Book Love for Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero

Whistle is an attractively-illustrated book. While I have seen some push-back on the style that Manuel Preitano brings as being “old school” in its approach, I loved the detail that was included in the book’s illustrations and thought they worked really well. I also love the opening sense of activism that is seen in the main character, Willow. I enjoyed the environmental aspect of the central dilemma.

The narrative takes its time in development, giving a literary quality to character building before anything supernatural happens. I enjoyed the way characters from the DC canon would appear in more realistic depictions throughout the book. The appearance of a more fantasy-based character leads to some intriguing turns in the book. I especially enjoyed the identity play when Willow begins to navigate powers.

The bottom line is: Buy it. It’s a wonderful title and one that young readers will enjoy, complete with romance and realistic emotion. I would readily add it to my classroom shelf and will gladly share about it in adolescent literacy classes I teach. I look forward to reading more books like this one, including (I hope) a sequel, from DC in the future.