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Reviewed by:
  • The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Kahaney, Amelia The Brokenhearted. HarperTeen/HarperCollins, 2013 [352p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-223092-8 $17.99 E-book ISBN 978-0-06-223094-2 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 7-10

Seventeen-year-old Anthem Fleet falls for artsy Gavin at an illicit underground party, and soon she’s breaking up with her wealthy boyfriend, skipping her ballet practices (once the focus of her life), and sneaking out at night from her parents’ high-rise penthouse to hang out on the seedier sides of Bedlam with her new lover. The criminal element of the South Side, however, takes notice of the rich girl in their midst, and one night Gavin is kidnapped by thugs and Anthem is killed when she falls into an icy river trying to save him. A good Samaritan and a black-market surgeon rescue and revive her, implanting in her chest a mechanical heart that gives her superhuman powers—the perfect weapon against Gavin’s captors, an underground crime ring that threatens to ruin Bedlam. From the similarities in name and crime statistics between Bedlam and Gotham to more subtle references, like Anthem’s shady father referring to his tuxedo as his “penguin suit,” the parallels to Batman are hard to miss here, and fans of that franchise will feel right at home with the wicked chase scenes and broody protagonist of this superhero origin story. Streetwise readers will likely catch a whiff of something foul the moment Gavin appears, but even they will be shocked by his ultimate betrayal and Anthem’s willingness to do what needs to be done to rid herself and the city of him. A subtly woven-in backstory involving the death of Anthem’s older sister and a former crime-fighting legend comes to the forefront in the surprising final pages, ensuring a sequel, while Anthem, with her unwillingness to be just another brokenhearted girl, will likely inspire legions of teenage girls to forget the guys and go kick some butt.

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