into the warrior tribe of the Amazons. But her birthday celebrations are cut short when rafts carrying refugees break through the barrier that separates her island home from the outside world. When Diana defies the Amazons to try to bring the outsiders to safety, she finds herself swept away by the stormy sea.

Cut off from everything she's ever known, Diana herself becomes a refugee in an unfamiliar land. Now Diana must survive in the world beyond Themyscira for the first time—a world that is filled with danger and injustice unlike anything she's ever experienced. With new battles to be fought and new friends to be made, she must redefine what it means to belong, to be an Amazon, and to make a difference.

Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed is a story about growing into your strength, fighting for justice, and finding home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401286453
Publisher:	DC Comics
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	106,807
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists, and Chains was also short-listed for the United Kingdom's Carnegie medal. She was selected by the American Library Association for the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant contribution to young adult literature. Laurie has also been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English. She is a member of RAINN's National Leadership Council and frequently speaks about sexual violence.

Leila del Duca is a comic book creator living in Portland, Oregon. Besides drawing Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed, she has drawn Sleepless, Shutter, and wrote Afar at Image Comics. Leila has also worked on titles such as The Wicked + The Divine, Scarlet Witch, American Vampire, and The Pantheon Project. During her spare time, she loves to make food, read, dabble in music, and do craft projects, especially during the Portland rainy months. She also loves staring off into space and considers it her favorite pasttime.

Editorial Reviews

05/04/2020

On the hidden island of Themyscira, where ageless warrior women, the Amazons, wait to protect the world from “Great Evil,” Princess Diana has struggled with the physical and emotional upheaval of puberty, whose changes she’s told will end by her 16th birthday. When she swims out from the island one day to rescue refugees on a raft that has broken through the island’s magical barrier, Diana finds herself adrift in the modern world, unable to return to her own. As a refugee, she spends time in a Greek camp before two United Nations inspectors, recognizing her extraordinary gift for languages, take her to New York, where she learns about the mortal world and its perils from new friend and housemate Raissa, 17. Though Anderson goes beyond the typical superhero-villain conflict, commenting on a broad range of social issues (among them activism, corporate greed, homelessness and income inequality, human trafficking, immigration, and misogyny), the abundance of issues unfocuses the plot, resulting in disparate story threads that are too conveniently resolved. Del Duca’s dynamic art, filled with female representation across ages, ethnicities, and body types, fills the pages with color and carefully observed detail, firmly situating the story. Ages 14 –up. (June)■

Publishers Weekly

06/01/2020

Gr 8 Up—Anderson and del Duca offer a grounded take on Wonder Woman, depicting her as a young woman finding herself and learning how to effect change in the world. Though being the only daughter of the queen of Themyscira Island's Amazon warriors and coming of age in a society composed solely of strong, capable adult warriors are challenging, Diana awakens on her 16th birthday finally feeling ready to become a full-fledged Amazon. But when the barrier hiding Themyscira is breached by fleeing refugees, Diana is carried away from her secluded home into the world beyond. Now, she must reckon with previously unfamiliar problems such as poverty, the human cost of war, and systemic injustice. Anderson's fish-out-of-water narrative, combined with del Duca's endearingly expressive character art, results in a likable, relatable Diana. The story touches on troubling social issues such as homelessness and human trafficking and even gestures toward some concrete responses, both individual and collective. However, rather than being a story about a superhero solving the world's problems, this is the tale of a young woman undergoing personal change and a social awakening, shaping and testing her values in an unjust society. VERDICT No prior knowledge of Diana Prince is necessary, making this a great option for those seeking an entry point into comics about Wonder Woman; it's also a fine choice for fans of activist characters or coming-of-age graphic novels.—Chuck Hodgin, Belmont Univ. Lib., Nashville

School Library Journal

2020-03-11
Not all heroines wear capes.

Protected on the hidden floating island of Themyscira, black-haired, light-skinned Princess Diana anticipates the end of her challenging changeling phase on her 16th birthday. She desperately wants to be a warrior like the other Amazonian women. A gift to the queen from the Five Mothers, Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter, Artemis, and Hestia, Diana is different—tall but clumsy; once hale but now weak. However, outside Themyscira’s magical barrier, Diana’s agility, intelligence, strength, and compassion shine. When Themyscira is breached by mortals, Diana disobeys her mother’s command, braving the violent sea to save drowning refugees. Mistaken for a refugee herself, Diana is hustled to a camp where she witnesses the devastating effects of war and cares for the mortals. After her extraordinary abilities are recognized by a United Nations employee and his husband, who get her a student visa, Diana moves to America, where she continues to fight for the weak and finds the place where she belongs. Astutely attuned to the current social climate, the story humanely and intelligently addresses complex issues, including immigration, child trafficking, hunger, and poverty. The text and illustrations, which show brown-skinned characters with a range of skin tones and hairstyles, naturally weave in characters of different backgrounds who are not reduced to their struggles.

Will engage readers until the final battle. (Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America) (Graphic fantasy. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

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