YA Comics and Graphic Novels (Mikaela's picks)

We love comics and graphic novels of all stripes. Here is a list, lovingly hand-picked by Mikaela from Johnsonville Library, of some great graphical works, from the popular and well-known to the lesser-known-but-still-amazing.

Updated June 19, 2024
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Miles Morales [1] : straight out of Brooklyn
Ahmed, Saladin
Paper Book
Miles Morales swings back into the spotlight! Balancing a normal life, school, friends, family and super-heroing has never been easy for Miles, but when the rampaging Rhino and a cadre of mysterious criminals start plaguing Brooklyn, things take a dark turn for the young Spider-Man! And Miles doesn...
Speak : the graphic novel
Anderson, Laurie Halse
Paper Book
The bestselling, award-winning modern classic Speak is now a stunning graphic novel--adapted by Laurie Halse Anderson herself and brought to life visually by Eisner Award winner E.M. Carroll. "Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say." From the first...
Frontera
Anta, Julio
Paper Book
2024 Eisner Award Nominee for Best Publication for Teens 2024 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens  2024 Children's Book Council's Young Adults' Favorites Award 2024 Texas Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Mateo makes the dangerous journey back...
Project Nought
Furedi, Chelsey
Paper Book
For fans of Kiss Number 8 and On a Sunbeam, this debut graphic novel is a fast-paced time travel adventure with a hint of romance that has garnered 1.5 million views as a Tapas webcomic. Ren Mittal's last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to visit his mystery...
Teen Titans : Raven
Garcia, Kami
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller! When a tragic accident takes the life of 17-year-old Raven Roth's foster mom--and Raven's memory--she moves to New Orleans to recover and finish her senior year of high school.<...
Amulet. Book one, The stonekeeper
Kibuishi, Kazu
Paper Book
The first book in Kazu Kibuishi's #1 New York Times bestselling series that features a beautiful but dangerous world of new friends, giant robots, and shadowy enemies! After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great...
Salt Magic
Larson, Hope.
Paper Book
The epic, Eisner Award-winning graphic novel about a jealous witch, a withering curse, and one girl's journey to save her family-- no matter the cost. Recipient of the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids ages 9-12 When Vonceil's older brother, Elber,...
A map to the sun
Leong, Sloane
Paper Book
A Map to the Sun is a gripping YA graphic novel about five principle players in a struggling girls' basketball team. One summer day, Ren meets Luna at a beachside basketball court and a friendship is born. But when Luna moves to back to Oahu, Ren's messages to her friend go...
Heartstopper. Volume 1
Oseman, Alice
Paper Book
*Now an acclaimed live-action Netflix series!* *Winner of Best Book I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time - TikTok Book Awards* Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and...
Witchy. 1
Ries, Ariel Slamet
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Online Comic 2020 Gold Ledger Award Recipient Danish "Pingprisen" for Best Online Series in 2017 and 2018 Nominee 2016 DINKy for Outstanding Web Comic Nominee In the witch kingdom Hyalin, the strength of...
Persepolis
Satrapi, Marjane
Paper Book
A New York Times Notable Book A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year” A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in...
Squire
Shammas, Nadia
Paper Book
From two incredible rising talents comes the fantasy graphic novel Molly Knox Ostertag calls "instantly compelling." A New England Book Award and Harvey Award winner! Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt...
Maus a survivor's tale
Spiegelman, Art.
Paper Book
Nimona
Stevenson, ND
Paper Book
Now a Netflix animated film! Nimona is the New York Times bestselling graphic novel sensation from ND Stevenson, based on his beloved and critically acclaimed web comic. Kirkus says, "If you're going to read one graphic novel this year, make it this one." ...
Firebird
Sunmi
Paper Book
Sunmi's gorgeous two-color teen graphic novel debut examines the power of resilience and reinvention, following the lives of Caroline and Kim, two queer, Asian American teenagers growing up in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, as they forge an unexpected connection. ...
Laura Dean keeps breaking up with me
Tamaki, Mariko
Paper Book
One of FORBES Best Graphic Novels of 2019 On BCCB 2019 Blue Ribbons List One of NPR's Best Books of 2019 Booklist 2019 Editors' Choice One of Bitch Media's Best Queer YA Novels of 2019 Author Mariko Tamaki and...
Drama
Telgemeier, Raina.
Paper Book
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...
Cosmoknights. Book one
Templer, Hannah
Paper Book
For this ragtag band of space gays, liberation means beating the patriarchy at its own game. Pan's life used to be very small. Work in her dad's body shop, sneak out with her friend Tara to go dancing, and watch the skies for freighter ships. It didn't even matter that Tara was a...
Squad
Tokuda-Hall, Maggie
Paper Book
An IndieBound Bestseller "Squad is a fast-paced and feminist horror story for every girl who's ever felt like prey, and asks how far a girl should go to hunt the hunters."--Laura Ruby, author of National Book Award Finalist Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All "Squad is a story...
The magic fish
Trung, Le Nguyen
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by New York Public Library . Kirkus Reviews . Booklist . Publishers Weekly In this gorgeous debut graphic novel, fairy tales are the only way one boy can communicate with his Vietnamese immigrant parents. But how will he find the...
On a sunbeam
Walden, Tillie
Paper Book
"Tillie Walden is the future of comics, and On a Sunbeam is her best work yet. It's a 'space' story unlike any you've ever read, with a rich, lived-in universe of complex characters." --Brian K. Vaughan, Saga and Paper Girls Two timelines. Second chances....
The prince and the dressmaker
Wang, Jen
Paper Book
A fairy tale for any age, Jen Wang's The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart. Winner of the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens Winner of the Harvey Award for Best Children or Young Adult Book Paris, at the...
Ms. Marvel : Kamala Khan
Wilson, G. Willow
Paper Book
Marvel Comics presents the all-new Ms. Marvel, the groundbreaking heroine that has become an international sensation! Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City - until she is suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the all-new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find...
The well
Wyatt, Jacob
Paper Book
A 2023 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection A fantasy graphic novel about Lizzy, a girl who gets cursed by a wishing well, and her adventure to grant three wishes in order to break free. Li-Zhen's life on the archipelago is simple. Known to friends...
American born Chinese
Yang, Gene Luen.
Paper Book
Original Series Now Available on Disney+ A tour-de-force by New York Times bestselling graphic novelist Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to...

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