Coming of age (YA comics)

Sometimes, important stuff happens. Sometimes, that stuff is important enough to make an impact on you, acting as a rite of passage. This stuff can be a single memorable moment, experiences with friends, family, at school, or just something singular and within ourselves.

When this happens in fiction, we call it 'coming of age'. All the comics in this list take effort to identify this 'stuff', make it real, and explain it, while taking us along on the same journey as the characters and hopefully revealing something more.

Updated August 1, 2024
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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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The sacrifice of darkness
Gay, Roxane
Paper Book
"When I was a young girl, my husband's father flew an air machine into the sun. Since then, the days have been dark, the nights bright." Roxane Gay, Tracy Lynne Oliver ,and Rebecca Kirby adapt Gay's New York Times bestselling short story "We Are the Sacrifice of Darkness"...
The dumbest idea ever!
Gownley, Jimmy.
Paper Book
Jimmy Gownley's graphic novel memoir about the "dumb" idea that changed his life forever!What if the dumbest idea ever turned your life upside down?At thirteen, Jimmy was popular, at the top of his class, and the leading scorer on his basketball team. But all that changed when chicken pox...
Summer spirit
Holleville, Elizabeth
Paper Book
A new YA graphic novel from French illustrator Elizabeth Holleville, Summer Spirit puts a fresh spin on the struggles of growing up as this coming-of-age story takes a supernatural and sinister turn. Being a teenager is hard enough without finding out your new best friend is a 60...
Girl on fire
Keys, Alicia
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling author and 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Alicia Keys comes a new authentic and poignant coming-of-age young adult graphic novel, about finding the strength within when your whole world changes in an instant. Lolo Wright always...
DPS only!
Kong, Xiao Tong
Paper Book
This captivating coming-of-age story set in the world of e-sports will have readers cheering for girl gamer Vicky Tan as she overcomes social anxiety, self-doubt, and an overprotective big brother to pursue her dream of becoming a competitive gamer. From the Tapas webcomic, a 2021...
Mall Goth
Leth, Kate
Paper Book
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me gets a Y2K twist in this coming-of-age young adult graphic novel from acclaimed comic artist Kate Leth about a 2000s goth teen whose favorite part of her new town is the mall. Liv Holme is not exactly thrilled to be moving to a new town...
This one summer
Tamaki, Mariko
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book A 2015 Michael L. Printz Honor Book An Eisner Award Winner Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always...
Drama
Telgemeier, Raina.
Ebook
From Raina Telgemeier, the #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning author of Smile and Sisters!Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon over Mississippi, she can't really sing. Instead she's...
Hollow
Watters, Shannon
Paper Book
Sleepy Hollow and queer romance meet in this coming-of-age tale from the co-creator of Lumberjanes! Isabel "Izzy" Crane and her family have just relocated to Sleepy Hollow, the town made famous by--and obsessed with--Washington Irving's legend of the Headless...
Tsunami
Wenlock, Ned
Paper Book
"At school, being right isnt always the right answer. Peters bull-headed commitment to the truth has already picked him out as a target for the school bullies. The misfit new girl is a complete badass, but seems as interested in his nemesis, Gus, as she is in Peter, and his parents are too busy...

NZ

Hungry ghost
Ying, Victoria
Paper Book
Winner of 2023 Harvey Award for Best Children's or Young Adult Book Valerie Chu is quiet, studious, and above all, thin. No one, not even her best friend, Jordan, knows that she has been bingeing and purging for years. But when tragedy strikes, Val finds herself...

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