Title: Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Published: August 28th 2017
Publisher: Puffin/Penguin Books Australia
Pages: 320
Genres: Fiction, Children, Young Adult, Action, Adventure
RRP: $18.99
Rating: 5
Mrs R’s review:The highly anticipated coming-of-age story for the world’s greatest super hero: WONDER WOMAN by the # 1 New York Times bestselling author LEIGH BARDUGO.
She will become a legend but first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning . . .
Diana is desperate to prove herself to her warrior sisters. But when the opportunity comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law to save a mere mortal, Alia Keralis. With this single heroic act, Diana may have just doomed the world.
Alia is a Warbringer – a descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies, mortal and divine, determined to destroy or possess the Warbringer.
To save the world, they must stand side by side against the tide of war.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer is the first in an exciting new series called DC Icons that is to be written by high profile YA authors. Following Wonder Woman will be Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu and Cat Woman: Soulstealer by Sarah J Maas, both to be released in 2018. With the current resurgence and success of Wonder Woman at the movies thanks to Gail Gadot, I couldn’t wait to get lost in Leigh Bardugo’s interpretation. While I haven’t read Leigh’s previous YA books, I loved every action packed minute I spent with Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman is written in the third person from the perspectives of 17 year old’s Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman and Alia Keralis. The legend of Wonder Woman is simple but interesting. Born on the uncharted island of Themyscira, she is an Amazonian princess made of clay. Her many sisters are women who have died in war and have been given the chance at second life. While I’ve long outgrown teenage protagonists, I did like Diana because she is unlike any other protagonist. She is a young woman who doesn’t act like a typical teenager because she has been raised differently. Diana has strength and powers beyond her gender and her knowledge is beyond her years. These aspects combined have led Diana to selflessly wanting to make a difference in the world. Diana craves the opportunity to show her true abilities to those she loves. Here, Leigh really focuses on the theme of self-belief. Even when others doubted her, Diana continued to be true to herself and never gave up.
Alia, in contrast, appears to be a normal teenage girl living in New York today. With both parent’s dead, she is in the care of her older brother Jason. I liked Alia too because she provided a contrast to Diana. Where Diana came from a place that material wealth mattered little, Alia is the daughter of rich parents. While she could have been a poor little rich girl, Alia is learning to deal with her grief. She is also trying to show Jason that she is stronger mentally then he thinks. It gives Alia no time to be a self-entitled brat.
Life takes a turn for the worst when Alia lies to Jason and unbeknown to him gets on a boat. When the boat goes down, she finds herself being saved by Wonder Woman. Unable to come to terms with what she is seeing, things quickly become worse for Alia when she learns that she is a War Bringer. A War Bringer is the next in a long line of descendants from Helen of Troy who will bring war to Earth. The only way to stop Alia from fulfilling the prophecy is to get her to Greece and purify her in the waters that Helen was buried near. The theme of friendship, particularly female friendship, is strong when Diana and Alia work together along with Jason, and their friends, Theo and Nim, to get Alia to Greece. Like any good story though, there are twists and turns, as well as many obstacles that need to be encountered along the way. Both girls come to admire and respect each other for the choices they make and the sacrifices to come.
Will Alia get to Greece in time?
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo was published on August 28th 2017 by Puffin/Penguin Books Australia. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of Wonder Woman: Warbringer, Leigh Bardugo, visit here.
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