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Novel/Graphic Novel Hybrids: A Reading List

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I don’t think it’s necessarily a trend in young adult fiction, but I’ve noticed recently more traditional novels are featuring graphic novel elements to them. Interspersed within the text are illustrations that either help tell the story or add an additional element to the storytelling (and sometimes both at once). Since getting new readers into graphic novels can be challenging, these illustrated/hybrid novels might be a way to encourage trying another method of storytelling. Likewise, these can be great books for those readers who are the opposite — adding the graphic element to a traditional novel can persuade those who are heavy graphic novel readers to try more “traditional” novels.

Maybe most importantly, though, these books are fun. They offer new ways into stories, and work toward building and enhancing curiosity. Why did this particular scene get an illustration? What significance does this particular image mean? Is it telling the reader something visually that cannot possibly be expressed through written words? Is the character telling the story an artist him or herself and the graphic elements are “their” creations and not the work of the author/illustrator?

Here is a handful of these hybrid novels, including a couple that aren’t out yet but will be coming out soon. If you know of other books that fit this category, we’d love to know about them in the comments. There’s no restriction on when the books came out because this is a smaller range of books than most. As long as it’s young adult and traditionally published, we want to know about them. Note that these books feature illustrations, too — they aren’t books including photographs, letters, or other ephemeral items (which is why books like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children are not included). 

All descriptions come from WorldCat unless otherwise noted. 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, with illustrations by Ellen Forney: Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Year of the Beasts by Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell: Fifteen-year-old Tessa tries to be happy when her crush, Charlie, falls for her younger sister, Lulu, and it becomes easier after she begins a secret relationship with Jasper, a social outcast who lives next door to Tessa’s best friend.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard (illustrations by Hubbard): Bria, an aspiring artist just graduated from high school, takes off for Central America’s La Ruta Maya, rediscovering her talents and finding love.

Winger by Andrew Smith (illustrations by Smith): Two years younger than his classmates at a prestigious boarding school, fourteen-year-old Ryan Dean West grapples with living in the dorm for troublemakers, falling for his female best friend who thinks of him as just a kid, and playing wing on the Varsity rugby team with some of his frightening new dorm-mates.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness: Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill–an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Keith Thompson: In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically engineered beasts.



Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor, with illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo: Three short stories about kissing, featuring elements of the supernatural.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, with illustrations by Julian Crouch: An unlikely teenager risks all to expose the truth about a heralded moon landing. What if the football hadn’t gone over the wall. On the other side of the wall there is a dark secret. And the devil. And the Moon Man. And the Motherland doesn’t want anyone to know. But Standish Treadwell–who has different-colored eyes, who can’t read, can’t write, Standish Treadwell isn’t bright–sees things differently than the rest of the “train-track thinkers.” So when Standish and his only friend and neighbor, Hector, make their way to the other side of the wall, they see what the Motherland has been hiding. And it’s big.

Broken by Elizabeth Pulford, with illustrations by Angus Gomes (available August 27): Zara has one immediate and urgent goal, and it is to find her brother, Jem. She faces a few complications, though, not the least of which is searching for him in her subconscious while she is in a coma. Zara’s coma has pulled her into the world of Jem’s favorite comic-book hero. But no matter how quickly Zara literally draws her own escape, she is taunted deeper into the fantastical darkness by the comic’s villain, Morven. All the while she is caught between the present with visits from friends and family in the hospital and the past by flashbacks of a traumatic event long ago forgotten.
The search for her brother may help Zara see the light, but in order to find him, she must face her innermost secrets first. (Description via Goodreads).

Chasing Shadows by Swati Avasthi, with illustrations by Craig Phillips (available September 24): Before: Corey, Holly, and Savitri are one unit—fast, strong, inseparable. Together they turn Chicago concrete and asphalt into a freerunner’s jungle gym, ricocheting off walls, scaling buildings, leaping from rooftops to rooftop. But acting like a superhero doesn’t make you bulletproof. After: Holly and Savitri are coming unglued. Holly says she’s chasing Corey’s killer, chasing revenge. Savitri fears Holly’s just running wild—and leaving her behind. Friends should stand by each other in times of crisis. But can you hold on too tight? Too long? In this intense novel, Swati Avasthi creates a gripping portrait of two girls teetering on the edge of grief and insanity. Two girls who will find out just how many ways there are to lose a friend…and how many ways to be lost. (Description via Goodreads). 
The Well’s End by Seth Fishman, illustrated by Kate Beaton (February 25, 2014): Mia Kish is afraid of the dark. And for good reason. When she was a toddler she fell deep into her backyard well only to be rescued to great fanfare and celebrity. In fact, she is small-town Fenton,Colorado’s walking claim to fame. Not like that helps her status at Westbrook Academy, the nearby uber-ritzy boarding school she attends. A townie is a townie. Being nationally ranked as a swimmer doesn’t matter a lick. But even the rarefied world of Westbrook is threated when emergency sirens start blaring and the school is put on lockdown, quarantined and surrounded by soldiers who seem to shoot first and ask questions later. Only when confronted by a frightening virus that ages its victims to death in a manner of hours does Mia realize she may only just be beginning to discover what makes Fenton special. The answer is behind the walls of the Cave, aka Fenton Electronics. Mia’s dad, the director of Fenton Electronics, has always been secretive about his work. But unless Mia is willing to let her classmates succumb to the strange illness, she and her friends have got to break quarantine, escape the school grounds, and outsmart armed soldiers to uncover the truth about where the virus comes from and what happened down that well. The answers they find just might be more impossible than the virus they are fleeing. 
If you’re curious about a sneak peek at the Fishman book, there’s a nice piece with illustrations over at io9.
A few middle grade authors to have in your back pocket who have done these sorts of books include Neil Gaiman (though Coraline and The Graveyard Book), Philip Reeve (Larklight), Brian Selznick (Wonderstruck), and Tony DiTerlizzi (The Search for WondLa). 

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

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Gene Luen Yang is a big name in the graphic novel scene, and deservedly so. I really liked his Printz-winning book American Born Chinese, but Boxers & Saints – a new duology about the Boxer Rebellion told from two perspectives – tops it.

Boxers tells the story of the Boxer Rebellion from the point of view of a Chinese boy named Little Bao. Since he was a little boy, he’s seen the Westerners invade his town and his country with their strange language and their strange religion. The book opens with a Christian priest smashing a statue of one of the revered Chinese gods, declaring it a false idol. The foreigners humiliate his father, run roughshod over Chinese culture, and there are whispers that the foreign leaders plan to carve up China like they have so much of the rest of the world.

Anti-Western sentiment is high, and it’s no surprise that Little Bao – now not so little – chooses to follow his kung fu teacher in fighting against Western influence. When his teacher is executed for an act of (justified, to Little Bao) aggression against Westerners, his resolve only strengthens. Over time, he and his village friends recruit an army of men who intend to march to Peking and rid China of the foreign and Christian influence. It’s fairly simple for them to dispose of the foreigners; it’s less easy when it comes to the “secondary devils,” the Chinese people who have converted to Christianity. Bao’s story is harrowing in its violence and heartbreak. He commits terrible acts of violence, but such is the power of Yang’s story that it’s difficult to condemn him completely.

Saints is less successful, but only marginally so. Four-Girl is so insignificant to her family that they didn’t even give her a proper name, instead choosing to call her by her place in the birth order. She goes her whole childhood feeling unwanted, and eventually decides to embrace her “devil” side. If she can’t be good, she’ll be exactly the opposite. She finds her way to Christianity in this vein, but she eventually embraces it as her own faith when she chooses a name, Vibiana, therefore making her one of the “secondary devils” Bao despises so much.

I know the Chinese converts had myriad reasons for their conversion, and some were probably not motivated completely by religious fervor, but I never really bought into Vibiana’s complete capitulation to her new religion. It seemed a bit too abrupt to me. There wasn’t quite enough transition from her joining the religion to spite her family to her actual belief in it, and as a consequence, I never really felt that her religious conviction was so strong that she would die for it (highlight to read the spoiler).

Despite this complaint, her story is still heart-wrenching, made even more so by the fact that I knew about her through Bao’s eyes going into it. The format of the duology works exceptionally well – the two stories complement each other, clearly communicating different, valid perspectives while also endorsing neither completely. This could have been a quite didactic way to tell the story (remember kids, you have to look at everything from both sides!), but it never felt that way. It’s a story about two people caught up in something bigger than themselves and what they choose to do about it.

As is normal for Yang, there’s a bit of magic in each story, though it’s never quite clear if the magic is real or inside the people’s heads (as is also normal for Yang). Bao and his comrades transform into Chinese gods when they fight, making them almost invincible (at least in their minds), and Vibiana sees visions of Joan of Arc. Each of these elements provide a longer historical context for the story, beyond just the years of the Boxer Rebellion. They also provide a bit more cultural context, essential in a book for English-speakers who probably don’t know much about China.

This is perhaps the best example I know of what the graphic novel format can do. It’s written in English, but when the Westerners speak, their language is portrayed in an incomprehensible scrawl that slightly resembles Chinese characters, with the translation below. The art is fantastic, with colors by Lark Pien, who chose to utilize all colors of the rainbow for Boxers and went with mostly muted grays and browns for Saints. Just as the text is the story, so too is the art. They work together to create something a prose novel never could.

Authorial intent is often discussed with books like these. Yang is even-handed, and if he has a bias, it’s not detectable. What really comes across is the immense sense of tragedy. These books are heartbreaking, not only because of what happens to the
people, but because of what the people do to each other. Yang first
makes the reader care about Little Bao, to sympathize with him, to see
exactly where he’s coming from, and then he has Little Bao do terrible
things because of it. It’s hard to read. It’s made even more difficult after reaching the end of Boxers and picking up Saints, knowing how Bao’s and Vibiana’s stories intersect and how they end. Either book would be a solid read on its own, but together they are more than the sum of their parts.

If you read only one graphic novel this year, make it this one. And then tell me what you think of it.

Advance copies provided by the publisher. Boxers and Saints will be available September 10.

Twitterview: Sara Varon & Cecil Castellucci

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We have a really fun Twitterview to share with you this month, and it’s one that got us thinking about doing a week-long series of posts featuring graphic novels. Kimberly and I are both huge fans of Sara Varon, who wrote and illustrated Bake Sale, Robot Dreams, and more, and we were super excited to get the chance to interview her about her latest book, Odd Duck. 

As you may know, though, Sara collaborated on the creation of Odd Duck with author Cecil Castellucci. So when the chance presented itself that we could interview them together, we jumped at it — you get to see both the writing side and the illustrating side, as well as what the collaborative process was like.

If you haven’t had the chance to read Odd Duck yet, we’re also giving away a copy at the end of the interview. Kim and I both loved this book, and we hope that you do too. It’s a fantastic introduction to the work of BOTH Sara and Cecil. 

Pitch Odd Duck in 140 characters or fewer.
Cecil: Two ducks.  One is odd.  But which one?

Odd Duck is a collaboration. How did you two team up?

Sara: We were matched up by the publisher.

What was the collaborative process like?

Sara: It was fun! Cecil was a good collaborator, and conveniently we agreed on most things.

Cecil:  Sara is great.  I was always left inspired when we would talk about the pages.

Sara, you write and illustrate your graphic novels. Which comes first: the story or the art?

Sara: Depends. Sometimes it’s the character, like the cupcake in Bake Sale. Sometimes it’s a theme, like the theme of betrayal in Robot Dreams. 

Tell us about your creative process.

Cecil: I dream. Eat chocolate. Cry. Stare at the sky, stars and moon. Then put pen to page.

When did you begin drawing and writing? When did you know this was what you wanted to do?

Sara: I was always doodler my whole life. Writing is newer to me – I didn’t start writing stories until I went to grad school about 10 years ago.

Cecil: I knew and wrote my first story at 7. It was a sequel to Star Wars. Lucas went with Empire Strikes Back.

What draws you to writing and illustrating for young readers?

Cecil: Everything is new and high stakes.  Even if it’s getting a cookie from the jar. 
Sara: I write and draw for myself; the publisher puts the age label on it.

Unusual friendships are a common theme in your stories. What draws you to them?

Cecil: I think finding your true tribe is the way to happiness.  Unusual friendships usually challenge us and help us grow.

Sara, is it more difficult to tell a story that is mostly wordless (Robot Dreams) vs. a more traditional comic? Do you have a preference?

Sara: No, one is not harder than the other. But I prefer the wordless stories because I am better at them. Words are not my strong suit.

Did you read comics growing up? If so, which ones?

Sara: No but I loved cartoons. I loved anything by Jay Ward – Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, Tooter Turtle. 

Cecil: yes. Tin Tin. Asterix. Lucky Luke. Batman. Superman. Peanuts.

Do you have a favorite character among those you’ve created? Which and why?

Sara: Nope. Once a project is done, I don’t think about it again. I did like drawing food characters for Bake Sale, but animals are my default. 

Cecil: I love them all for different reasons.

Who or what do you write/illustrate for?

Cecil: I mostly write the stories that I longed for as a young person or long for now.

Who are your greatest creative influences?

Sara: The Jay Ward cartoons of my youth were a big influence. As for contemporary influences, my friends & their art is a big influence on me. 
Cecil: Star Wars set me on the path to telling stories.  I also loved Bunuel. Austen. Ballet and Operas.

What gets you jazzed to create?

Cecil: I think that art – all sorts – is the key to making sense of this crazy world we live in.  Telling stories is like my soul singing in key with you. 

Who do you believe is breaking ground now, either in graphic novels for young readers or in writing for young readers?
Cecil: GN I think Hope Larson and Faith Erin Hicks.  Also Jon Klaasen and Adam Rex. 
What’s the best writing/illustrating advice you’ve ever received?
Cecil: Put your best ears on so that you can hear critique and get down to making the work better.

Sara: Have a good time making whatever it is that you make. It comes through in the work.

What’s the best writing/illustrating advice you like to give?

Sara: See above.
Cecil: ditto.

What’s next for you?

Sara: An art show with my friends Aya Kakeda & Eun-ha Paek in Mexico City. It will include textiles, paper, murals, installations, etc. 

Cecil: Tin Star, Book one in a Sci Fi duet out in Feb ’14.  Untitled graphic novel about Hobos with Joe Infurnari out in Fall ’14.

And your favorite ice cream flavor?

Cecil:  Anything with chocolate.  

Sara: Depends on the brand, but it should probably have chocolate or coffee in it.  I am generally not a fruity ice cream person.
Want to win a copy of Odd Duck? We’ll pick a winner at the end of the month, and entries are open to anyone who can receive books from The Book Depository.


Get Genrefied*: Graphic Novels

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Every month, we’re highlighting one genre within YA fiction as part of Angela’s reader’s advisory challenge. So far, we’ve discussed horror, science fiction, high fantasy, mysteries and thrillers, verse novels, contemporary realistic fiction, and historical fiction. August’s focus is graphic novels, a wide, wide world that actually includes all genres under the sun.

The simplest definition of a graphic novel, as librarians use it, is a book-length comic. The term is actually a little misleading, since many of the books we generally call graphic “novels” – like nonfiction – are not novels at all. (Why we don’t just call them graphic books I will never understand. Can you tell it bugs me a little to have to call a nonfiction book a novel? It does.) A comic is sequential art, usually incorporating panels with speech bubbles or captions as opposed to traditional paragraphs of text. It’s the “sequential” that sets it apart from, say, a picture book.

The graphic novel format is incredibly broad, because it can really tell any kind of story you can imagine (both fiction and nonfiction). Graphic novels can include (but are not limited to):

  • Graphic adaptations of classics, like Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 or Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. (The quality of these is incredibly spotty. Professional reviews are essential before selecting them for the library.)
  • Graphic adaptations of more current and popular titles, such as Twilight, Artemis Fowl, Beautiful Creatures, and the upcoming Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Speak.
  • Collections of complete story arcs featuring superheroes and other traditional comic book protagonists, such as the recent Avengers vs. X-Men. These are multiple issues of a particular comic book collected in a single volume. The volume will have a unifying story with a beginning, middle, and end.
  • Other continuous series that don’t necessarily fit into the superhero mold, such as My Boyfriend is a Monster.
  • Manga (Japanese comics). My knowledge of manga is limited, so I rely a lot on professional reviews and the teens to tell me what they want to read. Perennial favorites include Bleach, Naruto, and Fruits Basket.
  • Graphic novel spinoffs or side stories of popular tv series, including Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  • And the books that we’ll be primarily focusing on in this guide: the standalones (or occasional short series), the more typical “novel” sort of book originally written as a book and not as a series of strips, single-issue comics, or based on a previous story in another format or media type. Examples of this include Anya’s Ghost and American Born Chinese. This category also includes some really excellent and creative nonfiction, such as My Friend Dahmer.

With such a broad topic, it’s helpful to know where to find more information. I’ve found the following resources valuable or interesting in one way or another in the years I’ve been selecting graphic novels for teens:

  • No Flying, No Tights is an invaluable resource that’s continuously updated with reviews of graphic novels for teens (plus some for younger kids and adults). It’s run by a teen librarian, and it caters to a librarian audience.
  • Comics Worth Reading is another blog worth checking out. They review titles and discuss news. They also have a section dedicated to comics by women.
  • First Second and Graphic Universe (graphic novel imprints of Macmillan and Lerner, respectively) both run blogs with information about graphic novels beyond plugs for their own books. Graphic Universe’s hasn’t been updated since 2012.
  • School Library Journal runs the Good Comics for Kids blog which discusses all things graphic novels for kids, including news and reviews.
  • Comics Alliance and Comic Book Resources are news and opinion sites about comic book culture. Neither are tied to any particular publishing house.
  • Kelly pointed this out this past weekend: The Richland Library has collected a list of graphic novels adapted from traditional books (both classic and contemporary).

There are several awards and professional recommended reading lists available for YA graphic novels:

  • The Eisner Awards, named after graphic novelist Will Eisner, are the biggie. They have a specific category for teens ages 13-17, but a lot of the adult titles honored will have crossover appeal.
  • The Cybils honor the best graphic novel for teens each year (I participated as a round 2 judge last year).
  • The ALA produces a list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens each year. Many of the titles on this list are books published for the adult market with crossover appeal. They also include a good bit of manga and superhero comics.
  • The Texas Library Association has the Maverick Graphic Novel reading list (the first of its kind in the nation), which helpfully divides the books into grades 6-8, 6-12, 9-12, and adult with teen appeal.

And finally, while most major publishing houses that produce traditional books also regularly put out some graphic novels each year (such as Candlewick and Houghton Mifflin), it’s good to also be aware of the major publishers and imprints dedicated to graphic novels. Note that most of the publishers listed below publish for all ages, with some books appropriate for a teen collection and some not:

  • First Second (an imprint of Macmillan)
  • Graphix (an imprint of Scholastic, mainly middle grade with some crossover to YA)
  • Graphic Universe (an imprint of Lerner)
  • Papercutz (mainly children’s and middle grade with a lot of licensed content that appeals to all ages)
  • Fantagraphics
  • Drawn + Quarterly
  • The Center for Cartoon Studies (this is actually a school for aspiring professional graphic novelists that puts out some thoughtful, unique stuff)
  • Major monthly comic book publishers (whose issues are then collected into graphic novels), including DC, Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse, Image, Dynamite, Oni Press, and BOOM! Studios
  • Manga publishers in the United States, including Viz, Tokyopop, and Yen Press

Below are some graphic novels for teens published within the last year or so. All descriptions come from Worldcat or Goodreads.

A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return by Zeina Abirached: Living in the midst of civil war in Beirut, Lebanon, Zeina and her
brother face an evening of apprehension when their parents do not return
from a visit to the other side of the city.

William and the Lost Spirit by Gwen de Bonneval, illustrated by Matthieu Bonhomme: In this graphic novel that combines medieval legends and folklore, the
brutish feudal world, and devotion to family, William, the grandson of
an elderly feudal lord in the thirteenth century, sets out on a
labyrinthine journey to discover his father’s killer.

Broxo by Zach Giallongo: Broxo, the only surviving member of a tribe of barbarians, spends his
time on a mountain hunting and avoiding the man-eating walking dead
until everything changes when Zora, a foreign princess, arrives on the
mountain seeking Broxo’s lost tribe.

Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge: Wilhelmina “Will” Huxstep is a creative soul struggling to come to terms
with a family tragedy. She crafts whimsical lamps, in part to deal with
her fear of the dark. As she wraps up another summer in her mountain
town, she longs for unplugged adventures with her fellow creative
friends, Autumn, Noel, and Reese. Little does she know that she will get
her wish in the form of an arts carnival and a blackout, courtesy of a hurricane named Whitney, which forces Will to face her fear of darkness.
 

Peanut by Ayun Halliday: Nervous about starting her sophomore year at a new high school, Sadie
decides to make herself more interesting by claiming to be allergic to
peanuts, but her lie quickly spirals out of control.

Marble Season by Gilbert Hernandez: Middle child Huey stages Captain America plays and treasures his older brother’s comic book collection almost as much as his approval. “Marble Season” subtly and deftly details how the innocent, joyfully creative play that children engage in (shooting marbles, backyard performances, and organizing treasure hunts) changes as they grow older and encounter name-calling naysayers, abusive bullies, and the value judgments of other kids.

 
Tina’s Mouth by Keshni Kashyap and Mari Araki: Tina Malhotra, a sophomore at the Yarborough Academy in Southern California, creates an existential diary for an honors English assignment in which she tries to determine who she is and where she fits in.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by
Lucy Knisley: Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a
gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly.
In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key
episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time
and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is
bookended with an illustrated recipe– many of them treasured family
dishes, and a few of them Lucy’s original inventions.

Who is AC? by Hope Larson, illustrated by Tintin Pantoja: Meet Lin, an average teenage girl who is zapped with magical powers
through her cell phone. But just as superpowers can travel through the
ether, so can evil. And as Lin starts to get a handle on her powers
(while still observing her curfew!) she realizes she has to go head to
head with a nefarious villain who spreads his influence through binary
code.

War Brothers: The Graphic Novel by Sharon E. McKay, illustrated by Daniel Lafrance: Jacob is a 14-year-old Ugandan who is sent away to a boys’ school. Once
there, he assures his friend Tony that they need not be afraid — they
will be safe. But not long after, in the shadow of the night, the boys
are abducted. Marched into the jungle, they are brought to an encampment
of the feared rebel soldiers. They are told they must kill or be
killed, and their world turns into a terrifying struggle to endure and survive.

Primates by Jim Ottaviani, illustrated by Maris Wicks: Jim Ottaviani returns
with an action-packed account of the three greatest primatologists of the
last century: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas.

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks: Charlie is the laid-back captain of the basketball team. Nate is the neurotic, scheming president of the robotics club. Their unlikely friendship nearly bites the dust when Nate declares war on the cheerleaders and they retaliate by making Charlie their figurehead in the ugliest class election campaign the school has ever seen.

Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves, and Other Female Villains by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrated by Rebecca Guay: Harlot or hero? Liar or lady? There are two sides to every story. Meet
twenty-six of history’s most notorious women, and debate alongside
authors Yolen and Stemple–who appear in the book as themselves in a
series of comic panels–as to each girl’s guilt or innocence.

And here are a few to look for in the coming months.

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff: Lovable ne’er-do-well Delilah Dirk is an Indiana Jones for the 19th
century. She has traveled to Japan, Indonesia, France, and even the New
World. Using the skills she’s picked up on the way, Delilah’s adventures
continue as she plots to rob a rich and corrupt Sultan in
Constantinople. With the aid of her flying boat and her newfound friend,
Selim, she evades the Sultan’s guards, leaves angry pirates in the
dust, and fights her way through the countryside. (August 2013)

Little Fish by Ramsey Beyer: Told through real-life
journals, collages, lists, and drawings, this coming-of-age story
illustrates the transformation of an 18-year-old girl from a small-town
teenager into an independent city-dwelling college student. (September 2013)

Romeo and Juliet adapted by Gareth Hinds: Gareth Hinds’
stylish graphic adaptation of the Bard’s romantic tragedy offers modern
touches — including a diverse cast that underscores the story’s
universality. (September 2013)

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang: Boxers & Saints is
an innovative new graphic novel in two volumes – the parallel stories of
two young people caught up on opposite sides of a violent rift. American Born Chinese author
Gene Luen Yang brings his clear-eyed storytelling and trademark magical
realism to the complexities of the Boxer Rebellion and lays bare the
foundations of extremism, rebellion, and faith. (September 2013)

A Bag of Marbles: The Graphic Novel by Joseph Joffo, illustrated by Vincent Bailly: In 1941, ten-year-old Joseph Joffo and his older brother, Maurice,
must hide their Jewish heritage and undertake a long and dangerous
journey from Nazi-occupied Paris to reach their other brothers in the
free zone. (October 2013)

We’d really love it if you’d help flesh out these lists some. Do you know of any forthcoming or recently-published graphic novels for teens? Let us know in the comments.

*I (Kimberly) strongly considered changing the title of this post to
something other than “genrefied,” since graphic novels are not, by
definition, a genre. They’re a format. Ultimately, consistency won out.

Links of Note: August 3, 2013

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Ready to dive in to the pile of interesting reads from around the library/book/reading web? Because I have plenty.

  • The Lego mini-figs above come from this amusing discussion of librarian stereotypes and how Lego’s creation of an official Librarian mini fig may or may not mean something. I laughed since so many of the examples are spot on. 
  • The more I read Roger Sutton, the more I love him. And I feel like he so perfectly nails something I was thinking about certain listicles that keep popping up: do you mean “might like?”
  • Jennie talks about why “exclusive editions” of books are bad for libraries. I like this not only because it’s true, but I like it because it raises some good questions about other “exclusive” sorts of books are out there that do put library users at a disadvantage. Digital-only books? Not easy to get for readers who might want them — same with digital shorts. We want to get these things into the hands of our teens but our hands are often tied.
  • Next week, we’re doing a ton of posts about graphic novels, since it’s the genre of the month (yes, you’ll get a genre guide, an awesome Twitterview, as well as reviews and more). I stumbled upon this great reader’s advisory guide by Tom over at his library’s website worth reading: here’s a list of graphic novels that are adaptations of books, both classic literature and more contemporary works. 
  • I feel like everyone has read or shared this one already, but it won’t hurt to do it again. Linda Holmes from NPR’s Monkey See wrote an incredible piece about being an oddball and how those dreams and schemes that seem unachievable or that seem like the kinds of things no one would ever be interested in are worth pursuing. This is super positive and uplifting reading. 
  • Beverly Beckham wrote a really sweet piece to one of her first mentors and someone whose insight helped shape her own career: Robert Cormier. 
  • Are you in Chicago? You should check out the exhibit at Galerie F that pays homage to Roald Dahl’s books. Even if you can’t make it to see in person, you can check out some of the art on the Galerie’s website. 
  • I get why dust jackets exist, but I am the lady who takes them off hard covers and uses them as page markers until I am done with the book. I put them back on after…usually. Flavorwire has a piece dedicated to the dislike of the dust jacket. 
Speaking of writing, did you know WriteOnCon is coming up? WriteOnCon is a free conference, all online, all about writing, the weekend of August 13 and 14. It is FREE and easy to take part in. This year, I’m one of the “faculty” members (so weird to say!), and I feel obligated to mention that you should check out the Con if you’re into writing, want to get into writing, or you know others who would benefit from it.

I’ve had two posts over at Book Riot in the last couple of weeks too, and both are book lists: What to read while you’re waiting for the Veronica Mars movie (aka teen girl sleuths in YA fiction) and six YA books worth checking out this year that have published already and six to get on your radar.