2020 Great Graphic Novels for Teens
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2020 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Members of the 2020 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Blogging Team are: Tina H. Lerno, chair, Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA; Megan Baird, Yuma County Library District, Yuma AZ; Crystal Chen, The New York Public Library, Bronx, NY; Erin Durrett, Clinton-Macomb Public Library, Clinton Township, MI; Traci Glass, Nashville Public Library, Nashville TN; Thea Hashagen, Mill Valley Public Library, Mill Valley, CA; Lindsey Helfrich, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, CA; Kali Olson, The Blake School, Minneapolis, MN; Christine Pyles, Euclid Public Library, Euclid, OH; Celeste Rhoads, The American Library in Paris, Paris France; Loren Spector, Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA; Becky Standal, Longview Public Library, Longview, WA; Allie Stevens, Calhoun County Library, Hampton, AR; Audrey Sumser, Stark Library, Canton, OH. * denotes top ten (http://www.ala.org/yalsa/2020-great-graphic-novels-teens-top-ten) title NONFICTION Best Friends. By Shannon Hale. Art by LeUyen Pham. First Second. 2019. $12.99. ISBN: 978- 1250317469. Shannon heads into sixth grade full of confidence and hope for the best year ever. Her best friend Jen is the most popular girl in school, but stepping out from Jen's shadow might be the only way for Shannon to be true to herself—even if it means admitting that her best friends aren't the right friends anymore. Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey. By Akiko Higashimura. Art by the author. 2019. Vol. 1. Seven Seas Entertainment. $13.99. ISBN: 978-1642750690. Vol. 2. Seven Seas Entertainment. $13.99. ISBN: 978-1642750706. An autobiographical tale of the author's journey. High schooler Akiko has big plans to become a popular mangaka before she even graduates, but she needs to get much better at drawing if she ever wants to reach her goal. Charlotte Bronte Before Jane Eyre. By Glynnis Fawkes. Art by the author. Disney Hyperion. 2019. $17.99. ISBN: 978-1368023290. Tells the life story of novelist Charlotte Bronte from her mother's death when Charlotte was five years old up to the publication of Jane Eyre. The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler. By John Hendrix. Art by the author. Abrams ComicArts. 2018. $24.99. ISBN: 978-1419728389. In 1930s Germany, pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer watches as his country is taken over by Adolf Hilter. To save his country and humanity from Hitler's megalomania, Dietrich realizes that to be true to God, he must join fellow German conspirators in a plot to kill Hitler. Femme Magnifique: 50 Magnificent Women Who Changed The World. By Shelly Bond. Art by various. Black Crown. 2018. $29.99. ISBN: 978-1684053209. A comic book anthology dedicated to the wonderful women who have made the world great. Each subject gets a 4-page summary of their life and accomplishments and is written and drawn by a variety of writers and illustrators. Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918. By Don Brown. Art by the author. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2019. $18.99. ISBN: 978-0544837409. The story of the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918. Gender Queer: A Memoir. By Maia Kobabe. Art by the author. Lion Forge. 2019. $17.99. ISBN: 978- 1549304002. Genderqueer author and artist Maia Kobabe, who uses the non-binary e/em/eir pronouns, knew from childhood that e didn't fit traditional definitions of female, and was never completely comfortable thinking of emself as male either. E explores big themes like gender, sexuality, sex, relationships, and family side-by-side with specific individual experiences of bullying, clothing, haircuts, coming out and finding community. Grass. By Keum Suk Gendry-Kim. Art by the author. Drawn and Quarterly. 2019. $29.95. ISBN: 978- 1770463622. The story of Lee Ok-sun, a Korean woman born into abject poverty and hard labor, denied any formal education, adopted out by her desperate parents, kidnapped off the street, and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. Upon liberation, Lee was outcast, homeless, eventually settling into an abusive marriage that kept her in China for the next fifty years before finally returning to Korea to reclaim her identity. Guts. By Raina Telgemeier. Art by the author. Scholastic. 2019. $24.99. ISBN: 978-0545852517. The autobiographical story of the author's struggles with anxiety and the resulting stomachaches during her fourth-grade year. The characters are relatable and endearingly written, and the readers will enjoy getting to know Raina and her friends and family as Raina learns to deal with the changes around her and gets her body and mind under control. Hawking. By Jim Ottaviani. Art by Leland Myrick. First Second. 2019. $29.99. ISBN: 9781620103838. Tells the story of Stephen Hawking's life, focusing on his career in science. I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation. By Natalie Nourigat. Art by the author. Boom! Box. 2019. $9.99. ISBN: 978-1684152919. Natalie moved from Portland to LA to transition from comic book illustrator to work in animation and find her true calling. Learning things like storyboarding, studio culture, as well as finding an apartment and getting by in the City of Angels taught Natalie more than she realized. *I Was Their American Dream: a Graphic Memoir. By Malaka Gharib. Art by the author. Clarkson Potter. 2019. $16.99. ISBN: 978-0525575115. Malaka tells her story of being Filipino, Egyptian and American growing up in Cerritos, California. She details her life of being the “perfect Filipino kid” during the year with her mom while also trying to navigate the customs of her father’s home in Egypt during the summer. In Waves. By AJ Dungo. Art by the author. Nobrow. 2019. $18.95. ISBN: 978-1910620632. A passion for surfing unites the narratives in AJ Dungo's graphic novel memoir—from Hawaiians in the eighteen and nineteen-hundreds to Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku and surfboard designer Tom Blake in the twentieth century, to his resilient girlfriend Kristin who is quietly dying of bone cancer. Dungo explores the history of surfing side-by-side with Kristin's history of recovery and relapse. King of King Court. By Travis Dandro. Art by the author. Drawn and Quarterly. 2019. $29.95. ISBN: 978- 1770463592. Travis Dandro recounts growing up with a drug-addicted birth father, alcoholic step-dad, and overwhelmed mother. As a kid, Dandro would temper the everyday tension with flights of fancy, finding refuge in toys and animals and insects rather than in the unpredictable adults around him. Let’s Make Ramen! A Comic Book Cookbook. By Hugh Amano. Art by Sarah Becan. Ten Speed Press. 2019. $19.99. ISBN: 978-0399581991. A comic book cookbook with accessible ramen recipes for the home cook, including simple weeknight bowls, weekend project stocks, homemade noodles, and an array of delicious accompaniments. The illustrations are clear, engaging, and mouth-watering, and both the illustrations and text go a long way toward making a complicated and often difficult process seem accessible and fun. *The Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave's Journey from Bondage to Freedom. By David F. Walker. Art by Damon Smyth, Marissa Louise.Ten Speed Press. 2019. $17.99. ISBN: 978-0399581441. The story of Frederick Douglass from his birth into slavery to his celebration by dignitaries is brought to readers in this spectacular graphic novel. A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities. By Mady G. Art by Mady G., J.R. Zuckerberg. Limerence Press. 2019. $9.99. ISBN: 978-1620105863. An educational guide to queer and trans identities. The guide discusses the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation and defines different terms, as well as discussions on gender expression, gender dysphoria, asexuality, coming out, and the basics of a healthy relationship. *They Called Us Enemy. By George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott. Art by Harmony Becker. Top Shelf Productions, an imprint of IDW Publishing. 2019. $19.99. ISBN: 978-1603094504. Before he was Sulu on the starship Enterprise, boldly going where no one has gone before, actor George Takei was a little boy struggling to understand why his family was packing up and going to live in a horse stable. Readers see history in a clear, concise, compelling context and follow Takei on his journey from childhood ignorance to righteous teenage anger and finally to a life of dedicated activism. This Land is My Land: A Graphic History of Big Dreams, Micronations, and Other Self-Made States. By Andy Warner. Art by Sofie Louise Dam. Chronicle Books. 2019. $19.95. ISBN: 978-1452170183. This book, helpfully organized into 5 chapters—intentional communities, micronations, failed utopias, visionary environments, and strange dreams—highlights 30 stories of self-made places around the world. FICTION Ao Haru Ride. By Io Sakisaka. Art by the author. 2019. Vol. 3. VIZ Media. $9.99. ISBN: 978-1974702671. Vol. 4. VIZ Media. $9.99. ISBN: 978-1974702688. Vol. 5. VIZ Media. $9.99. ISBN: 978-1974702695. Futaba Yoshioka knows that even though her middle school crush and first love, Kou Tanaka, is a different person than the one she knew, she still has feelings for him. But when she realizes one of her new best friends, Yuri, also likes Kou, can she be true to herself and not lose her friendship with Yuri? Ascender, Volume 1. By Jeff Lemire. Art by Dustin Nguyen. Image Comics. 2019. $9.99. ISBN: 978- 1534313484. Picking up about 10 years after the Descender series ended, Andy and Mila are leaving as outsiders, away from society, on the planet Sampson. Instead of machines ruling the universe, now it's magic from the vampire queen, known only as Mother.