GAL GADOT

Some authors would find it a challenge to write an entire book about an actress who’s played only one really big role, but Sherman makes a case that Gal Gadot has spent her whole life preparing to play Wonder Woman.

Gadot’s parents taught her to be confident. When she was 3, she sneaked into their rooftop party, late at night, and when no one paid attention to her, she started spraying the guests with water. At 20, she trained soldiers in the Israeli military. And when she became Miss Israel, as a teenager, she felt uncomfortable with the role and often refused to wear the makeup and gowns required of a Miss Universe contestant, showing up at many events in casual outfits. If these details aren’t genuinely heroic, the book frames them to sound like an origin story. It makes her sound assured and rebellious, two of the main requirements for a superheroine. But when the biography isn’t talking about Wonder Woman, it sometimes feels padded. It indulges in plot summaries of some of the movies she’s appeared in, and there’s a description of the hotel she ran with her husband that reads like promotional copy: “Guests appreciate the quiet privacy as well as the views of the nearby Mediterranean Sea.” But there is a fair amount of information about her audition for the role of Wonder Woman, which is what kids really want.

If Gadot is less of a heroine than the character she portrays, this book may convince readers she’s close enough.