In this version of the story of Victor Fries and Nora Faria, Victor is mourning the death of his brother, and Nora is coping with the illness she knows will eventually kill her. When they find each other, their romance is a whirlwind, with Nora wanting to live to the fullest before she sets her plan in action--she's planning to commit suicide before her illness makes living a constant struggle. When Victor finds out, he does everything in his power, particularly through his internship at Boyle Labs, to find a cure. Will he be able to save her, or will this tragedy start him down a path of crime? Goodheart's beautiful, vivid artwork shifts throughout the book to reflect changing fears, dreams, and realities, and the light pastels and sepia tones in the palette help evoke a dreamy, fantastical atmosphere. The back matter includes information about mental health resources. Readers looking for a tragic romance with moral ambiguities, even those unfamiliar with the DC universe, will appreciate this backstory of one of Gotham's most notorious criminals.

At a young age, teens Victor and Nora became all too familiar with death. Several years ago, Victor lost his brother and Nora her mother. Now, Victor interns at a lab where he is working on a technology to freeze and reanimate living things, work that has led his colleagues to call him a genius. Nora, on the other hand, is battling a degenerative neurological disease that will result in her untimely death. Determined to enjoy what is left of her life and to die on her own terms, Nora decides to take her life on her 17th birthday, before the disease makes her unrecognizable to herself and her loved ones. But then she and Victor fall in love, and Victor proposes an experimental strategy that could give them extra time together--or could ruin their relationship forever. While the book's dialogue and characterization are compelling, the plot leans on predictable romantic tropes--most notably a quirky Manic Pixie Dream Girl pulling an awkward, brooding scientist out of his shell--leaving little room for surprises. The book's illustrations are stunning, brilliantly moving between sepia- and blue-toned palettes to heighten the story's mood. Victor appears White. Nora, her father, and brother have brown skin and wavy, black hair; her late mother's name was Sulani Faria, but there are no clues to the family's cultural or ethnic identities. An entertaining romance that leans into tired tropes. (Graphic romance. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.