Graphic Novel

Heartstopper: Volume Five / Alice Oseman

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Heartstopper: Volume Five
By: Alice Oseman
Genre: Graphic Novel, Romance
Number of Pages: 336
Published: December 19, 2023
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Dates Read: December 28, 2023 - December 29, 2023
Format: Library Book / eBook

Trigger Warnings: discussion of mental health, eating disorders, and sexual references

In this volume of Heartstopper, Charlie must persuade his mum to let him sleep over at Nick’s house, but he’s also got to get passed all his tests. Meanwhile, Nick is going off to university next year, is everything about to change?

I went most of this year thinking this was going to be the final installment of the Heartstopper series, but then Alice Oseman says we’ll get one more. Now I have a little more time to prepare myself. And also to get it set up on hopefully a physical copy of it so I don’t have to wait on the back order my library has and then setting on a digital copy. Nothing was going to stop me from reading this story as soon as I possibly could!!

As always, the boys were adorable and so supportive of each other. I would love to wrap them both in blankets and let them be cute and adorable together always. It still makes me happy about the friend support everyone gives each other – even sometimes with the tough love or the hard questions, it was also with love.

We also got a hint at Tori and her story in this too. I haven’t officially read her stories yet, but they are on my Shortlist TBR.

Overall – I’m going to be recommending this series until the day I die, so there is no question here if I like it or not. I loved it.

Odessa (Odessa #1) / Jonathan Hill

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Odessa (Odessa #1)
By: Jonathan Hill
Genre: Graphic Novel, YA
Number of Pages: 328
Published: November 10, 2020
Publisher: Oni Press
Dates Read: December 24, 2023 - December 26, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

After a massive earthquake hit along the Cascadia fault line eight years ago, everything changed for the west coast of the United States. But for Vietnamese-American Virginia Crane, her life changed the most when her mother left and never came back shortly after the quake.

Ginny has always helped her father out and taken care of her brothers, Wes and Harry. But when a mysterious package arrives for the eighteenth birthday, Ginny wants more to life than what she’s been surviving on. Maybe it’s selfish of her, but she’s determined, now more than ever, to find where her mother is, or what happened with her – even if she must leave her family behind.

Right, so I read this going into it, knowing that there will be more volumes. But I thought, this was written in 2020, at least the second volume would be out, right?! NO! I finished this book, expecting I would go grab the second volume at the library but it’s still not out! I’m quite hooked on Ginny’s storyline thank you very much and want to know where it’s going.

Is this the absolutely best graphic novel out there – no, but I still really enjoyed it. The twists and such kept my interest and I’d like to see what has become of the world past San Francisco after this massive earthquake eight years ago.

I did enjoy the art, it’s done in one of my favorite shades of pink.

I would really enjoy it if the second book would come out soon though. You can’t just leave it on the cliffhanger that it’s on!

Mall Goth / Kate Leah

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Mall Goth

By: Kate Leah

Genre: Graphic Novel

Number of Pages: 256

Published: September 26, 2023

Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers

Dates Read: December 15, 2023

Format: eBook

Trigger Warnings: Child Grooming

Liv Holme is starting over in a new town with her mom. And a new town means a new high school. If that’s not hard enough, Liv is a fifteen-year-old bisexual goth. As Liv tries to find her community, the only person who seems to make time for her is one of her teachers, Mr. Trent, but she’s not sure how she feels about the way he acts towards her sometimes. Thankfully, she finds solace in the mall, where she’s away from all her troubles. Now she must set off on a journey of self-acceptance and the ups and downs of life and high school.

I loved the art in this – that is one of the main reasons I wanted to read this.

Secondly, the storyline isn’t what I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it. 

I both feel like it could have been longer (more in depth), but then at the same time, the story fit in the page length that it was. There was just a lot going on – especially with stuff like her Dad and sometimes conversations with Liv’s mom, I felt like it could have been more elaborated on, but I still understood what was going on.

I’ve already recommended this to two friends, so this will be on my graphic novel list for sure.

Rose Wolves / Natalie Warner

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Rose Wolves
By: Natalie Warner
Genre: Graphic Novel, Children’s
Number of Pages: 80
Published: May 11, 2020
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Dates Read: November 22, 2023
Format: eBook

In this wordless graphic novel, a little girl picks an unusual flower from a bush in the forest. Overnight, the flower blooms and turns into a rose wolf, missing a leg just like the little girl is missing an arm. Together, the duo must go on a journey to find where they belong.

I love me a wordless graphic novel – so when I saw this on my library’s Hoopla, I immediately checked it out without even looking at the description (I already loved the artwork on the cover). I did NOT need to get teary eyed at nine o’clock in the morning!

This is so cute! And adorable!

The art is simple and easy to follow and of course, there are no words to it – just a heart in a speech bubble and a few “!”.

Overall, I’ll be recommending this book to others who enjoy just a cute, cozy, quick graphic novel read (I already did for three coworkers this morning).

A First Time for Everything / Dan Santat

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A First Time for Everything
By: Dan Santat
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Memoir
Number of Pages: 320
Published: February 28, 2023
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: November 20, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Best selling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat writes about his middle school class trip traveling around Europe in 1989. As he travels through France, Germany, Switzerland, and England, a series of first experiences begin to change him and his perspective on life.

I can’t remember exactly why I grabbed this title from my library but then it won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and I knew I needed to read it. I’m glad I did! It was such a fun read.

When I was in high school, my French teacher took a group of kids to Paris every other summer for a week (it would be a part of the EF Tours, but just the Paris leg of the trip) so I could relate to a lot of what Dan Santat would bring up about the touring and such. It was also my first time traveling to a complete other country, halfway across the world, by myself.

As the title implies, there is a first time for everything, and Santat experiences a lot of firsts on this trip in the novel: first time traveling without his parents, first overseas Fanta drink, first cigarette, first alcoholic drink, first kiss, first time sharing his art with someone. Through flashbacks the reader sees experiences that Santat had before, which make him hesitant to try something new.

The art of this graphic novel is gorgeous and captivating. There are illustrations from all the famous European cities and historic buildings the students visited on their trip. Everything was clearly drawn and characters were different from one another where I was never confused as to who was who.

Overall, I can see why it won the award. I can also see myself putting this in the hands of those who like travelogues and coming of age stories.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands / Kate Beaton

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Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
By: Kate Beaton
Genre: Graphic Novels, Memoir
Number of Pages: 430
Published: September 13, 2022
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
Dates Read: November 14, 2023 - November 17, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: misogyny, sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape

To help pay off her student loans quicker, Kate Beaton takes advantage of Canada’s oil rush and gets a job in the oil sands. Being one of only a handful of women amongst thousands of men is both a culture shock and a smack of harsh reality; trauma is an everyday occurrence but is never discussed. In this graphic memoir, Kate Beaton describes her experience working the oil sands between 2005 – 2008.

This graphic novel broadened my knowledge on the Canadian oil sands (which, okay, went from 0 to what I was given by Beaton). I never even knew this type of work was in Canada. Having no knowledge of that going into this book, I believe this captured the experience, during that particular time, of one female worker wonderfully.

The subjects aren’t preachy and Beaton doesn’t really input her current thoughts on her experiences until the very end, but you see her experience come out organically and her realization of just how toxic the environment is. That being said, Beaton is also very clear that she had nicer relationships with some men – including ones who would be fatherly towards her.

Overall, I know this book won’t be for everyone, but I do think people should read it. For not only the information on the oil sands of Canada, but also what it’s like for women in a male dominated work environment.

My Brilliant Friend: The Graphic Novel

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My Brilliant Friend: The Graphic Novel
By: Chiara Lagani (Author), Mara Cerri (Illustrator), Ann Goldstein (Translator), Elena Ferrante (Original author)
Genre: Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 256
Published: October 10, 2023
Publisher: Europa Editions
Dates Read: November 3, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

This graphic novel is a coming-of-age story about two girls, Lila and Lenù and their complex, mostly toxic, friendship.

So, I haven’t read the original book or series, I grabbed this graphic novel to read to hopefully get a faster reading of the story to understand it better for my book groups I help manage. That being said, I felt like this was super condensed and I was missing pieces of the story – or rather, not getting the full intensity of it.

The art of this is intense and beautiful. I really enjoyed how dramatic it was – even if I wasn’t fully understanding what was happening, I could still get the intensity of it all.

Overall, I think this would be a good companion piece to the actual novel itself. Which means I still need to get my hands on that and read it and then possibly come back to this graphic novel.

*Thank you Europa Editions and Edelweiss+ for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics

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The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics
By: The Kao (Compiler), David Daneman (Compiler), Min Christensen (Compiler)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Nonfiction
Number of Pages: 176
Published: September 26, 2023
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Dates Read: November 1, 2023 - November 3, 2023
Format: Paperback

The Out Side is filled with comics from 29 trans & nonbinary artists as they share their personal journeys of self-discovery and acceptance. 

This graphic novel doesn’t just focus on coming out, but some talk about the later processes of their life and what it means for them now.

There’s 29 different artists, so there’s 29 different styles of art and stories. Some I liked more than others, but I still enjoyed and loved this as a whole.

Highly recommend, especially for those who are trans and nonbinary as they will most definitely see themselves within these pages.

*Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Guardian of Fukushima / Fabien Grolleau, Ewen Blain (Illustrator)

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Guardian of Fukushima
By: Fabien Grolleau, Ewen Blain (Illustrator)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Nonfiction
Number of Pages: 144
Published: February 23, 2023
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Dates Read: October 28, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

On March 11, 2011 a massive earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami, which in turn, destroyed the core three reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Farmer Naoto Matsumura is unwilling to abandon his beloved animals and the animals left behind by those who evacuated. 

I love the weaving of Japanese folklore into this story to not only give you a history of the very tragic event of the 2011 tsunami, but to also give you the history of Japanese culture as well.

I was aware of a farmer staying behind in a village after a nuclear issue, but I wasn’t aware of Naoto Matsumura’s full story and I’m so glad I picked this novel up to read it. 

Stunning and amazing artwork from Ewen Blain. So colorful and captivating, even the not-so-great- photos of the aftermath, it never looked muddy or overloaded.

Lights (Sheets #3) / Brenna Thummler

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Lights (Sheets #3)
By: Brenna Thummler
Genre: Graphic Novel, YA
Number of Pages: 
Published: 368
Publisher: Oni Press
Dates Read: October 15, 2023
Format: Library Book / Paperback

The 3rd book in the Sheets trilogy connects us back to Marjorie, Eliza, and Wendell as they try to uncover the secrets of Wendell’s human life and death. When they hear a rumor about Wendell’s death, they wonder if it might not have been an accident after all. Meanwhile though, Marjorie begins hanging out with the very girls who used to bully Eliza and it begins to put a strain on their friendship. Can they work together to find out the truth?

I was slightly worried about the ending of this series – the other two books were so good that I put a lot of pressure on this one to hopefully wrap the story up beautifully. Well, I worried for nothing, because Brenna Thummler did a wonderful and amazing job at taking the characters we loved throughout this series and giving them a beautiful ending they deserved.

I can’t with Eliza’s dad – he’s just a peach and such a supportive father. When Eliza mentions that Marjorie wants “normal friends” he breaks down what was said, mentions that friendship has to work both ways, and gives an idea of a Duncan family activity to invite her to. And then when Eliza asked for needle and thread in case she has to give her friend stitches, he simply replies with, “You’d be surprised at the medical expertise of the youth today”.

Thummler’s art is stunning as it was before – I can see myself using a few panels as phone backgrounds in the coming months. Her writing has also come a long way from the first novel, and even the second to be honest, I even forgot this was originally aimed at Middle Grade reading and not YA (not that YA readers won’t enjoy this either!)

Overall, a wonderful ending to a trilogy. I’ve been recommending the first novel since it came out for the artwork alone, but now that the series is wrapped up, I’ll be recommending it to all that like the gentle spooky Halloween reads (even though this one goes all the way through Thanksgiving).