Black Canary: Breaking Silence (DC Icons Series)

Product Description

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES!
 

DC Icons continues with the first-ever YA origin story of superhero Black Canary, from the internationally bestselling author Alexandra Monir. In this thrilling novel, Dinah Lance’s voice is her weapon. And in a near-future world where women have no rights, she won’t hesitate to use everything she has–including her song–to fight back.

Dinah Lance was eight years old when she overheard the impossible: the sound of a girl
singing. It was something she was never meant to hear–not in her lifetime and not in Gotham City, taken over by the vicious, patriarchal Court of Owls. The sinister organization rules Gotham City as a dictatorship and has stripped women of everything–their right to work, to make music, to learn, to be free.

Now seventeen, Dinah can’t forget that haunting sound, and she’s beginning to discover that her own voice is just as powerful. But singing is forbidden–a one-way route to a certain death sentence. Fighting to balance her father’s desire to keep her safe, a blossoming romance with mysterious new student Oliver Queen, and her own need to help other women and girls rise up, Dinah wonders if her song will finally be heard. And will her voice be powerful enough to destroy the Court of Owls once and for all?

From School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-In the not-so-distant future, Gotham City has been taken over by the dictatorial Court of Owls, the wealthy and powerful elite who put an end to all superheroes and released a poison gas that damaged women’s vocal chords so they could no longer sing. Dinah Laurel Lance swears that as a child mourning the loss of her mother, she heard what should have been impossible: the sound of a woman singing. Teenage Dinah’s interest in music lands her in trouble with the Court, leading to her father, Detective Larry Lance, to make a deal with them to protect her. However, his protection may be futile, as the arrival of the billionaire orphan Oliver Queen draws Dinah into further dealings with the Court while a visit from a friend of Dinah’s mother simultaneously draws her further into the Resistance. In the latest of the “DC Icons” series, Monir’s future Gotham City reflects the real restrictions placed upon women in some places in the world today: They cannot play sports, drive, or hold certain jobs, among other restrictions. Dinah’s superhero origin is about discovering that her own voice is her superpower, literally and figuratively. Much of the story’s conflict involves Dinah’s interactions with the men in her life and how much or little she can trust them. Her relationship with her supportive yet protective father is the real heart of the novel. VERDICT Monir deftly balances familiarity for DC fans and accessibility for new readers, blending superhero origin with coming-of-age tale in an excellent book for fans of comics and dystopian fiction, as well as reluctant readers.-Aaren Tucker, Univ. of Illinoisα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

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YALSA 2022 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Nominee

PRAISE FOR BLACK CANARY: BREAKING SILENCE

“Monir deftly balances familiarity for DC fans and accessibility for new readers, blending superhero origin with coming-of-age tale in an
excellent book for fans of comics and dystopian fiction, as well as reluctant readers.”—
School Library Journal

“Dinah is a powerful protagonist, vibrating with a youthful rage and energy familiar to readers itching for revolution of any kind. Monir never shies away fr