Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
“Tempest Tossed” gives us a quick origin story to Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, before tossing her into our modern world. The plot focuses on the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean and child trafficking in the U.S. While I think superheroes are a good way to bring up tough subjects, this felt very heavy handed at times.
Diana becomes the naive lens through which the reader encounters the issues at hand. She asks all the poignant questions and the other characters are set up to share what’s going on and why it’s important. Diana’s frustration with modern society is very valid, although there’s not a lot of solutions given. This really felt more like a PSA than a deep social critique. It may be that this is aimed at younger readers or those who aren’t as aware of the refugee crisis or child trafficking. If that’s the case, this would be a good starting point to bring up those topics. For everyone else, this was a good but not enlightening read.
