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kelleemoye's review against another edition
Finished reading the ALA preview from the publisher and Netgalley, and I AM INTRIGUED! What they shared is just the exposition, so I’m not sure of the main conflict yet, but I love the characters and the set up.
renees's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I bought it for my 11 year old daughter and read it after her at her insistence. It's great as a YA book - the drag queens are a wonderful introduction to a well-rounded, diverse world view while keeping the tone light and as an adult, some of the other issues that are touched on - feminism, gentrification - feel a bit heavy-handed but are just right for tweens.
perilous1's review against another edition
2.0
At least one whole star is just for the artwork, which Steve Pugh does a really decent job of--with a striking, moody use of varied duo-chromatics, consistent characterization, and effective emotional conveyance.
The story itself? Sadly did nothing for me. But then again, I'm clearly not the intended audience...
Here we have an alternate-universe variant on the Harley Quinn origin story.
VERY alternate.
So much so, I can't see any pre-existing Harley fans being happy about this reinvention. So I presume the target audience are in the middle grade range, and completely unfamiliar with the Harley/Joker mythos and dynamic. (Which makes some sense, at least. That pair and their famously dysfunctional relationship aren't well suited for the PG crowd.) I don't know if the intention was to re-write and "update" the character to suit the current social climate, or jump on the DC movie bandwagon and act as a gateway to pull the younger generation into other parts of the DC universe. Either way... it smacks of cash-grab.
In this universe, Harley as a 15-year-old is some kind of manic pixie dream girl. (Although, she behaves and sounds a lot younger than 15. Not just verbally, but mentally/internally.) She's perky, erratic, and painfully naïve--daft, even. Which is apparently related to the fact that she grew up in a trailer park? *cringe* In her, readers will find no sign of the makings for the brilliant future psychologist of DC lore. None of the nuanced sometimes-villainess, sometimes-anti-heroine with so much potential. Add to that, the twist is predictable and the Joker's depiction is... weirdly aimless and bland.
What this book seems to spend most of its energy on instead is checking a lot of political and social-issue boxes. It crams in so many, none are really done much justice. You end up with a bunch of stereotype-reinforcement and ham-fisted soap-boxing. Which... to my mind... doesn't give young readers enough credit for intelligence.
I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed. :(
The story itself? Sadly did nothing for me. But then again, I'm clearly not the intended audience...
Here we have an alternate-universe variant on the Harley Quinn origin story.
VERY alternate.
So much so, I can't see any pre-existing Harley fans being happy about this reinvention. So I presume the target audience are in the middle grade range, and completely unfamiliar with the Harley/Joker mythos and dynamic. (Which makes some sense, at least. That pair and their famously dysfunctional relationship aren't well suited for the PG crowd.) I don't know if the intention was to re-write and "update" the character to suit the current social climate, or jump on the DC movie bandwagon and act as a gateway to pull the younger generation into other parts of the DC universe. Either way... it smacks of cash-grab.
In this universe, Harley as a 15-year-old is some kind of manic pixie dream girl. (Although, she behaves and sounds a lot younger than 15. Not just verbally, but mentally/internally.) She's perky, erratic, and painfully naïve--daft, even. Which is apparently related to the fact that she grew up in a trailer park? *cringe* In her, readers will find no sign of the makings for the brilliant future psychologist of DC lore. None of the nuanced sometimes-villainess, sometimes-anti-heroine with so much potential. Add to that, the twist is predictable and the Joker's depiction is... weirdly aimless and bland.
What this book seems to spend most of its energy on instead is checking a lot of political and social-issue boxes. It crams in so many, none are really done much justice. You end up with a bunch of stereotype-reinforcement and ham-fisted soap-boxing. Which... to my mind... doesn't give young readers enough credit for intelligence.
I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed. :(
disgracefullee's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed this book, but I had a hard time turning my brain off for parts of it. The parts with Harley's home life and her school life I totally got, but when she went out on the streets of Gotham and was really good at both fighting and blowing stuff up, I had difficulty maintaining my suspension of disbelief. She's only 15 and hasn't had any formal training. Also, the bit at the end where she felt very strange. I loved Mama and the struggle with gentrification, but couldn't immerse myself in the narrative properly.
Spoiler
digs herself out of prison with a spoonrdyourbookcase's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it! I didn't know anything about Harley Quinn prior to reading Breaking Glass, but I really did enjoy the storyline and the artwork.
strawbunniez's review against another edition
5.0
very fun but also slay and i loved ivy a lot the art was so beautiful and the title is so slay after reading i liked it lots
ripavengers's review against another edition
4.0
read it for the harlivy serve because theyre my besties but like it was actually quite good and the ending had me wanting to read more. also harley and joker not being in a relationship yeah yeah good for my soul. plus supportive drag queens and a big fuck you to gentrification and ultra rich people.