Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story: 03/25/21

Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story by Lauren Myracle and Isaac Goodhart is a YA imagining of how Victor Fries met Nora. In the versions I've seen before, Victor and Nora were adults when the met and when he ended up freezing her. I'm not sure it works as effectively when Victor is a wunderkind young doctor and Nora is a teen who is facing the reality of not making it to adulthood.

Nora Kumar has moved back to her home town with her father and brother. She has an incurable disease that is slowly killing her. That knowledge has given her a carefree bordering on reckless take on life. At first glance she comes off as flaky and careless. At second and third glances, it's obvious she's hoping for suicide by adventure, rather than a disease driven death.

Victor Fries has closed off his heart since losing his brother in a house fire. He's been focused on his research. But Nora's lust for life has warmed his heart. But learning about her diagnosis puts him on a dangerous research path.

Here's where the story falls apart for me. Nora as a teen doesn't have the agency to be a willing partner in Victor's experiment. Sure, he ultimately wants to save her life, but he goes about the process in a way where she can't possibly consent. He's also clearly making unethical choices because of lust disguised as love.

As there is frank talk of death and suicide in the graphic novel, the back of book has resources for anyone who may need them.

Four stars

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