Young Adult Comics & Graphic Novels

An end to the endless war--the possibility of stopping the Legion once and for all. Such is humanity's most fervent desire. But in the war-free world of tomorrow, what will become of the Eighty-Six? Many have gained renewed faith in the future. Some have found love; others, new aspirations. But what of those who have yet to dream? The warm rays of hope have bent their iron wills and distorted their realities. For those tragic few, the worst is yet to come...

In Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre, author Alverne Ball and illustrator Stacey Robinson have crafted a love letter to Greenwood, Oklahoma. Also known as Black Wall Street, Greenwood was a community whose importance is often overshadowed by the atrocious massacre that took place there in 1921.

Across the Tracks introduces the reader to the businesses and townsfolk who flourished in this unprecedented time of prosperity for Black Americans. We learn about Greenwood and why it is essential to remember the great achievements of the community as well as the tragedy which nearly erased it. However, Ball is careful to recount the eventual recovery of Greenwood. With additional supplementary materials including a detailed preface, timeline, and historical essay, Across the Tracks offers a thorough examination of the rise, fall, and rebirth of Black Wall Street.

Adrian isn't very happy these days. He lives in a small town and goes to a Catholic high school. He wears glasses, secretly reads philosophy books, and wishes he had more muscles. He's dogged by a strict mother, bullied by fellow players on the soccer field, and chastised by the school principal, who considers gay rumors about Adrian as a sign that he is ill. But Jeremy, the coolest kid at school, thinks otherwise; he takes Adrian on scooter trips, where they end up in Jeremy's secret treehouse stealing kisses. Adrian finds himself falling in love, until Jeremy's girlfriend rats them out, sending Jeremy into a tailspin of embarrassment for being different than the rest. What will become of him?

Adrian and the Tree of Secrets is a poignant, beautifully illustrated graphic novel about first love, growing up, and having the courage to be true to yourself.

Hubert studied at the School of Fine Arts in Angers, where he first set his career sights on comics. He has written a number of graphic novels and comic series in French, including one that has been translated into English: Miss Don't Touch Me, Vols. 1 and 2, a graphic novel series set in Paris in the 1930s.

Marie Caillou studied fine arts in Strasbourg, France, and then in 1995 went to Brussels to study animation. She has directed short animated films, including a series entitled Peur(s) du Noir (Fear of the Dark). This is her first book to appear in English.

After the Rain is an adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's short story, "On the Road." The adaptation, written by John Jennings and illustrated by David Brame, begins in Nigeria during a powerful and unexpected storm. While visiting her grandmother, a young Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at the door and is horrified by what she sees--a young boy with a severe head wound is standing on the doorstep.

When he touches Chioma, his hand burns like fire and just as suddenly as he arrived, he disappears. Her grandmother comes down to see what is wrong and chastises Chioma for opening the door for a stranger. Outside there are only footprints in the mud which vanish in the same manner as their owner.

This event sets off a chain of mysterious occurrences that become more and more terrifying. Chioma knows that something is wrong, and that the boy has "marked" her in some way. . . . Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive.

Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now. Written by #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds.

Jason Reynolds and his best bud, Jason Griffin, had a mind-meld. And they decided to tackle it, in one fell swoop, in about ten sentences, and 300 pages of art, this piece, this contemplation-manifesto-fierce-vulnerable-gorgeous-terrifying-WhatIsWrongWithHumans-hope-filled-hopeful-searing-Eye-Poppingly-Illustrated-tender-heartbreaking-how-The-HECK-did-They-Come-UP-with-This project about oxygen. And all of the symbolism attached to that word, especially NOW.

And so for anyone who didn't really know what it means to not be able to breathe, REALLY breathe, for generations, now you know. And those who already do, you'll be nodding yep yep, that is exactly how it is.

Harvey Award Nominee, Best Children or Young Adult Book

A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life--perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo.

For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.

So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated.

Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn't understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn't fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to--her mother.

Then one day Robin's mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.

This nonfiction graphic novel with four starred reviews is an excellent choice for teens and also accelerated tween readers, both for independent reading and units on immigration, memoirs, and the search for identity.

This socially conscious thriller from graphic novelist Canizales examines the injustices of his home country in a stark, distinctive style.

Andrea, a young Indigenous Colombian woman, has returned to the land she calls home. Only nineteen years old, she comes to mourn her lost child, carrying a box in her arms. And she comes with another mission. Andrea has hidden a camera upon herself. If she can capture evidence of the illegal mining that displaced her family, it will mark the first step toward reclaiming their land.

As a child growing up in Malaysia, Shing Yin Khor had two very different ideas of what "America" meant.

The first looked a lot like Hollywood, full of beautiful people, sunlight, and freeways. The second looked more like The Grapes of Wrath--a nightmare landscape filled with impoverished people, broken-down cars, barren landscapes, and broken dreams.

Follow along on Shing's solo journey (small adventure-dog included) along the iconic Route 66, beginning in Santa Monica and ending up Chicago. What begins as a road trip ends up as something more like a pilgrimage in search of an American landscape that seems forever shifting and forever out of place.

"Just like Shing in real life, The American Dream? is quirky, honest, captivating, and filled with recollections of weird roadside statues."--Carol L. Tilley, comics historian and information science professor

"Shing Yin Khor's debut graphic memoir The American Dream? is the critical antidote to the whitewashed narratives of the great American road trip." --Kristina Wong, performance artist and activist

"A lovely, deceptively simple road trip memoir that revels in quirky discovery and quiet adventure while grappling with the anger and longing of one immigrant's experience." --Greg Pak, comic book writer

"Khor takes that 'feeling of desperately searching for something better, for a new start, ' and adapts it to their own 'pilgrimage' as immigrant and artist traveling historic Route 66 . . . in whimsical full-color detail."--starred, Booklist

"This is a book that will make you want to pack a bag, jump in your car and travel across America."--Geek Mom

A Forbes Best Graphic Novel of 2019

Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part . . .

Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century.

Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend--even a ghost--is just what she needs.

Or so she thinks.
Spooky, sardonic, and secretly sincere, Anya's Ghost is a wonderfully entertaining debut graphic novel from author/artist Vera Brosgol.

This title has Common Core connections.

Anya's Ghost is a 2011 Kirkus Best Teen Books of the Year title.
One of School Library Journal's Best Fiction Books of 2011.
One of Horn Book's Best Fiction Books of 2011.
Winner of the 2012 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12-17)

As a transfer student to the Georgia O'Keeffe College for Arts and Subtle Dramatics, former sports star Charlie is struggling to find her classes, her dorm, and her place amongst a student body full of artists who seem to know exactly where they're going. When the school's barely-a-basketball-team unexpectedly attempts to recruit her, Charlie's adamant that she's left that life behind...until she's won over by the charming team captain, Liv, and the ragtag crew she's managed to assemble. And while Charlie may have left cut-throat competition in the dust, sinking these hoops may be exactly what she needs to see the person she truly wants to be.

From Carly Usdin (Heavy Vinyl) and artist Noah Hayes (Wet Hot American Summer, Goldie Vance) comes an ensemble comedy series that understands that it's the person you are off the court that matters most.