Starred Review Kara Danvers is your typical 16-year-old, worried about zits on picture day, wolfing down junk food with her best friends, and a little surly with her well-meaning but out-of-touch parents. Of course, there's also her superpowers and the alien pod she arrived in eight years ago hidden in the barn. A lot of this origin story will sound familiar to anyone who knows about Superman, but Tamaki breathes new life into the story with her pitch-perfect ear for teen dialogue and keen focus on building well-rounded, vibrant characters. Kara's friendship with track teammates Dolly and Jen is the emotional core of the story, and when tragedy strikes during a freak earthquake at a track meet, it's a heartbreaking, believable spark for Kara's incipient heroic ambitions. Jones' fantastic artwork nods at iconic Superman imagery, but her style is much more naturalistic. Her figures are refreshingly varied in body shape and skin tone, and she renders the athletic teen girls with undeniable strength but not a hint of the oversexualization that's so pervasive in superhero comics. Dynamic splash pages, varied panel layouts, cinematic action, and dense, lush colors are icing on an already delicious cake. Even teens who don't typically go for caped crusaders might find something to like here. Among the massive field of superhero comics, this one is an impressive standout.

Kara Danvers' bad day begins when she pops a zit. As origin stories go, Tamaki (The Moon Is Up, 2018, etc.) focuses on Kara the teenager over all else. Having arrived on Earth as a young child, she endures bad dreams and has no idea that she's an alien. Blonde, blue-eyed Kara has just turned 16, and her odd abilities are glitching. At a track meet, an earthquake takes the lives of several people, including one of Kara's best friends, who slips out of her grasp. Later, when responding to a mysterious cry for help, she discovers not only the reason for her malfunctioning strength and the quake, but a dark-haired, olive-skinned man strapped to a table who speaks a language that she has only heard in her head and who has the answers to her questions about where she is from. His escape from the facility, however, causes problems that Kara could have anticipated if she was not so busy giggling at his face and admiring his abs. Superpowers are sidelined by the drama of fitting in, keeping secrets, and dealing with grief. Of her small circle of friends, the brown-skinned lesbian Dolly has enough sass to power Kara through everyday interactions as well as the weightier theme of the death of a loved one.More "teen drama" than "super," this is an interesting choice for those looking for more than the usual hero fare. (Graphic novel. 12-16)

In this reboot of Supergirl, Kara, cousin of Superman, lives a normal high school life with her best friends, sporty Jennifer and purple-haired, girl-crazy Dolly. After Kara fails to save Jennifer from dying in an earthquake, she challenges her adoptive father-s insistence that she hide her superpowers. Tan-on, another survivor of Krypton, offers her a connection to her past, but he also seeks revenge upon those who harm Kryptonians. Kara will have to decide what kind of person she wants to become and which moral lines she should cross. Tamaki and Jones have created a fun and sincere version of Supergirl whose relationships are realistic and poignant and who will attract a broad audience. Kara grows as a character as she faces increasingly complex and harrowing circumstances. This first volume gives direction to the protagonist, unpacks her origin story, and pulls her into the larger DC universe, all while delivering a grounded tale that shows Kara as both a person and a hero. Ages 10-up. (June)