Blog Tour w/ Giveaway! Harley Quinn Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki

Source: From DC Ink in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Harley Quinn Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki, Art by Steve Pugh
Series: HARLEY 
Publisher: Books for Young Readers, DC Young Adult (YA) Graphic Novel
Publication Date:  September 3, 2019

 

Format: Paperback ARC

Synopsis: 
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is a coming-of-age story about choices, consequences, justice, fairness, and progress and how a weird kid from Gotham's poorest part of town goes about defining her world for herself. From Eisner Award and Caldecott Honor-winning author Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer, Supergirl: Being Super).

Harleen is a tough, outspoken, rebellious kid who lives in a ramshackle apartment above a karaoke cabaret owned by a drag queen named MAMA. Ever since Harleen's parents split, MAMA has been her only family. When the cabaret becomes the next victim in the wave of gentrification that's taking over the neighborhood, Harleen gets mad.

When Harleen decides to turn her anger into action, she is faced with two choices: join Ivy, who's campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or join The Joker, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time. 

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass is at once a tale of the classic Harley readers know and love, and a heartfelt story about the choices teenagers make and how they can define--or destroy--their lives.

Review: 
I am honored to have received a copy of Harley Quinn Breaking Glass for review. I love Harley Quinn and all the variations of her story, in this version Harleen is headed to live with her grandmother in the city. When she arrives she realizes that things are not always as they seems, and not everyone is as accepting as she is. 

This graphic novel did a lot of things wonderfully. It showcased what it is like to feel like and be an outsider and it hosts so much diversity. Themes of acceptance and the anger that happens when someone you love is being discriminated against for their diversity permeate the story and lend to Harleen's character growth. 

Another wonderful thing this graphic novel did was introduce Joker in a way that was interesting and true to the malice that he brings to many stories. You can see why Harleen would be both drawn toward him and appealed by him at the same time. I think that for characters that are normally not PG, the authors did a really good job adapting them for a YA audience but still kept them true to their overall themes. 

I really like Harley Quinn, she is seen as a character that is good for a laugh, but I also love that she is on the cusp of both good and evil, depending on her mood. Often her anger and violence are not focused in a productive way but she shows love and concern for the causes she is behind with all the ire she can muster. She focuses her rage in ways that we cannot, but sometimes really want to and I think that is what makes her such a great character.

Rating:


Overall I think this is a great addition to the Harley Quinn stories. I think YA readers will really enjoy this book and re-imagining of Harley's origins.

Prizes
2 Winners will receive copies of Harley Quinn Breaking Glass from the publisher.


Giveaway Rules

Must be 13 with parent permission or older. 

Must enter using the Rafflecopter below.
I will check accounts and responses :)

Winners will have 48 hours to respond or forfeit their prize to the next person.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


About the Authors

Mariko Tamaki is an award-winning Canadian writer living in Oakland, CA. She is the author of Saving Montgomery Sole and the co-creator, with Jillian Tamaki, of This One Summer, which received the prestigious Eisner and Ignatz awards as well as Caldecott and Printz honors. her growing slate of critically acclaimed comics and graphic novels includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tomb Raider, Adventure Time, She-Hulk, Lumberjanes, Supergirl: Being Super and New Super-man.

Steve Pugh is a British writer and artist, born and based in the Midlands of England. recruited for DC's Vertigo imprint at its inception, he worked on both Hellblazer and Animal Man, and then the Preacher spin-off Saint of Killers. He co-created, wrote, and drew Hotwire for Radical. He has illustrated dozens of series for Dark Horse, DC and Marvel, as well as drawn the critically acclaimed, Eisner-nominated reinvention of The Flintstones.