Wonder Woman: The Deluxe Junior Novel

Based on the feature film, this junior novelization was the first book based on the new movie to hit the stands - and, being the Wonder Woman fanatic that I am, I had to buy it.  I mean, let's face it - as great as the movie was, there was no way they could mess up the novelization of it, right?

Well...

For the most part, the book remains pretty faithful to the movie, although with a few variations that I have to believe were done for the sake of keeping it from being too violent and adult for the young readers.  For instance, one of the characters who dies on Themyscria in the beginning of the film does not die in the book; and, when Diana walks in on Steve stepping out of the baths, the book has him quickly wrapping a towel around himself (which did not happen in the film!).  And while some minor events and elements were skipped or glossed over that had no heavy bearing on the overall plot, as the book neared the conclusion, things suddenly changed...drastically!

I mean, c'mon.  Where's Ares?  In the film (spoiler here!), Ares plays an important part from the beginning, as the Amazons are basically in constant training so as to be prepared is Ares returns.  This aspect is mentioned briefly in the beginning of the book, that was it.  It's never brought up again, and Diana never once mentions him when she does into man's world.  And that epic battle at the climax of the film is completely missing in the novelization.

And that all-important sacrifice that one of the characters makes, something that has major impact in the film, is also not featured in the book.  In fact, Diana's whole reason for doing what she does at the end is completely re-written, and no sacrifice is needed (meaning that all characters survive in the book).

What were they thinking?  The book is adapted by Steve Korte, and I have no idea who this author is.  Perhaps this novelization was taken from an earlier version of the script? Although, to be honest, I've not read anywhere that there were any major re-writes, and there would have to be for the ending to be so different as it is in the book.  I guess when they say "based" on the feature film, the mean just that.  It's based on it, it is not a true novelization of it.

I did buy the deluxe edition, which is hardcover with the glossy photo and also has 8 pages of photos inside (which do not spoil anything from the film, if you were wondering). So, although the story was a bit off, the book itself is nicely put together and worth having for that alone.

Now, I also bought the adult novelization of the film, so when I get around to reading that one, we'll see how faithful that is to the film.

RATING:  7 melting gas masks out of 10 for getting Wonder Woman out there in the market again and hopefully leading more young readers to follow her adventures!