I love comics and graphic novels, so what do I do with that love? Well, I turn it into a new feature!
From Panel to Panel is a new feature where I talk about the awesome (and perhaps not-so awesome) comic books and graphic novels I’ve read. Basically, this will be me pushing them onto your laps. You’re welcome.
Hi, remember this? It’s actually been a year since the last time I’ve posted about graphic novels I’m excited about that were coming out. I didn’t mean to stop doing these—2020 just hasn’t been kind.
But I’m ready to talk about all the graphic novels I’m so pumped for, which includes the amazing Trung Le Nguyen (aka Trungles)’s GN, witches and seances, and much more. When you read the synopsis, you’ll understand why these graphic novels are most wanted.
Let’s check out what graphic novels were released this fall for kids and teens!
| WANT THESE GRAPHIC NOVELS |
|---|
[/lightbox]
- The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is The Magic Fish about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Tiến loves his family and his friends…but Tiến has a secret he’s been keeping from them, and it might change everything. An amazing YA graphic novel that deals with the complexity of family and how stories can bring us together.Real life isn’t a fairytale.
But Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn’t even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through?
Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?
A beautifully illustrated story by Trung Le Nguyen that follows a young boy as he tries to navigate life through fairytales, an instant classic that shows us how we are all connected. The Magic Fish tackles tough subjects in a way that accessible with readers of all ages, and teaches us that no matter what—we can all have our own happy endings.[/spoiler]
- Dungeon Critters by Natalie Riess & Sara Goetter
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Dungeon Critters about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Quests! Plots! Evil Plants! Magic and mayhem!Join the Dungeon Critters — a tight-knit squad of animal companions — on a wild adventure investigating a sinister botanical conspiracy among the furry nobility. As they risk their lives traveling through haunted dungeons, swamps, and high society balls — they also come closer together as friends.
Motivated by rivalries, ideals, and a lust for adventure, these critters navigate not only perils and dangers of the natural world, but also perils and dangers… of the heart![/spoiler]
- Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte & Ann Xu
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Measuring Up about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Twelve-year-old Cici has just moved from Taiwan to Seattle, and the only thing she wants more than to fit in at her new school is to celebrate her grandmother, A-má’s, seventieth birthday together.Since she can’t go to A-má, Cici cooks up a plan to bring A-má to her by winning the grand prize in a kids’ cooking contest to pay for A-má’s plane ticket! There’s just one problem: Cici only knows how to cook Taiwanese food.
And after her pickled cucumber debacle at lunch, she’s determined to channel her inner Julia Child. Can Cici find a winning recipe to reunite with A-má, a way to fit in with her new friends, and somehow find herself too?[/spoiler]
- Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Séance Tea Party about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Lora doesn’t want to grow up! Afraid that she is the magic of her childhood, Lora will do anything to stop it . . . including befriending Alexa, the ghost who haunts her house. A middle-grade graphic novel that focuses growing up and what that means for you and all the relationships you have in your life. This book is perfect for fans of Ghosts and Making Friends.Growing up sounds terrible.
No one has time to do anything fun, or play outside, or use their imagination. Everything is suddenly so serious. People are more interested in their looks and what others think about them than having fun adventures. Who wants that?
Not Lora.
After watching her circle of friends seemingly fade away, Lora is determined to still have fun on her own. A tea party with a twist lease Lora to discovering Alex, the ghost that haunts her house — and Lora’s old imaginary friend! Lora and Alexa are thrilled to meet kindred spirits and they become best friends . . . but unfortunately, not everything can last forever.[/spoiler]
[lightbox src=”http://www.thenovelhermit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/fall20gn2.png”]
[/lightbox]
- Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Witches of Brooklyn about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]There’s a new witch in town! Life in Brooklyn takes a strange turn when Effie discovers MAGIC runs in the family.A middle-grade graphic novel adventure filled with magical hjinks for fans of Phoebe and Her Unicorn and Making Friends
Effie lost her mom.
Lost her home.
And now she has to live with two strange aunts who she’s never met before.
Life in Brooklyn takes a strange twist for Effie as she learns more about her family and herself. With new friends who will do whatever they can to be there for her, a cursed pop-star, and her new magically-inclined family — Effie’s life is about to get interesting.[/spoiler]
- Fangirl Vol. 1: Manga by Rainbow Rowell, Sam Maggs, & Gabi Nam
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Fangirl Vol. 1: The Manga about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]The manga adaptation of the beloved novel featuring all-new scenes by Rainbow Rowell!Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, everybody is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath just can’t let go…
Cath doesn’t need friends IRL. She has her twin sister, Wren, and she’s a popular fanfic writer in the Simon Snow community with thousands of fans online. But now that she’s in college, Cath is completely outside of her comfort zone. There are suddenly all these new people in her life. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming boyfriend, a writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome new writing partner…
And she’s barely heard from Wren all semester![/spoiler]
- Twins by Varian Johnson & Shannon Wright
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Twins about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Maureen and Francine Carter are twins and best friends. They participate in the same clubs, enjoy the same foods, and are partners on all their school projects. But just before the girls start sixth grade, Francine becomes Fran — a girl who wants to join the chorus, run for class president, and dress in fashionable outfits that set her apart from Maureen. A girl who seems happy to share only two classes with her sister!Maureen and Francine are growing apart and there’s nothing Maureen can do to stop it. Are sisters really forever? Or will middle school change things for good?[/spoiler]
- Flamer by Mike Curato
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Flamer about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both.I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe.
It’s the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone’s going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can’t stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.[/spoiler]
[lightbox src=”http://www.thenovelhermit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/fall20gn3.png”]
[/lightbox]
- Teen Titans: Beast Boy Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Teen Titans: Beast Boy about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Garfield Logan has spent his entire life being overlooked. Even in a small town like Eden, Georgia, the seventeen-year-old with green streaks in his hair can’t find a way to stand out–and the clock is ticking. Senior year is almost over. If Gar doesn’t find a way to impress the social elite at Bull Creek High School, he will never know what it’s like to matter. Gar’s best friends, Stella and Tank, can’t understand why he cares what other people think, and they miss their funny, pizza-loving, video game-obsessed best friend.Then Gar accepts a wild dare out of the blue. It impresses the popular kids, and his social status soars. But other things are changing, too. Gar grows six inches overnight. His voice drops, and suddenly, he’s stronger and faster. He’s finally getting everything he wanted, but his newfound popularity comes at a price. Gar has to work harder to impress his new friends. The dares keep getting bigger, and the stakes keep getting higher.
When Gar realizes the extent of his physical changes, he has to dig deep and face the truth about himself–and the people who truly matter–before his life spirals out of control.[/spoiler]
- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds & Danica Novgorodoff
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Long Way Down about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Jason Reynolds’s Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel Long Way Down is now a gripping, galvanizing graphic novel, with haunting artwork by Danica Novgorodoff.Will’s older brother, Shawn, has been shot.
Dead.
Will feels a sadness so great, he can’t explain it. But in his neighborhood, there are THE RULES:
No. 1: Crying.
Don’t.
No matter what.
No. 2: Snitching
Don’t.
No matter what.
No. 3: Revenge
Do.
No matter what.
But bullets miss. You can get the wrong guy. And there’s always someone else who knows to follow the rules…[/spoiler]
- Lightfall: The Girl & The Galdurian by Tim Probert
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is Lightfall about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]For fans of Amulet and middle grade readers who love sweeping worlds like Star Wars, the first book of the Lightfall series introduces Bea and Cad, two unlikely friends who get swept up in an epic quest to save their world from falling into eternal darkness.Deep in the heart of the planet Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s House of Tonics & Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted granddaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once-prosperous world.
All that changes one day when, while walking through the woods, Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, an ancient race thought to be long-extinct. Cad believes that if anyone can help him find his missing people, it’s the Pig Wizard.
But when the two arrive home, the Pig Wizard is nowhere to be found—all that’s left is the Jar of Endless Flame and a mysterious note. Fearing for the Pig Wizard’s safety, Bea and Cad set out across Irpa to find him, while danger fights its way out of the shadows and into the light.
Will these two unexpected friends find the beloved Pig Wizard and prevent eternal darkness from blanketing their world? Or has Irpa truly seen its last sunrise?[/spoiler]
- The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by Natalie Andrewso & E.T.A. Hoffmann
Buy: LCBS · Goodreads · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indiebound · Indigo · Library
[spoiler title=”What is The Nutcracker and the Mouse King about?” open=”yes” style=”fancy” icon=”chevron-circle”]Of all the gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve, only one captures Marie Stahlbaum’s heart: a humble nutcracker.He’s a curious little man, with kind eyes, sweet red cheeks, and a friendly appearance.
And as midnight nears, he comes to life, revealing a fairy-tale world of magic and wonder, wicked princesses and fierce battles . . . and an ancient curse that can only be broken with the help of a true friend.
With the evil Mouse King looming and her dream world threatened, Marie will have to find the strength to stand up for her nutcracker—no matter what it takes.[/span]
Leave a Reply