Miss Quinces: A Graphic Novel Review

Suyapa “Sue” Gutiérrez wants to spend her summer drawing comics and hanging out with her friends at sleepaway camp.

Instead, Sue’s parents whish her away to visit family in Honduras with older sister Carmen and younger sister Ester. But unlike sleepaway camp, which would only be a few weeks, this trip is going to last all summer. To make matters worse their relatives live in the country where it’s so rural there is no phone, no internet, and not even any cable.

Just as Sue grudgingly makes her peace with all of that, she finds out that her mother has planned an entire quinceañera for Sue. In secret! With over 100 guests invited! And a pink princess theme!

Sue likes black a lot more than she’ll ever like pink, she doesn’t want to learn how to dance, and she definitely doesn’t want to wear a frilly pink gown.

As Sue learns more about her family history, new perspective from her artist grandmother might lead Sue to a compromise about the dreaded quinceañera if a sudden loss in the family doesn’t eclipse the entire party in Miss Quinces (2022) by Kat Fajardo.

Find it on Bookshop.

Miss Quinces is Fajardo’s debut graphic novel and hopefully the first of many. The story starts in New York before Sue’s summer plans are upended and is primarily set in Honduras–speech bubbles present English dialog in black text and Spanish dialog (translated into English) in Blue.

Bright, full color illustrations work well with Fajardo’s graphic style that focuses on her characters. Sue’s story is firmly grounded in Latinx culture and the customs surrounding quinceañeras but Sue’s struggles to balance her Honduran heritage with her own American sensibilities will ring true to any reader trying to straddle two worlds.

Along the way, both Sue and readers learn more about quinceañera traditions while also seeing ways that Sue (and her family) are able to adapt in order to make sure Sue’s quinceañera is one she’d actually want to attend. The story does include the death of Sue’s grandmother which, while obviously sad, is handled well.

An author’s note at the end includes some thoughts from Fajardo on her own quinceañera.

Miss Quinces is an optimistic coming-of-age story from an author to watch. Recommended.

Possible Pairings: Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol, Isla to Island by Alexa Castellanos, Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani, Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley, Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra, For the Love of Laxmi by Bijal Shah

The Awakening Storm: A Graphic Novel Review

Grace is excited to move to Hong Kong with her mom and her new stepdad. Her father might be dead, but this is her chance to connect with his culture and the stories he always told her about dragons.

When an old woman thrusts a strange egg at Grace during a school trip, she begins to realize that her father’s stories might be more fact than fiction.

After the egg hatches Grace and her new friends will have to find a way to protect the baby dragon while trying to figure out the scope of the dragon’s powers–and who the shady organization is that wants to use those powers for ill in The Awakening Storm (2021) by Jaimal Yogis, illustrated by Vivian Truong.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Awakening Storm is the first graphic novel in Yogis and Truong’s City of Dragons series. The book includes full color illustrations. Grace’s mother is white and her father was Chinese. Grace’s friends at her international school come from a variety of cultures.

Yogis’s characters are presented with care and an excellent use of dialog–especially with Grace and her new group of friends–to showcase the character relationships at work. Truong’s full color illustrations are dynamic and translate the action of this story well into motion-filled panels. The vibrant colors and cartoon-like style work well for the story and make for one extremely cute dragon.

The Awakening Storm is an immediately engrossing adventure filled with fast friends, quick banter between characters, and an amazing blend of Chinese mythology in a modern story.

Possible Pairings: Caster by Elsie Chapman, Chasing Power by Sarah Beth Durst, City of Thieves by Alex London

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

The Girl From the Sea: A Graphic Novel Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Fifteen-year-old Morgan Kwon is counting down the days until she finishes high school. Once she graduates Morgan will be able to start her real life at college where she won’t have to worry about her divorced mom or her moody younger brother, Aiden.

Best of all, Morgan won’t have to keep any more secrets–like the fact that she’s gay. Even with a supportive family and a great group of friends, Morgan isn’t sure how anyone will take that news. She isn’t sure she wants to find out.

Everything changes one night when Morgan falls into the water. Saved by a mysterious girl named Keltie, Morgan starts to wonder if she doesn’t have to wait for her real life to start after all.

Kelie is pretty and funny. She helps Morgan see Wilneff Island in a new light. She’s also a little strange. But by the time Morgan learns the truth about Keltie, she knows she’ll do whatever it takes to help Keltie. Even if it means revealing some of her own secrets in The Girl From the Sea (2021) by Molly Knox Ostertag.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Girl From the Sea is a summery standalone graphic novel illustrated in full color.

The story closely follows Morgan as she balances summer fun with her friends (including clever pages of texts between the group of girls interspersed throughout the book) alongside getting to know Keltie. This sweet story of first love and embracing yourself is rounded out with hints of environmentalism and selkie folkore that Morgan and Keltie unpack together as Keltie reveals her secrets.

Tight plotting, carefully detailed illustrations, and fully realized characters make The Girl From the Sea a graphic novel that readers will want to revisit again and again.

Possible Pairings: The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott, Bloom by Kevin Panetta, You Brought Me the Ocean by Alex Sanchez, Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Allergic: A Graphic Novel Review

Maggie has been feeling like the odd one out at home for a while. Her parents are busy getting ready for the new baby. Her younger brothers are twins and always speaking their own language. Literally. Maggie hasn’t had anything just for her for a while.

Which is why getting a puppy for her tenth birthday is the best gift ever.

But there’s one problem: Maggie breaks out in hives the minute she tries to choose her new dog.

Turns out Maggie is allergie to anything with fur. With her pet options severely limited Maggie will have to get creative if she wants to find the perfect pet in Allergic (2021) by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated Michelle Mee Nutter.

Find it on Bookshop.

Allergic is a really fun, full color graphic novel. Maggie’s father is depicted as white while her mother is darker skinned.

This story packs a lot into a slim volume. It’s sure to appeal to fans of contemporary graphic novels. Maggie struggles to come to terms with her allergies–and the numerous shot treatments she needs for them–while letting go of her idea of the perfect pet.

At the same time, Maggie makes new friends with a boy at school who has food allergies helping her put her own situation in perspective as something that just happens sometimes. She also befriends new neighbor Claire who is a grad ahead at school and tries to support Maggie on her pet search. While the girls have some growing pains with jealousy and related arguments, their friendship is back on solid ground by the end of the story.

Allergic is a relatable, funny story perfect for readers who enjoy slice-of-life comics and animals–with or without fur.

Possible Pairings: Gabby Gets It Together by Michele Assarasakorn and Nathan Fairbairn, Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham, The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow, All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson, Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker, Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Bunbun and Bonbon: Fancy Friends: An Early Reader Review

Bunbun has it all: a delightful bunbun nose, a bunbun smile, bunbun ears, and even a fluffy bunbun tail.

What Bunbun does not have is a friend.

All of that changes when an unassuming rock turns out to be … Bonbon.

Bonbon has a purple candy shell, a sugary candy body, and two sparkling candy eyes.

Together, this unlikely pair becomes fancy friends as they don bowties and top hats, eat fancy foods, and prepare for a fancy party in Bunbun and Bonbon: Fancy Friends (2020) by Jess Keating.

Find it on Bookshop.

Bunbun and Bonbon: Fancy Friends is the first book in a new series of graphic novels perfect for the youngest comics fans and early readers. Large panels and bold text for the story and speech bubbles make the story sequencing easy to follow whether being read aloud or independently.

Keating’s illustrations are bold and colorful bringing Bunbun and Bonbon’s fancy world to life with clean backgrounds that convey the setting without cluttering the panels. A limited vocabulary also makes the story easy to follow while introducing new words (notably bonbon among others) throughout. The story broken into chapters that can be read as self-contained stories or all at once.

Bunbun and Bonbon: Fancy Friends is everything I never knew I always wanted in a story. Bright artwork, clever dialog, and gentle stories come together to make this series a standout for readers of any age. Perfect for fans of Elephant and Piggie, Toon Books, and Geisel award winners.

Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board: A Graphic Novel Review

Dany finally feels like she’s getting the hang of middle school. Her best friend Madison has found her own place in town after her confusing start as a drawing in Dany’s magical sketchbook.

With their school opening again after being destroyed in no small part by Dany’s shenanigans at the start of the school year, it’s a busy time. So busy, in fact, that Dany decides it might be time to duplicate herself so she will have someone to help her with mounting homework and figure out how to navigate the still confusing waters of middle school social climbing.

When Dany and … Dany accidentally let a magical dog loose in town, chaos unsurprisingly ensues before Dany, Madison, their other friends, (and the other Dany) work together to try and stop the dog and save the school dance in Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board (2019) by Kristen Gudsnuk.

Find it on Bookshop.

Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board is the second installment in Gudsnuk’s wacky graphic novel series.

Gudsnuk takes the humor, friendships, and zaniness from book one and turns it up to twelve in this flashy, full color, graphic novel.

Things you’ll find in these pages: five Solar Scouts, one Pikkiball, one mean girl, several magic flying rings, a dog genie. Do I even need to say more?

Making Friends: Back to the Drawing Board positions Gudsnuk as a must-read for anyone who enjoys their graphic novels tempered with great humor, good friends, and a whole lot of silly pop culture references.

Possible Pairings: Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol, Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks, All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson, All Summer Long by Hope Larson, Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson, Lumberjanes by Noelle Stephenson, Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, Audrey’s Magic Nine by Michelle Wright, illustrated by Courtney Huddleston and Tracy Bailey

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration at BookExpo 2019*

The Midwinter Witch: A Chick Lit Wednesday (Graphic Novel) Review

Aster looks forward to the Midwinter Festival every year. The festival is a yearly gathering of the entire Vanissen family and filled with competitions in the annual Jolrun tournament for both shapeshifting and witchery.

After earning his hard-won right to study witchery with the Vanissen girls, Aster is eager to compete and prove his skill as a witch.

But challenging generations of tradition isn’t easy. Especially when Aster’s new friend and fellow witch Ariel is still trying to prove to herself and the Vanissen family that she belongs. As competition between them grows and outside forces threaten the festival, Aster and Ariel will have to put aside their differences and remember the things that brought them together to stop dark magic from tearing them apart in The Midwinter Witch (2019) by Molly Knox Ostertag.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Midwinter Witch is the conclusion of Ostertag’s Witch Boy trilogy which begins with The Witch Boy and The Hidden Witch.

The Midwinter Witch is the most character driven installment in this series as readers see more of Aster and Ariel working to come into their powers while Sedge joins Charlie at her human school.

High action competitions contrast well with in-depth conversations as both Aster and Ariel try to figure out how best to make space for themselves as witches in a family that often feels foreign to them. Ostertag’s full color illustrations are vibrant and bring this magical world to life.

The Midwinter Witch is a satisfying conclusion to a thoughtful and exciting graphic novel series. A must read for fans of previous installments.

Possible Pairings: Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Lobizona by Romina Garber, The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks, Frogkisser! by Garth Nix, The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill, The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend, Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu, The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Making Friends: A Graphic Novel Review

Sixth grade seemed so much easier to Danielle. Her friends were all together in the same class with her. She knew all the rules in school and how things worked.

Seventh grade isn’t like that. Danielle is in a different class and her friends are making new friends without her. Nothing is the same. Even making new friends feels harder now than it did when she was younger.

Drawing in the sketchbook she inherited from her great aunt Elma is way simpler. At least until Danielle realizes that her new sketchbook is magical. Everything she draws in the book comes to life–even the head of Prince Neptune, the dreamy misunderstood villain from her favorite show.

When Danielle starts thinking about the perfect best friend, the solution seems obvious. She can draw a friend! The only problem is Madison doesn’t know that Danielle drew her. And Danielle isn’t sure they can still be friends if she finds out.

With her secret looming and Prince Neptune whispering terrible advice in her ear, Danielle’s friend troubles are certain to get even worse. It will take some magic sketches and a lot of friendship to stop Prince Neptune before it’s too late in Making Friends (2018) by Kristen Gudsnuk.

Find it on Bookshop.

Gudsnuk’s latest graphic novel is a wild mashup of contemporary middle school antics and magical adventures sure to appeal to fans of Sailor Moon. Danielle’s real world problems are tempered with the more fantastical question of what to do about the floating head she accidentally brought to life and how to convince her best friend Madison that she can be her own person while still starting life as one of Danielle’s drawings.

Gudsnuk’s style is sharp with a cartoon vibe in this full color comic. Panels are dynamic and make a nice distinction between Danielle’s life and her drawings. Readers can only hope that this standalone volume will be the start to a new series.

Making Friends is a wild genre bender with humor and heart in equal measure. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol, Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks, All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson, All Summer Long by Hope Larson, Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson, Lumberjanes by Noelle Stephenson, Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, Audrey’s Magic Nine by Michelle Wright, illustrated by Courtney Huddleston and Tracy Bailey