Graphic Novel

Dreamover / Dani Diaz

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Dreamover
By: Dani Diaz
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 312
Published: January 14, 2025
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Dates Read: March 8, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Amber and Nico have been best friends since the third grade. When Amber confesses her undying love to Nico, it’s to no one’s surprise except hers. When Nico expresses the feelings are mutual, their summer of first love begins.

But life gets complicated when high school starts and between school, bullies, homework, and juggling their friendships and relationship, Amber and Nico cling to each other, forgetting about everything else. Soon, they find themselves with only each other.

One night, as they play video games together, Amber’s wish of running away with Nico comes true when they mysteriously fall into a shared lucid dream. Anything they imagine becomes possible and endless adventures await. But will they stay there forever, or will they choose to return to the real world?

As an adult reader reading this, the story did remind me of my first love and being devastated when all of my free time couldn’t be spent with them, it’s a balance you have to find and both Amber and Nico struggled with that throughout the story.

The art of this graphic novel was catching and the illustrations were beautiful, especially during the lucid dreaming bits.

Overall, this is a simple graphic novel exploring themes of friendship, first love, growing up, forgiveness, and toxic dependency. Though adult readers would probably still enjoy it and could possibly relate, this novel is definitely aimed at young adults. 

Lunar Boy / Jes and Cin Wibowo

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Lunar Boy
By: Jes and Cin Wibowo
Genre: Graphic Novel, Science Fiction, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 240
Published: May 14, 2025
Publisher: HarperAlley
Dates Read: March 4, 2025 - March 5, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Indu, a boy from the moon, has felt like he doesn’t belong ever since he and his adoptive mother disembarked from their spacecraft to live on New Earth with their new family. The kids at school think he’s weird and he’s not fluent in their language, he has a crush on his pen pal, and his stepfamily doesn’t seem to know how to connect with him. Worst of all, his mom’s so busy that Indu can’t even tell her what’s wrong.

In a low moment, Indo calls out to the moon, begging to take him back. Surprisedly, the moon answers and agrees to bring him home on the first day of the New Year. As the days pass, Indu finds friendship in unlikely places and discovers the connections to his new family that were lost before. When the moon finally calls him home, Indu must decide if he’s willing to give up what he’s just found.

I was first interested in this graphic novel because of the artwork / color palette (sunset blue and pink are my all time favorite colors), but secondly because it just won the Stonewall Book Award for Children – and boy did it do an amazing job at representation! Trans, Bi, Pan, not to mention different body sizes, shapes, and ethnicities.

This graphic novel is great for the discussion of changing family dynamics, starting over in a new place, navigating identity and friendships, and trans identity. This is aimed at middle grade readers, but I feel like those of middle grade and older would enjoy it.

Stonewall Book Award for Children 2025

Continental Drifter / Kathy MacLeod

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Continental Drifter
By: Kathy MacLeod
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Memoir
Number of Pages: 224
Published: April 2, 2024
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: February 18, 2025 - February 20, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy lives in two different worlds. Most of the year she lives in Bangkok and goes to the International School. But then, during the summer, her family travels twenty-four hours straight to get to a tiny seaside town in Maine. Even though she looks forward to eating all the food she can’t get back home, Kathy doesn’t feel like she belongs with the New England kids either. Kathy just wants to find a place where she belongs.

This graphic memoir not only captures the uneasiness of being eleven, but also being a biracial/bicultural preteen at a summer camp. Kathy struggled with fitting in both in Bangkok, where she was too American and in Maine, where no one looked like her and she didn’t always understand the pop culture references. 

The art of this novel fit well for the audience as it was but simple but beautiful.

Overall, this graphic novel is perfect for those who may also feel like they just can’t fit in and those who set expectations high for an event (ex. Summer camp) and it falls short of what they thought.

Winner of Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Children’s Literature (2025)

We Called Them Giants / Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans (Artist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

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We Called Them Giants
By: Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans (Artist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 104
Published: November 24, 2024
Publisher: Image Comics
Dates Read: February 16, 2025
Format: Library Book / eBook

Lori wakes to find the streets empty and everyone gone. She finds a school friend, Annette, and the duo work together to survive as best they can, especially avoiding the gang who call themselves The Dogs. Then, one day alien crafts appear and giants begin to roam around. Lori and Annette begin to be drawn to the giants for protection, but communication is limited. What are they here for?

I originally grabbed this because of the artwork and oh my, did it not disappoint! It was beautiful and captivating throughout all the pages.

That being said though, the story fell short for me. We were given so many questions and I felt like most of them were not answered by the end. Like, where did most of the humans go? Why were only some people left? Where did the giant come from (besides space), and what were they doing here? Were the events connected??

I gave it the star rating I did for the art, the story itself still has too many unanswered questions.

*Thank you Image Comics and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Feral (Volume 1) / Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner (Illustrator), Tone Rodriguez (Illustrator), Brad Simpson (Colorist)

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Feral
By: Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner (Illustrator), Tone Rodriguez (Illustrator), Brad Simpson (Colorist)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror
Number of Pages: 136
Published: September 17, 2024
Publisher: Image Comics
Dates Read: February 16, 2025
Format: Library Book / eBook

Trigger Warnings: blood, gore, death, outbreak

Elsie, Lord Fluffy Britches, and Patch are three indoor cats now lost in the outdoors during an outbreak of rabies. Without their humans, the trio must do their best to get home without getting bit, scratched, or eaten.

I really enjoyed Stray Dogs when it came out, so when I saw this team had a new release, I immediately checked it out from my library. I did just find out that the art itself is inspired by Don Bluth, who animated children’s classic movies like All Dogs Go to Heaven, The Land Before Time, and many others, but those two movies were favorites of mine as a kid, so that’s probably why I was so drawn to this.

Also, I loved that this novel was basically zombies but with cats. 

I’m still not 100% sold on the dynamic of the trio cats. I understood the backstory that was given, but I don’t know exactly why I wasn’t fully satisfied with it. It’s weird, I know, but I am still excited to continue this story in the next volume.

No Rules Tonight / Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada (Illustrator)

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No Rules Tonight
By: Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada (Illustrator)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 208
Published: October 1, 2024
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Dates Read: February 15, 2025 - February 16, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

It’s 1980s South Korea, where political tensions are high and curfew is strict. Luckily it’s time for the annual winter camp at Anjeon University – a full weekend, deep in the mountains, with no supervision.

In the snowy mountains, everyone has different plans for their one night of freedom but of course, everything doesn’t always go as planned. Hyun Sook is dying to figure out how to get her banned book club back up and running, Taehee and Kiwoo are trying to build up their nerve to confess their feelings for one another, while Sujji pines after her crush, ready to risk it all and finally tell someone her biggest secret she’s been keeping secret her whole life.

How will this weekend of freedom end for these university students?

I immediately picked this graphic novel up when I saw it was from the same creators of Banned Book Club and I’m glad I did – learned even more about 1980s South Korea than before. It’s kind of crazy the desire everyone has for freedom, even in the smallest ways. I can’t imagine really having restrictions on something like when I’m allowed to be out and about from my house (even if I don’t usually leave after I get home from work), or what music I can listen to or books I’m allowed to read. Some of these freedoms weren’t given to South Koreans until as recently as just forty-five years ago.

Overall, this is a cutely drawn historical graphic novel that still brings up the timely issues around censorship, regime, and even labor rights. This is bound to bring up a look into the history of South Korea and politics and policies that are trying to be formed today.

*Thank you Penguin Workshop and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I Feel Awful, Thanks / Lara Pickle

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I Feel Awful, Thanks
By: Lara Pickle
Genre: Graphic Novel, New Adult
Number of Pages: 216
Published: March 5, 2024
Publisher: Oni Press
Dates Read: January 31, 2025 - February 1, 2025
Format: Library Book / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Mental Health issues, anxiety, depression, toxic workplace, 

Joana is a young witch who just secured her dream job creating potions with a coven in London. But Joana will soon discover the reality of her new city life is not as she thought. Finding a flat is hard, her dream job is actually quite stressful, and she’s all alone. Little by little, she carves her place, but sadness, fatigue, and doubts create dragons that threaten to burst her hard-earned success… until she starts talking to a professional who helps her realize that in order to take care of herself, she must know herself.

I loved that this graphic novel tackled what it can feel like to have anxiety and crafted it in a way that also made it magical as well corporate. It’s okay not to be okay – a saying that everyone needs to be told every once in a while. Joana’s therapist, or Dragon Trainer, as she’s called in the book, gives really good advice on how Joana can help tackle her dragons, aka her anxieties.

Joana’s friends were also a breath of fresh air that were extremely supportive in both pushing Joana to get the extra help she needed and helping in her journey all around. Even her relationship with James and his own journey of self awareness and growth was nice to see.

Oh – before I forget, the art of this is beautiful and so very captivating, it’s one of the reasons I first picked up this book. The panels are brightly colored and there is quite a bit of text on some pages, but nothing I felt took away from the overall art.

Overall, this was a beautiful, fantastic graphic novel that dives into taking care of yourself as you battle anxiety, depression, and the everyday stressors of life – but add a magical twist.

We Are Not Strangers / Josh Tuininga

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We Are Not Strangers
By: Josh Tuininga
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 197 
Published: September 12, 2023
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Dates Read: January 29, 2025
Format: Library Book / eBook

Inspired by true events, We Are Not Strangers follows a Jewish immigrant, Marco Calvo, in his efforts to help his Japanese neighbors while they were incarcerated during WWII under President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066.

Well, here we are, at the beginning of 2025 and I’m here reading about yet another part of history I wasn’t aware of. I knew of the camps Japanese and Japanese-Americans were put into after the attack of Pearl Harbor – but I didn’t know about the neighbors who helped those incarcerated by helping with their mortgage or keeping their shops running. Not everyone has this help of course, but there were still some who help their friends have something to come back to.

The art of this graphic was beautiful and realistic, making the story page turning.

This would be a great novel to open the door for discussion about the Japanese camps on American soil during and after WWII. This was well researched and there’s a long appendix with maps, illustrations, and articles from Settle’s past.

The Deep Dark / Molly Knox Ostertag

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The Deep Dark
By: Molly Knox Ostertag
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 480
Published: June 4, 2024
Publisher: Graphix
Dates Read: December 30, 2024
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Magdalena Herrera, or Mags, already feels like an adult even though she’s just shy of graduating high school: caring for her grandmother, working a part-time job, and taking care of her secret that lives in the basement, the one that drains her of energy. The secret could really hurt someone, even kill them, if it got out.

So, Mags keeps her head down, trying to get through the day. That is, until her childhood friend, Ness, comes back to town, bringing memories and her own secret. Mags won’t get reattached, she can’t, and she’s always been good at keeping her distance anyway.

But when darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to bring her secret into the daylight.

The art of this graphic novel is fantastic and phenomenal. It goes from back and forth between black and white and full color, corresponding well with what’s happening in the story.  

The overall storyline is about accepting yourself, even the deepest, darkest bits, and allowing someone to love and care for you and all your secrets.

Overall, Molly Knox Ostertag blew it out of the park again with this story and anyone who loves bright, vivid illustrations mixed with black and white, and a storyline that will keep you turning pages, will fall in love with the characters and this story as well.

Detective Beans: The Case of the Missing Hat / Li Chen

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Detective Beans: The Case of the Missing Hat
By: Li Chen
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 208
Published: October 15, 2024
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Dates Read: December 21, 2024
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Detective Beans is the best kitten detective in town, dedicated to doing whatever it takes to solve the case. One morning, Detective Beans wakes to find his detective hat missing! Now, Beans must do what every good detective does – hit the streets of Cat Town and follow the clues. With every twist and turn, Detective Beans is one step closer to finding his hat – and solving a much bigger case than he could have ever imagined.

So I hadn’t heard of Detective Beans before seeing this at a librarian’s preview event. But, I love anything and everything cats so a cat detective graphic novel was a must.

This book was not only adorable, but phunny at the same time. The absolute absurdness of Detective Beans’ case made me turn the pages more and more. I may have read it in one setting, but I would die for Beans.

I cannot wait for more stories of this Detective. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go find him online.