Staff Picks - Graphic Novels | Arlington Public Library

Author

Notes

Just in time for the Lunar New Year! I can't wait to recommend this book to the middle graders in my life. There was a sweetness to high school romances while incorporating different Asian cultures celebrating the same holidays and the nuances within those families. - Katherine C

Formats:

Book, Graphic Novel

Description

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Graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham join forces in this heartwarming rom-com about fate, family, and falling in love. Val is ready to give up on love. It's led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she's pretty sure she's cursed--no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love. But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance...

2) The Tea Dragon Society

Author

O'Neill, K

Series

Tea dragon series volume 1

Notes

The Tea Dragon Society, an Eisner Award-winning book, is the coziest of cozy fantasy stories. This graphic novel for kids features a heart-warming cast of wonderfully diverse characters, the joy of found family, and the cutest drawings of dragons you will ever see. - Sarah D.

Formats:

eBook, Graphic Novel, Kindle

Description

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From the award-winning author of PRINCESS PRINCESS EVER AFTER comes THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends...

3) Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice

Author

Smith, Tommie

Notes

Victory, Stand! is the graphic memoir of Tommie Smith, the Olympic gold medal winning track star of the 1968 Mexico City Games who used his platform to protest against racism. Beautiful, powerful art tells the story of Smith’s courage in the fight for racial equality. - Sarah D.

Formats:

eBook, Graphic Novel, Kindle

Description

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Winner of the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award

Finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

A Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor Book

A Washington Post Best Book of the Year

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

A

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4) Family style: memories of an American from Vietnam

Author

Pham, Thien

Notes

For Thien, childhood memories of fleeing Vietnam and the stresses of living in a refugee camp in Thailand are intermingled with the joys of food, friendships, and family. When his family resettles in America, Thien's subsequent struggles are balanced by moments of hope. - Emily L

Description

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"Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam. After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive. Things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as...

5) Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Author

Beaton, Kate

Notes

In this graphic memoir, Kate Beaton tells the poignant and, at times, harrowing tale of the two years she spent working in the Oil Sands of Alberta, Canada. It is an artful looks at humanity, nature, and what drives people to leave home in search of their fortune. - Maggie P

Formats:

eBook, Graphic Novel, Kindle

Description

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Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark! A Vagrant, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beaton, specifically Mabou, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles, and Gaelic folk songs. With the singular goal of paying off her student loans, Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta's oil rush—part of the long tradition of East Coasters who seek gainful employment...

6) i left the house today

This entry no longer exists in the catalog

7) Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir

Author

Ha, Robin

Notes

An amazing and beautiful coming-of-age story about surviving high school in a new country, with a new language and a new step-family. It's also a poignant reminder how our parents' actions appear more human and heroic the older we get and more we understand them. - Charlotte M

Formats:

eBook, Graphic Novel, Kindle

Description

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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,

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8) Banned book club

Author

Kim, Hyun Sook

Notes

A college freshman in 1983, Kim Hyun Sook learns all art is political, even her traditional dance group and Shakespeare! After joining a book club that reads books banned by the repressive South Korean government, she starts to fight back. A gripping true story! - Jennifer R

Description

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"The autobiography of a South Korean woman's student days under an authoritarian regime, and how she defied state censorship. When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family's...

9) They Called Us Enemy

Author

Takei, George

Notes

George Takei, best known as Star Trek’s Hikaru Sulu, recounts his family’s internment during World War II. Declared US enemies by President Roosevelt in 1942, thousands of American citizens of Japanese descent are imprisoned in 10 relocation centers during the war.

Formats:

eBook, Graphic Novel, Kindle

Description

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George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's—and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future. In a stunning graphic memoir, Takei revisits his haunting childhood in American concentration camps,

...

10) Queen of the sea

Author

Meconis, Dylan

Notes

Margaret knows nothing about her life prior to arriving as an infant to the Elysian convent on the tiny island in the kingdom of Albion. When former Queen Eleanor is banished to the island, Margaret befriends her and learns much about her identity, past, and future. - Sarah C

Description

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When her sister seizes the throne, Queen Eleanor of Albion is banished to a tiny island off the coast of her kingdom, where the nuns of the convent spend their days peacefully praying, sewing, and gardening. But the island is also home to Margaret, a mysterious young orphan girl whose life is upturned when the cold, regal stranger arrives. As Margaret grows closer to Eleanor, she grapples with the revelation of the island's sinister true purpose as...

11) Library wars: 1,Love & war

Author

Yumi, Kiiro

Series

Library wars volume 1

Notes

Libraries protect the freedom to read, so when Japan starts banning some books for being potentially harmful, libraries form an army to literally fight censorship. Inspired by an incident in her youth, Iku Kasahara joins the elite force, but does she have what it takes? - Jennie R

Description

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"In the near future, the federal government creates a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. The libraries vow to protect their collections, and with the help of local governments, form a military group to defend themselves---the Library Forces! Iku Kasahara has dreamed of joining the Library Defense Force ever since one of its soldiers stepped in to protect her favorite book from being confiscated in a bookstore when she was younger....

12) Pashmina

Author

Chanani, Nidhi

Notes

Pri Das ia an Indian American teen whose mother keeps secrets about her past; Pri wants to learn about India, but her mother refuses to talk. When Pri discovers a magical red pashmina scarf that transports her to India, will her mother's secrets be revealed? - Carol S

Description

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Indian-American teen, Priyanka "Pri" Das, attempts to reconnect with her mother's homeland through a magical pashmina shawl. Presented in comic book format. Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri's mom avoids these questions and the topic of India is permanently closed. For...

13) Imperfect: a story of body image

Author

Awata, Dounya

Notes

Dounya battles eating disorders in this young adult graphic novel. She strives for perfection, eating to combat stress. She begins to eat and purge—her weight drops from over 200 pounds to just 73 pounds. Part of a sobering series by Zuiker Press. - Sarah C

Description

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"Dounya Awada is a 24-year-old, devout Muslim, happy, healthy, and very much alive. But just a few years before, she nearly starved to death. Her struggle began when she was six years old. Little Dounya wanted nothing less than to be perfect, like her mother. She pushed herself hard every day, excelling in schoolwork and at home. She had to be the cutest, prettiest, smartest girl in the room. The slightest hint of imperfection led to meltdowns and...

14) Why my cat is more impressive than your baby

Author

Inman, Matthew

Notes

I have never laughed so hard while reading as I did with this graphic novel. Whether you have a cat or a baby (or both), if you are in need of a pick me up, this book will definitely lift your spirits (or have you crying from laughter)! - Deborah K

Description

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Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby is chockfull of comics about cats, babies, dogs, lasers, selfies, and pigeons! This book contains a vast wealth of never-before-seen comics, including informative guides, such as: How to comfortably sleep next to your cat, 10 ways to befriend a misanthropic cat, How to hold a baby when you are not used to holding babies, A dog's guide to walking a human being, and How to cuddle like you mean it. --...

15) Seconds

Author

O'Malley, Bryan Lee

Notes

A delightful modern-day fairy tale that asks the question if you could change it all, would you? More importantly, should you? Deceptively simple, quirky art helps to bring this story to life. - Megan B

Description

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"Katie's got it pretty good. She's a talented young chef, she runs a successful restaurant, and she has big plans to open an even better one. Then, all at once, progress on the new location bogs down, her charming ex-boyfriend pops up, her fling with another chef goes sour, and her best waitress gets badly hurt. And just like that, Katie's life goes from pretty good to not so much. What she needs is a second chance. Everybody deserves one, after all--but...

16) brazen rebel ladies who rocked the world

This entry no longer exists in the catalog

17) Heavy vinyl: Riot on the road

Author

Usdin, Carly

Series

Heavy vinyl volume 1

Notes

If you love Empire Records, but wish the store was run and staffed by more women and that they sometimes solve crimes, this is the graphic novel for you! - Nico P

Description

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Starry-eyed Chris has just started the dream job every outcast kid in town wants: working at Vinyl Mayhem. It's as rad as she imagined; her boss is BOSS, her co-workers spend their time arguing over music, pushing against the patriarchy, and endlessly trying to form a band. When Rosie Riot, the staff's favorite singer, mysteriously vanishes the night before her band's show, Chris discovers her co-workers are doing more than just sorting vinyl . ....

18) Sleepless: Vol. 1

Author

Vaughn, Sarah

Series

Sleepless (Graphic novels) volume 1

Notes

This beautifully drawn graphic novel combines court intrigue, a magical world, and a forbidden romance as Lady Poppy - the former king's illegitimate daughter - searches to learn who is making attempts on her life. Fans of "Saga" and "Fable" should definitely check this out! - Megan B

Description

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"Lady "Poppy" Pyppenia is guarded by the Sleepless Knight Cyrenic but becomes endangered when an assassin threatens her life in the new king's reign. As Poppy and Cyrenic try to discover who wants her dead, they must navigate the dangerous waters of life at court and of their growing feelings for one another" --

19) Illegal

Author

Colfer, Eoin

Notes

Through beautiful illustrations, the narrative follows Ebo on his dangerous journey from his home in Ghana across the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea to a new life. Ebo encounters many who try to thwart him and others who sacrifice much to assist him on his journey. - Sarah C

Formats:

eBook, Graphic Novel, Kindle

Description

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A powerfully moving, award-winning graphic novel that explores the current plight of undocumented immigrants from New York Times bestselling author Eoin Colfer and the team behind the Artemis Fowl graphic novels. How can a human being be illegal for simply existing?

Ebo is alone. His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life—the same journey

...

20) The unstoppable Wasp: Vol. 1,Unstoppable!

Author

Whitley, Jeremy

Notes

Nadia Pym has escaped the Red Room and made it to America, where she's assembling a super team of the smartest girls she can find. With the irrepressible energy and joy familiar to fans of Squirrel Girl, Unstoppable Wasp is a fun addition to the Marvel lineup. - Jennie R