This Middle East inspired fantasy graphic novel explores themes of persecution, classism, colonialism, the fallacy of war, and more.  As a member of the Ornu, Aiza is treated as a second-class citizen in her own land.  Her only path to full citizenship in Bayt-Sajii and to freedom is to train as a knight.  With the reluctant blessing of her parents, she covers the marks that reveal her as Ornu and begins the training.  It’s absolutely grueling and highly competitive.  Even so, Aiza quickly carves out a name for herself among the recruits, and finds some strong friendships as well.  But becoming a knight requires buying into the fictional history that the imperial rulers have created to justify their treatment of the Ornu people, and when an excursion to the borderlands goes awry, Aiza must decide whether or not to continue her individual pursuit for citizenship, or make a much bolder stand for justice.

Nancy has recently returned after disappearing for several years, and is none too happy to be back.  People won’t believe her when she says she left through a door to another world, and came back the same way– that is, until she arrives at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children.  While this house of fellow travelers first appears to be a safe haven for people like Nancy, her arrival soon marks a dangerous turn in the home.  As danger grows nearer, it’s up to her and her fellow schoolmates to uncover the truth behind these tragedies and to maybe -just maybe- find the door that leads to home.  This is a wonderful book for those who wonder what happened to those who fell down rabbit holes or walked through wardrobes after they returned home.  

Olga was always the perfect one - good grades, followed the rules, never disappointed her strict Mexican parents.  But when Olga is killed in a tragic traffic accident, younger sister Julia begins to find clues that Olga may have had some secrets.  In order to process the loss of her sister and work through her own grief (as well as the grief of her family), Julia starts to hunt down the truth about her sister. But how do you come to terms with the truth when no one else wants to hear it? 

Estranged siblings Isaac and Bellatine Yaga--one a charming con artist and the other a hardworking woodworker--are unexpectedly reunited when their twice-great grandmother passes.  The inheritance they receive is both a shared and unexpected one: Thistlefoot, a living house with chicken feet.  The two decide to take their new house on the road with a travelling puppet act, but soon find themselves caught up in Thistlefoot’s history when an entity called the Longshadow Man begins tracking them down.  With vivid prose and a unique magic system, this local Vermont author’s book explores the idea of inheritance, be it a physical item or a family history.  

Thus far, Princess Shiori has successfully managed to hide her magic from all around her.  Magic is forbidden and none but her brothers know about her powers.  But while attempting to avoid her betrothal ceremony, Shiori accidentally reveals her magic to her stepmother, and also discovers that her stepmother has some dangerous powers of her own.  It’s a costly mistake and one that leaves Shiori banished from the kingdom and cursed to complete silence. Her six brothers are cursed to turn into cranes every day, painfully returning to human form each evening. The slightest utterance from Shiori would be certain death to one of her brothers.  Now the banished and silent princess must find a way to rescue herself and her brothers.  She will have to dig deep to find the strength to carry on, and she will have to learn to trust some unlikely allies along the way.  This is a beautifully imagined fairytale retelling with East Asian folklore woven in.  A must read for fantasy fans. 

When Jack Torrance gets a job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, he and his family -protective wife Wendy and young son Danny- think it’s just what they need to get their lives back on track.  But all is not as it seems with this luxurious hotel– Jack finds himself manipulated by the allure of the hotel, Danny’s psychic abilities allow him to see the truth of their new living space, and Wendy is doing all she can to keep her struggling family together.  A classic book from the master of horror himself, Stephen King’s story of a haunted family will stay with you for years to come.  

Teenager, Bri, has a special gift - with the touch of her hand and the power of her mind, she can grow plants from seeds to full bloom in a matter of seconds.  It’s a powerful gift, but one that she has yet to fully learn how to control.  So when her aunt passes away and leaves her estate in upstate New York to Bri, her moms think this might be the answer they’ve been looking for.  On the rural estate, Bri will have an opportunity to practice her powers and fine-tune them.  But the dilapidated home and surrounding grounds quickly show themselves to be holding onto some sinister (even deadly) secrets - not least of which is a walled garden in which grow some of the deadliest plants known on Earth.  Bri will have to uncover the mysteries behind the estate and find a way to become one with her powers if she’s going to battle the dark secrets that threaten her and her family in their new hometown. 

After moving from Earth to Mars, Clementine ‘Clem’ Chang is honored to be hired by Marcella Lin, whose work with Artificial Intelligence has shaped the scientific community.  While working with Dr. Lin, Clem meets Kye, a humanoid AI created by the doctor to be her assistant.  Although robots are common in society, Kye seems… different.  Almost human.  As Kye and Clem grow closer and Dr. Lin grows more controlling, new questions begin to arise over one’s own autonomy and what makes someone truly human.  A cozy sci-fi graphic novel that deals with big ethical and scientific questions.  

Cindy loves shoes - she designs them - it’s her form of creative self-expression. She’s also hoping, having just graduated with a fancy degree in design - that it will be her career. But while she awaits her dream job, she moves back home to live with her stepmother and stepsisters. Her stepmother is the executive producer of a hit reality tv show called “Before Midnight” and when one of the eligible ladies bows out at the last minute, her stepmother convinces Cindy to step into the role.  Cindy figures that it could at least be a way to launch her shoe line, after all, her designs will be appearing every week in prime time. Suddenly Cindy becomes the first plus-size contestant ever to appear on the show, and she becomes an overnight sensation as a body-positivity icon.  The strangest part, is that Cindy finds herself making real connections with a few of the other contestants, and quite possibly actually falling for the charming bachelor. This book was a delight to read (even for someone like me, who doesn't usually go in for "romance fiction").  The main characters are relatable, well-written, three-dimensional people, and the story was empowering, charming, and even believable.  

Half-dead on a ship bound for the Arctic, Victor Frankenstein recounts his life, from his tragic early years to his disastrous experiments in resurrecting the dead.  After deeming his newborn creation a failure and abandoning him, Victor must make his way through life with the fatal consequences of his actions always one step behind him.  This 1818 novel, written when Mary Shelley was 18 years old and considered to be one of the first science fiction novels, explores ambition, life, and what truly makes a monster. 

Perry Firekeeper-Birch is looking forward to a summer (and maybe a lifetime) of fishing, but an unfortunate driving incident lands her in a summer internship along with her twin sister.  What begins as a reluctant fulfillment of her duties at the local tribal museum, becomes a propulsive and urgent quest to right past wrongs, reclaim sacred artifacts of her Anishinaabe people which were stolen by greedy colonizers (past and present), and solve the mystery of multiple disappearances of young Indigenous women...disappearances which continue to grow in number and plague Perry's tribal community.  She will need the help, strength, and know-how of her go-getter sister, her new flame, and the new friends and allies she meets through her internship if her plan is going to do anything other than end in total disaster.  This is a well-constructed and deeply moving mystery that will keep readers guessing, as well a powerful condemnation and education on the history of appropriation and desecration of Native People's history in this country.

The first in a science fiction duology, this graphic novel follows the life of Addie, who takes care of her little sister Lexa after a catastrophic event wreaked havoc on their hometown, now called the Zone.  Quarantined from the world, something caused Poughkeepsie to be changed into a hell on earth, with strange creatures roaming the remains of the town.  To make ends meet, Addie sneaks into the warped town to take pictures of it, selling them to the highest bidder in order to keep her and Lexa afloat.  When one of her buyers asks her to get something from the Zone for an exorbitant price, Addie thinks this will be her last time stepping into the Zone.  Little does she know, it’s only the beginning.  

The principal of an elite charter school for boys is murdered and three students of color are quickly pegged as the prime suspects.  Though they don’t know each other well, the three teens come together (along with a few friends and family members) in order to dig into the crime and clear their names before it’s too late.  Excellently paced mystery, told through multiple voices with some great reveals along the way.  It's a fabulous mystery with a thought-provoking social justice heart.  

The world ended on New Year’s Eve, 2000, due to an unlikely cause: magic.  Years after technology failed and society crumbled, magic has a new place in the world, although it isn’t stable.  It’s up to the young Marguerite de Pruitt and her talking dog Daisy to gather three powerful magic objects in order to save the world– or is it?  Because although she’s been trained for this purpose her whole life, not everything in this new world is as it seems.  

This profoundly beautiful and heart-rending novel in verse tells the story of 16-year-old Alicia who has been cut out of her friend group, abandoned by her best friend, and made to live on the fringes of her school's social universe.  Like the mythical Medusa, society has cast her as the villain rather than acknowledge the victimization she suffered at the hands of a popular teacher.  Alicia's journey to reclaim her power, her voice, and her body autonomy leads her down some dark and dangerous paths, but as she begins to re-write the script and tell her own story, we witness the potential for her pain to become power.  When mysterious notes left in her locker at school begin to clue her in that she may not be the only victim of this predatory teacher, Alicia must decide whether to remain silent or take action once and for all.  An important exploration of toxic masculinity, the effects of outdated and misogynistic gender role expectations, and the immense power that comes from owning your truth and your body.  A great read-alike for Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Born into one of the founding families of affluent Amontillado, Ohio, Tress Montor had everything– that is, until her parents disappeared while driving her best friend Felicity Turnado home from a sleepover.  Now she lives with her outcast uncle, shunned by the town and wanting answers more than anything.  Tress finally hatches a plan to get those answers, and it all hinges on Felicity Turnado -rich, popular, hasn’t spoken to Tress since her parents disappeared, and hiding a dark secret- cooperating.  And if she doesn’t?  Well, it wouldn’t be the first time someone disappeared in Amontillado.  The first in a duology, this thriller inspired by the macabre works of Edgar Allen Poe will leave you guessing until the very last page.  

Nine girls growing up in a cult have created a small, safe community with one another.  They've found a way to keep themselves somewhat separate from the rest of the group - they even have a lock on their cabin door.  But when one of them goes missing, rifts and relationships are exposed, and secrets are uncovered.  Their knowledge and trust of one another is tested, their faith in the leaders of the cult is examined, and their desire for choice and freedom is brought to the fore.  What becomes increasingly clear is that each of the girls has secrets they would rather keep to themselves, and no two girls believe or want exactly the same thing.  This atmospheric novel-in-verse will keep readers intrigued by the mystery, and will inspire discussion with some of the questions it raises about solidarity, willful subjugation of others, and the ways that those who feel powerless may seek a kind of power through their treatment of others.

This is an incredibly thoughtful and honest examination of a lot of big things…and yet it never feels like it’s too much to handle or taking on too many “issues” at once.  The plot centers around Kermit - a 15-year old who’s just recently lost his beloved sister in a terrible car accident.  The grief over losing his sister is compounded by the fact that she was one of the few people in his life who really saw and accepted him for who he was.  Unable to talk to his evangelical Christian parents about his identity as a young gay man, knowing that the church from which his parents are deriving much of their grief support would shun him or worse if they knew about his sexual identity, Kermit is feeling very much cut adrift.  And then he receives an invitation to a secret club where a group of students who’ve all suffered losses, come together to be with other students who get it.  The group, which includes Kermit’s crush, Matt, is at first a welcome distraction, but as he and Matt grow closer, Kermit begins to realize that Matt’s happy-go-lucky facade is covering up a deep and crushing loneliness and hurt - one that has the potential to destroy the Minus-One Club and even Matt himself - unless Kermit can help himself and his friends find a path toward healing. Told in short chapters, this is a quick and moving read.

A deeply personal memoir in verse (and artwork).  The author of If I Ever Get Out of Here documents his childhood growing up on the reservation, navigating racism and poverty.  It’s also a tale of his Onondaga heritage, his family’s experiences with the now infamous Indian boarding schools, and his complicated journey into adulthood -- leaving the reservation, coming back, watching others leave, come back, and leave again.  At its core (pun intended) it’s also a testament to the resilience of the Indigenous people of this land, and their ongoing struggle to be seen and heard.

Lipan Apache tales and storytelling style form the foundation for this tale of two characters from different worlds coming together.  Nina is a Lipan Apache girl in our world, Oli is a shapeshifting cottonmouth in the realm of spirits and monsters.  These two worlds have been separate for many decades, but when Oli needs to uncover a cure for his ailing friend, and Nina needs to save her family’s home and traditions, the two worlds collide in unexpected ways…and there are some who will do anything to keep them apart.

In a rural, Ojibwe community in North Dakota in 1988, a woman is attacked, raped, and almost killed.  When she returns home to her husband and 13-year-old son Joe (from whose perspective the story is told), she refuses to speak about what happened.  Thus begins a complex, heartbreaking, and powerful story of a family traumatized by violence perpetrated against one of its members, a community struggling to survive, and the complications of native jurisdiction versus treaty law.  In this beautifully written book, a mother and wife seeks to carry on, a husband and father seeks justice, and a son seeks retribution.

(Okay I actually read this one last winter, but it's so good I'm still thinking about it!) 

Linus Baker likes rules and order and that makes him a perfect fit for his job in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth where he is tasked with inspecting orphanages and homes for these unique children. But when Upper Management sends Linus to an island that houses particularly dangerous magical children, Linus is forced to confront the cruelty of the system within which he works. Every assumption Linus had made about the orphanage's caretaker and the eclectic group of children living on the island is called into question. His orderly life suddenly becomes very messy, but it might be the best thing that has ever happened to him. 

When Hoodie Rosen’s entire Orthodox Jewish community picks up and moves to a small town, they’re met with mostly opposition. Hoodie takes it all in stride until he meets and quickly develops a crush on the daughter of the town’s mayor who happens to be one of the loudest voices in opposition to this new community. Things go from manageably unpleasant to downright dangerous when a series of anti-Semitic acts starts to terrorize Hoodie and his community. For all of its weighty issues, the book maintains an upbeat, funny, and hopeful tone. The character of Hoodie is charming with a wry and irreverent sense of humor that keeps the reader rooting for him even through some of his more questionable choices.