2026 Maverick List - Great Graphic Novels for Grades 9-12

Check out these recommended graphic novels for grades 9-12 that appear on the 2026 Texas Library Association's Maverick Reading List.* (Looking for graphic novels for tweens? Try the Maverick List for grades 6-8!)

*Not listed: Almark, vol. 1 by Hiyuto Yunoki; Big Jim and the White Boy by David F. Walker & Marcus Kwame Anderson; Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon; Space Walking with You by Inuhiko Doronoda; and This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki.

About the Maverick Reading List: "The Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List (TMGNRL) is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table (YART). The list’s purpose is to encourage students in grades 6-12 to explore a variety of current books. The TMGNRL list is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum." (from the TLA website)

Updated February 20, 2026
Lewisville Public Library
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Bless. No. 1
Sonoyama, Yukino
Paper Book
They said Aia was destined to be a model, and Jun was bullied for her freckles. Together, they will take back the power to define themselves in an inspirational fashion...
Dan in Green Gables : a modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables
Terciero, Rey
Paper Book
In this modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables, effervescent extrovert Dan Stewart- lvarez is surprised to find home and community in rural Tennessee. Despite a life on the road with his free-spirited mother, fifteen-year-old Dan Stewart- lvarez has always wanted to...
Family Force V. Book one
Braly, Matthew
Maise's just a normal teenager - she goes to school, spends time with friends, oh and saves the world from alien kaiju with her superhero family.
The guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all. 1
Arai, Sumiko
Paper Book
Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya loves listening to rock, but no one else seems to share her interest...until she meets a cool, stylish employee at a CD shop. Dressed in black from head to toe, he has this air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Aya falls hard for him...
Halfway there : a graphic memoir of self-discovery
Mari, Christine
Paper Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A poignant young adult graphic memoir that follows one teen's year abroad in Japan, as she seeks to reconcile both sides of her biracial identity. Christine has always felt...
Kirby's lessons for falling (in love)
Gao, Laura
Paper Book
"I'm once again blown away by Laura Gao's ability to make me relate to someone completely different from myself. Get ready to experience the epic highs and lows of high school rock climbing." --Sonora Reyes, National Book Award finalist and bestselling author of The Lesbiana's Guide...
I shall never fall in love
Conner, Hari
Paper Book
The Prince and the Dressmaker goes to Austenland in this historically inspired, joyfully queer, stunningly romantic graphic novel mash-up of Jane Austen novels--where two friends discover their feelings for each other and find a space in their world for their love and identity. George...
Sherlock Holmes. A study in scarlet
Chan, Crystal S.
Paper Book
There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it. It is 1887 and a man has been murdered in an abandoned house. On his face is an expression of utter horror; in his pocket is a woman's...
Song of a blackbird
Van Lieshout, Maria
Paper Book
Five Starred Reviews!A Michael L. Printz Honor BookA National Book Award Longlist Selection A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR for Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, The Horn Book, Book Riot,...
We could be magic
Meyer, Marissa
A swoon-worthy young adult graphic novel about a girl's summer job at a theme park from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer. When Tabitha Laurie was growing up, a visit to Sommerland saved her belief in true love, even as her parents' marriage was...
We could be magic
Meyer, Marissa
A swoon-worthy young adult graphic novel about a girl's summer job at a theme park from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer. When Tabitha Laurie was growing up, a visit to Sommerland saved her belief in true love, even as her parents' marriage was...

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