Given that Bruce is the only person that Madeline will talk to, he begins working closely with the police in order to gain additional information from Madeleine about the Nightwalkers. She then starts feeding him little nuggets of information about the Nightwalkers, which Bruce ends up personally verifying. The more they talk, the more Bruce begins to feel a connection between the two of them. Through this new friendship, Bruce learns more of her background and history, and she really seems to understand him. The enigmatic Madeleine refuses to speak to the authorities, but she begins to strike up a conversation with Bruce during his daily chores.

There, he encounters Madeleine, the Nightwalker suspect who was apprehended as a result of Bruce’s interference. Welcome to ArkhamĪs a result of his meddling, Bruce is sentenced to community service at one of the worst places possible: the Arkham Asylum, home for the criminally insane which houses the most dangerous criminals in Gotham. But it’s only because of Bruce’s intervention that police were able to apprehend a suspected murderer who’s part of the gang called The Nightwalkers suspected of several murders and thefts in Gotham City. We already see Bruce’s desire to stop the crime and violence in his city early on as he intervenes in a police chase which lands him in hot water with Gotham City’s finest. The story begins on young Bruce Wayne’s high school graduation day, and Bruce has just come into his inheritance. This book shouldn’t really be called “Batman” as the story takes place before Bruce Wayne (who is eighteen in the book) has become Batman. What I found was a delightful, fast-paced original story based on the Batman theme and I loved the modernization of an old favorite. I’ve heard quite a bit of praise for Marie Lu’s books, and while browsing at the library, Batman caught my eye, especially given that I love superheroes and the idea of a teen Batman peaked my interest.

Batman by Marie Lu