Book Review: Catwoman Novelization

Book: Catwoman by Elizabeth Hand
Screenplay: John Rogers, Mike Ferris and Brancato

Edition: Paperback

Description:

There’s a new Catwoman in town—a feline adventuress unlike any you’ve seen before. Discover all her sizzling secrets as she cracks her whip and sinks her claws into her most petrifying, death-defying adventure yet.

Patience Philips is a shrinking violet, not exactly a career booster at competitive Hedare Beauty, the huge cosmetics corporation where she’s a graphic designer. Self-conscious and easily unnerved, she hasn’t a chance of escaping detection after she uncovers a dirty little secret in Hedare’s top-secret research laboratory. Discovery means death, but the real shocker is what happens afterward.

In the blink of a cat’s eye, the meek designer is gone, replaced—through an ancient twist of fate—by a sleek, self-assured woman with dark, dazzling powers: Catwoman. She has scores to settle, rooftops to roam, and a sinister underworld to prowl, as she stalks her destiny like a feral feline. She also has a good-looking detective on her trail, someone who has fallen for Patience, but is drawn to Catwoman.

As two mighty forces gear up for the ultimate showdown, the fur will fly. . . .



Rating: 5 stars

Review:

The Catwoman novelization was very fast-paced and well-written but what I found so interesting is how the author wove in short stories from a book that Patience Phillips was reading. But I'm getting ahead of my review, let me start at the beginning. Catwoman follows Patience, a rather timid and shy woman who just seems to fade into the background and can't stand up for herself. She works in the art department at the Hedare Beauty company and was working on a the art for the company's latest advertising campaign. From trying to unsuccessfully deal with a noisy neighbor throwing a loud party late at night to dealing with trying to rescue a cat in the morning. When she tried to save the cat, it had Police Detective Tom Lone thinking she was trying to commit suicide because she was outside standing on a large air conditioner. Which at that moment was starting to wobble and she needed help or she was going to fall.

Rescue aside, Tom was rather intrigued by Patience because not only was she willing to save a cat but it wasn't even her cat that she risked her life in order to save. Romance wasn't on Patience's mind at the time, she needed to get to work. But working at Hedare Beauty is anything but glamorous. After a nerve wracking meeting with George Hedare and his wife Laurel, Patience was going to have to re-do her art for the campaign before the end of the day. Despite the mounting pressure, she did have something fun to look forward to, a date with Tom the next day. However, when she was trying to get her new designs to Mr. Hedare at the Hedare warehouse, she overheard information she wasn't supposed to which ended up costing Patience her life.

However, death was only the beginning of her story. Thanks to a very special cat (the one that she tried to rescue), Patience was about to embark on a brand new life, one where she found her voice and gained a whole new sense of being. But also enhanced abilities. With this re-awakening, Patience was becoming more bold and confident and she's going to use all of her newfound powers to solve her murder and stop a sinister plan at Hedare Beauty. I like that the reader got to see her transformation throughout the story. After being brought back to life her personality didn't change immediately just little moments such as speaking up to Mr. Hedare, dealing with her rude and noisy neighbor and stopping some thieves robbing a jewelry store before she fully embraced herself as Catwoman. She got some help understanding her new life from retired Professor Dr. Ophelia Powers who seems to know a good deal of information about the Catwoman and that very special cat named Midnight.

Finally embracing herself at Catwoman allowed Patience to become an entirely different person and she created the special heroic costume to go with it. There's a scene in the book that described how she created her costume and it's been a while since I've watched the movie and I'm not sure it was shown in the movie. So, it was interesting to see how she created it. Something else I found interesting was seeing how Patience and Tom were getting to know each other and see how their feelings were starting to grow. Although as Catwoman, Patience was meeting the official side of Police Detective Tom and the detective was pursuing the elusive Catwoman who unfortunately was being accused of several crimes. But she was determined to figure out who had killed her and to stop the devious plan at Hedare Beauty. But when Catwoman was set up for a high profile murder and Detective Lone closing in, will she be able to clear her name and achieve her mission?

Reading this book was just as enjoyable as watching the movie (which I'm a fan of), Catwoman is a story about Patience, a timid and invisible woman who finally got a chance to be seen and find her voice. She was taking control of her life and living it to its fullest. It doesn't hurt that she got enhanced abilities as well and stopping a few criminals along the way. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, there were a few interesting short stories included within the story. They were from a book that was written by Dr. Powers who had sent it to Patience to read. The stories helped showcase how when in need, the women at the center of the stories were given the chance to change, better or save their lives with some cat assistance and sometimes given enhanced abilities. I like that in both the movie and this novelization, there have been many Catwomen throughout time and Patience was now a part of that history.

The writing for this Catwoman novelization was very engaging and fast-paced, it's a good story with some action scene, a mystery, a little romance, funny and dramatic moments and self-discovery. And it takes an interesting look at the beauty industry. So, in conclusion, to be the Catwoman, is to fully embrace who you are and take control of you life.