Wildcats: A Graphic Novel

Wildcats #1

by Crystal Velásquez, Eva Cabrera (illustrator)

Mina is just an average middle schooler. But when she starts attending a new boarding school that her parents also attended, she and three other girls learn that they have generational powers that turn them into wild cats. Navigating this new reality, the girls will have to use their powers to figure out the mysterious temple that sits under the school’s museum, and defeat the evil forces who want to unleash chaos on the school…and the world.

As Mina struggles to navigate the cliques of her new school she is taken under the wing of Miss Benitez, a mysterious but kind history teacher. She tells Mina and three other girls—Lin, Ana, and Shani—that their families gifted the priceless objects housed in the school’s museum. Ms. Benitez thinks it’s important that the girls understand their ancestry.

It turns out that Ms. Benitez is the curator of the museum, and it sits on top of a mysterious temple, the ancient meeting place of a dangerous group called the Brotherhood of Chaos. When one of the priceless objects is shattered, the girls find out exactly why their heritage is so it gives them the power to turn into wild cats. Now, in the form of a jaguar, a tiger, a puma, and a lion, they must work together to fight the chaos spirits that were unleashed when the object was shattered…and uncover the terrifying plans of those who want to resurrect the Brotherhood of Chaos.

Wild Cats is full of adventure, heart, and friendship. This full-color graphic novel is ripe for fans of mythology, superheroes, and, of course, cats!

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Mythology, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2025

Reviews

[Megan Nicolls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with my 10 year old. It was super engaging. While I may have found it predictable, my child did not. It was super fun to read together and can’t wait to read the next one.

[Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super engaging Middle Grade graphic novel — great for fans of the Animorphs series. I also love the inclusion of mythology (from various cultures so we aren’t just stuck with the Greeks!). The narrative flowed nicely and I am excited to read more. Both my 6th grade son and 5th grade daughter enjoyed this.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventure meets middle school drama with danger and intrigue as four very different girls need to save the world.

Mina just started the new school, but she's having problems dealing with the kids around her. Her roommate seems over-zealous in making her a best friend, but the girl isn't really on the same wave length as Mina with interests surrounding fashion, social status, and a bit of manipulation to stay popular. Not only is Mina not really interested in all of this (and finds it mean), but she's dealing with secrets no one would ever understand. When Mina's roommate pushes bullying up a notch with a girl in class, Mina can't take anymore and finds her anger forcing her secret to the surface—she changes into a puma. It's not something she even understands herself. After all, no one turns into a puma usually. She escapes to the bathroom and barely hides her abilities as the girl she protected comes to check on her. Somehow, the entire thing lands all girls involved in a meeting with a teacher in a museum. There, Mina discovers there's much more going on than she could have ever dreamed...and her life takes on an entirely new meaning.

This reminds me a bit of the cartoon series Totally Spies! but with a mythical twist, which dives into the various ancient gods from around the world. The four girls are as different as can be, and they don't get along. This makes for an interesting back-and-forth as they discover their connections, and it opens the door to messages about learning to work together despite differences. This message alone offers tons of arc and possibilities as it covers a huge span, and probably will for some of the series to come. Plus, it fits very well to the intended audience and middle school problems. The differences also offer interesting dialogue, characters, and interactions. Sometimes snippy, while others are humorous. It makes each one interesting, and also leaves room for them to individually grow in the future.

Then, there's the action, and there is action. This builds as the girls settle into their roles and take on the evil forces. These scenes are gripping and pop up just enough to keep the tension high. With mystery and intrigue also paving the way, the girls need to research aspects of the mythology and learn, step-by-step, what they're dealing with. Plus, there are some bigger surprises and unexpected twists to keep everyone on their toes.

It's a grabbing beginning to what promises to be a fun series. I can see readers enjoying this quite a bit and am looking forward to what these four will be faced with in the upcoming tales.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mina at a new boarding school, Temple Academy--why did her late parents want her to go here? --(besides having met here). Mina has a manipulative and spoiled roommate, Nicole, who wants to isolate her as her BFF, but who is shallow and jealous. A bigger concern: Mina's, recently been able to turn into a puma (!), and is terrified and struggling to learn to control this ability. Turns out there are three other girls here who can turn into other big cats (yay!)(with varying degrees of acceptance), and their powers are developing now because an evil force (chaos gods from various cultures led by Anubis, the Egyptian god of death) is rising and they are needed to foil it. Turns out one of their teachers is an ancient goddess, who mentors them until she lands in the hospital and they are on their own.
Ends as a cliffhanger, after developing loyalty (and telepathy when cats) for each other and lots of fighting with evil jackals. There's also the cute, supportive principal's son, who prefers Mina to Nicole (uh oh).

Various cultures and mythologies represented in the four girls.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite sure why this middle grade graphic novel didn't work for me. The premise, teen girls turn into big cats, seems promising enough, and mythology is usually a big interest for me. It just didn't feel like the book was really engaging with the mythology at all. A fairly well known deity appears, and behaves in an entirely out of character way. So much so that I'm really confused as to why this particular deity was used, instead of one that would suit the planned story more. The dialog was also a little clunky, which didn't help.

[Corina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun middle grade graphic novel featuring four girls at a boarding school who have the ability to turn into big cats to fight evil. Incorporates bits of mythology from numerous cultures. Overall engaging but sometimes a little hard to follow.

Kid1 declared they enjoyed this but declared it was not as good as Animorphs.

[D.T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt basic and standard. I think there were some attempts to add depth to the girls (namely Lin's performance anxiety and Nicole's hidden loneliness despite her shallowness and vanity), but it couldn't keep my interest.

Should be fun for kids, though

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

solid. some panels were confusing, as though scenes were missing. the story was fine, and the art is cool enough. the real shining glory of this book is the rich diversity in characters and histories.

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four girls at a boarding school discover they all have the ability to change into large cats--an ability that only comes out when evil is about. Touches on the mythology of four ancient cultures.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the source novel ages ago and was tickled to find the graphic adaptation release.

[Lucy Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wildcats mixes different mythologies so that four girls from different ancestry all turn into big cats to defeat evil. The art style made it difficult for me to distinguish certain characters.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fun but turning teenage girls into cats has been done to death. Would be good for young history buffs

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novel fantasy where four middle school girls discover they can transform into various large wildcats and must work together to save the world.