I really enjoyed this one! I normally don't read a lot of graphic novels, but this one caught my eye since Runaways has been very popular with students this year. They will like this one too!

This is an all to familiar scenario where a single mom chooses a boyfriend over her child. Selena’s mother has a string of boyfriends who stay a while, then move on. Selina now 14 is just an annoying insect to them. Until she brings in Darnell who stays.
Darnell is mean to Selina and abusive to her and cruel animals. Since her mom has chosen Darnell over her, Selina moves to the street. This marks her transformation to Catwoman. I found the story of Catwoman to be a bit choppy but her character was endearing to me. The illustrations all drawn in shades of blue were striking and felt cold which is the tone of the book.
I feel we shall hear more about the adventures of a Catwoman.

The artwork is absolutely outstanding, but the story is contrived, predictable, and cliched. It conforms to every stereotype and expectation of a badass-chick survival story, from the characters, to the tone, settings, language, etc., however, I am not the target audience for the book, but I am betting this graphic novel will be a big hit with them. I got lost in the artwork – the drawing, coloring, the compositions, and the flow of the panels. Kudos to Isaac Goodheart and Jeremy Lawson.

I highly enjoyed this DC Ink graphic novel. More than just a book that explores the early beginnings of a superhero, this graphic novel explores issues that I feel that modern teens deal with and will not have a difficult time connecting with it. Beautiful artwork and remarkable message that tugs at the heartstrings, this book will be a defnite favorite read with teens this year.

Soon-to-be published in May 2019 by DC Ink, the 208 page graphic novel Under the Moon is definitely not at all for kids below the high school age.. It was very dark. It is about Selina Kyle (the fifteen-year-old Catwoman) and how she grew up and tried to stay with a group and felt the grief that goes with it.
It was hard to figure out how I felt about this whole book. As I am not a "comics" kind of person and am not really into "superheroes," I virtually knew nothing about Catwoman, Selina Kyle or otherwise. So, I was sort of surprised at the amount of, shall we say, no-no words and the many f-bombs that I saw. The violence of the first part of the book was not fun to read, nor to see, but if we skip forward a bit to the whole scene where Selina is defending her gay friend, it was not fun. I think it was fine that she was defending her friend, but the graphic language used in the scene was very offensive and I had to stop about 5 sentences into that scene because I was cringing too much. But the worst bit to me was the cold-blooded murder of an adorable cat. It was just too much. I was biased to the negative after that.
Then the story picked up a bit and became a little more interesting, and even little Rosie's very dark history was tolerable. The rest of the story was better but still dark-ish. Still, the artist's drawings were very good and I enjoyed looking at (most) of them.
I received this graphic novel as an e-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An amazing and realistic origin story for Selena Kyle (AKA Catwoman). Selena is a young teen living in an abusive household that learns what it means to be strong and stand on her own.

Good spin on the Catwoman backstory, makes her feel more personable. It is, naturally a bit on the darker side, but i can see a few of my students actually reading in their spare time with this creative graphic novel!

I found the story a bit predictable but I liked the characterization of Catwoman. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the kids in the crew but I don't know if Bruce Wayne needed to be a part of the story.

She's appeared in numerous Batman comics. Her own monthly feature title began in 2018. She's been played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Anne Hathaway, and Halle Berry in various film incarnations. And in many of those instances readers and viewers caught snippets of backstory. Well ... Lauren Myracle has written a story that covers the very young years of Selina Kyle's life up to the start of her time on the streets as a teenage runaway.

Be warned, this is not for the faint of heart. The abusive conditions of Kyle's home, her rebellious spirit, and the various losses she suffers will all cause sympathy pains. But they also show her resilience and explain her disdain for rules and the status quo. Among the other scenes, we see some of her history with Bruce Wayne and the beginnings of their complicated relationship.

Selina is smart, determined, believes in looking out for those she cares for, and comes much too early to the knowledge that we can't always protect those we love. As she adjusts to life on the streets, she is also making the choices that will define who she becomes. This is not an easy story and there are a lot of gray areas - which are reflected in the color scheme of the artwork.

Recommended for YA readers who enjoy DC comics, superheroes and villains, urban survival stories, and young women who can kick butt when needed.

Thanks to NetGalley and DC Comics for the advanced view of this graphic novel.

I must say that I am disappointed. This is an interesting story with compelling characters. I can only imagine how difficult the life of a homeless person can be and this is a typical comic books depiction. But, how can you advertise this as appropriate for YA when the language and inappropriate descriptions of body parts are so offensive?

This is one of the first titles of its kind that I’ve read and I will admit I was pleasantly surprised. As a Marvel fan I usually don’t *love* DC stories but this one was well done.

This was a great take on Catwoman’s backstory! I loved the monochrome art as well, so atmospheric.

The highlight of this book for me was the characterization of Selina Kyle. She really felt like a multifaceted character, both reluctantly kind and unapologetically independent in turns. The depiction of her toxic home life was also very well done, accurate without falling back on too much cliche.

I have a soft spot in my heart for superhero stories, but I’ve always been turned off reading mainstream DC/Marvel comics every time I run into yet another female character who has been sexually abused. I’m so glad the author decided not to go that route with Selina, and I hope we get the next installment of this story soon!

What a great story line for the start of catwoman! This will be so relatable to young girls who are into graphic novels. I love Selina's constant battle of what she know/believes will happen versus what really happens and the good versus evil in her conscience. I can't wait to see how Bruce and Selina's relationship evolve since she is out to prove she needs no one. I'm ready for the next!

I could not put it down and I generally find graphic novels lacking in story. I hope this becomes a series of novels because I want to read them all! I loved the jokes about other DC characters! My only complaint too short! More story!!

DC is bribing back short, single titles of some of the female characters and showing their origins in a new light (see, "Mera"). So far, these titles have been amazing! Very fun, great art and use of color, and really interesting stories. I enjoyed the Catwoman (or Catgirl, rather, since that is what she's called in the comic) tragedy aspect - she comes from a painful home where she is underappreciated and abused, and builds herself into something new.

When I was younger and people asked what I wanted to be, the answer was Catwoman. The answer remains the same as an adult, even though I'm a dog person. Under the Moon by Lauren Myracle is sure to inspire a new generation of girls to want to grow to be Catwoman.

Under the Moon follows teenage Selina Kyle and her journey to become Catwoman, well, Catgirl. Selina lives with her mom and her mom's abusive boyfriend. Selina was once good friends with the popular Bruce Wayne, but their friendship has fizzled in recent years. A terrible act of cruelty leads Selina to leave her home and use her wits to survive on the street. One night while walking, she meets Ojo, a skiled parkour athlete, who trains her cat like reflexes. Along with Yang and Briar Rose, Selina finds a sort of family, while still maintaining her independence.

Because of the themes of abuse and some harsh language, this is best suited for high school students. Anyone who has every enjoyed a Catwoman comic will find much to enjoy here. A great origin story for new readers as well. The art is fantastic, and Selina is a complicated protagonist who readers will be rooting for.

Thanks to DC Comics and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plowed through this in like 30 minutes. I am really enjoying these DC Ink books. I thought this book really capture the essence of Selina’s character, and it felt developed, despite the shortness of the book (though the ending felt rushed compared to the rest of the story, with some questions left). Recommended read!

I think Catwoman is a very difficult story to do, and lots of people think they can do her justice.

So the good: the artwork, diverse characters, lots of cats.
The not so good: lots and lots of f-bombs, self-harm, a plot that does a lot of things but nothing at all, characters that are poorly defined (all we know about Tristan is that he is gay, all we know about Yang is that he is good at computers) and a timeline that doesn't fit anywhere in DCU. I wanted to like it, but it's not great.

The art in this graphic novels is nice, but the story seems quite juvenile and only loosely related to the characters from the comics. In some ways this book would best for a reader who is in the 9-12 age range, except the swear words make it more appropriate for older tweens/teens. I am not usually bothered by swear words but the ones in Under the Moon seemed out of place and as if they didn't fit the tone of the rest of the book.

Catwoman is one of my favorites. She’s a complete badass and her stories are always interesting. This was one of those origin stories that was absolutely amazing.

Selina has a rough life. Her mom moves from guy to guy and they aren’t always the nicest. Her Moms latest beau is verbally and physically abusive. Selina has had enough and runs away. She lives on the streets, until a group takes her under their wings. And now this group has sinister plans to rob a mansion. Will Selina use her cat like stealth to help them?

Everything about this was awesome. The story was intriguing and never let up. The art was beautiful and paired with the colors, it was stunning.

😍😍😍

Not my favorite story of Catwoman. I bit over brutal in the beginning for a YA version. And certain things just didn't add up to the Catwoman origin of the past.

While it might not have been for me (I'm a pretty big DC fan) I still think that there is a market out there for this book and that there are teens who will read it and like it.