Content levels
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
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 ticket to Arkham Asylum. 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?
Is Black Canary: Breaking Silence (DC Icons Series) appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 14 and up.
Parents should know this YA superhero origin story contains themes of patriarchal oppression, women stripped of rights, and political violence. Romance is present but chaste, with meaningful action sequences as Dinah fights against a totalitarian regime.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include captivity, political violence, and class struggle (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teen readers will connect with Dinah's journey to find her voice and fight for women's rights in a dystopian Gotham City ruled by the sinister Court of Owls.