Duel by Jessixa Bagley and Aaron Bagley

Description: When her popular sister Gigi humiliates her on the first day of school, Lucy snaps and challenges her to a duel with high sisterly stakes that divides the school into factions and fractures their family even further.

Genre: Graphic novels; Sports fiction; Realistic fiction

Themes: Dealing with bullies, Fencing, Family, Sisterhood, Grief

Style: Richly detailed; Intensifying; Character-driven

Suitable for: Years 5-8

Where is it? Junior Graphic Novels (LS Library)

Everything is ok by Debbie Tung

Description: This the story of Debbie Tung’s struggle with anxiety and her experience with depression. She shares what it’s like navigating life, overthinking every possible worst-case scenario, and constantly feeling like all hope is lost. In this graphic memoir, Debbie aims to provide positive and comforting messages to anyone who is facing similar difficulties or is just trying to get through a tough time in life. She hopes to encourage readers to be kinder to themselves, to know that they are not alone, and that it’s okay to be vulnerable because they are not defined by their mental health struggles.

Genre: Autobiographical comics; Comics and graphic novels; Life stories

Themes: Anxiety, Healing, Mental Health, Self-acceptance

Style: Candid, thoughtful

Suitable for: Years 7-13

Where is it? Online on Comics Plus

Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu

Description: In a near future where most adults are connected to the multiweb through neural implants, a twelve-year-old uncovers a corporate plot to genetically manipulate her classmates, and her scientist mother may be involved in the conspiracy.

Genre: Science-Fiction

Themes: Genetic engineering, near future, technology 

Style: Fast-paced, thought-provoking

Suitable for: Years 6-8

Where is it? Upper school fiction (FIC LIU)

Paper Dragons: The Fight for the Hidden Realm by Siobhan McDermott

Description: In this fantasy series inspired by Cantonese mythology, Zhi Ging is a brave and determined orphan girl who becomes an apprentice to the Immortals. Training in an underwater realm, she fights curses and bullies. Fans of fast-paced adventure and detailed, imaginative world-building will enjoy this magical boarding school series.

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Themes: Asian-inspired Fantasy; Academies of Magic

Style: Fast-paced, World-building

Suitable for: Years 6-8 or just anyone who enjoys a good fantasy novel!

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC MCD)

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Description: An autobiography in graphic novel format describes how the author lost two of her front teeth in an accident when she was twelve, and her subsequent struggles with various corrective dental techniques throughout adolescence.

Genre: Comics and Graphic novels

Themes: Coming of age

Style: Angst-filled; relatable

Suitable for: Years 5-8

Where is it? Junior Graphic Novels (LS Library)

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Description: A fable about undauntingly following one's dreams, listening to one's heart, and reading life's omens features dialogue between a boy and an unnamed being. 

Genre: Allegories and parables; Literary fiction

Themes: Dreams; self-discovery; wisdom 

Style: Inspiring; Reflective

Suitable for: Years 8-13

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC COE)

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Description: At age twelve, Sophie learns that the remarkable abilities that have always caused her to stand out identify her as an elf, and after being brought to Eternalia to hone her skills, discovers that she has secrets buried in her memory for which some would kill.

Genre: Fantasy fiction

Themes: Academies of magic; Hidden heritage

Style: Richly detailed; World-building

Suitable for: Years 6-9

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC MES)

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Description: Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

Genre: Realistic fiction

Themes: Living with visible disability; Being a friend

Style: Thoughtful; Character-driven

Suitable for: Years 6-9

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC PAL)

White Bird by R.J. Palacio

Description: Tells the story of Julian's Grandmere's childhood as she, a Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II and how the boy she once shunned became her savior and best friend.

Genre: Historical comics; Comics and Graphic novels; Page to screen

Themes: Surviving the Holocaust; Living with visible disability; Dealing with bullies

Style: Character-driven

Suitable for: Years 8-13

Where is it? Upper School Graphic Novels (GRA PAL)

Lost in Taiwan by Mark Crilley

Description: When Paul becomes lost in Taiwan, he meets Pei-Jing, who teaches him about the local culture as she helps him find his way home. 

Genre: Comics and Graphic novels; Realistic fiction

Themes: Voyages and travels

Style: Character-driven

Suitable for: Years 8-13

Where is it? Upper School Graphic Novels (GRA CRI)

Ash's Cabin by Jen Wang

Description:  A singularly affecting story about self-discovery, self-reliance, and the choice to live when it feels like you have no place in the world. 

Genre: Comics and Graphic novels; Realistic fiction

Themes: Coming of age

Style: Character-driven

Suitable for: Years 8-13

Where is it? Upper School Graphic Novels (GRA WAN)

Hidden Systems by Dan Nott

Description:  We use water, electricity, and the internet every day- but how do they actually work? And what's the plan to keep them running for years to come? This nonfiction science graphic novel takes readers on a journey from how the most essential systems were developed to how they are implemented in our world today and how they will be used in the future.

Genre: Nonfiction; Comics and Graphic novels

Themes: General Science

Suitable for: Years 8-13

Where is it? Upper School Non-fiction (509 NOT)

Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King

Description: When his family's farmland is taken over by developers, eleven-year-old Obe Devlin encounters a plastic-eating animal who becomes his best friend and biggest secret.

Genre: Fantasy fiction

Themes: Animals, bullying, families, pollution

Style: Authentic characters, issue-oriented

Suitable for: Years 6-9

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC KIN)

The Burning by Laura Bates

Description: There's nothing to trace Anna back to her old life - until the whispers start up again. As time begins to run out on her secrets, Anna finds herself irresistibly drawn to the tale of a girl whose story has terrifying parallels to her own.

Genre: Fantasy, Literary fiction

Themes: Dealing with bullies, Magical realism 

Style: Angst-filled, Suspenseful

Suitable for: Years 10-13

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC BAT)

What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

Description: Twenty years after her brother is hounded from his home by rumors about his alleged role in a young girl's disappearance, Lisa and her security guard friend become increasingly curious about a child they glimpse on a mall's surveillance cameras.

Genre: Mystery

Themes: Supernatural. Cold cases, Beyond the grave

Style: Suspenseful, Contemporary

Suitable for: Years 10-13

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC OFL)

Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

Description: On a cold winter day in Chicago, Early's father disappeared, and now she, her mother and her brother have been forced to flee their apartment and join the ranks of the homeless - and it is up to Early to hold her family together and solve the mystery surrounding her father.

Genre: Mystery

Themes: Families, Homelessness, Kidnapping

Style: Gritty

Suitable for: Years 6-9

Where is it? Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC BAL)

There will be Lies by Nick Lake

Description: Shelby Cooper, nearly eighteen, has been overprotected by her single mother all her life. After a car accident, Shelby's mother steals her away from the hospital, revealing that Shelby's father is not dead, but rather a violent man who promised to hunt them down.

Genre: Realistic fiction

Themes: Automobile travel, Dreams, End of the world, Escapes

Style: Intricately plotted, Suspenseful

Suitable for: Years 10-13

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC LAK)

Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan (translated by Helen Wang)

Description: Taken in by a poor family in a rural village after the death of her father, Sunflower bonds with the family's only child, Bronze, who has not spoken since being traumatized by a terrible fire.

Genre: Historical fiction

Themes: Best friends, Farm life, Friendship, Trauma in Children

Style: Lyrical

Suitable for: Years 6-8

Where is it? Upper School Fiction (FIC CAO)

The Kabul Beauty School: The art of Friendship and Freedom by Deborah Rodriguez

Description: Michigan hairdresser, Deborah Rodriguez, was quickly sought out for her ability to give a decent haircut when she was part of a humanitarian group offering aid in 2001, and opened Kabul Beauty School in 2023. This memoir recounts Rodriguez's story as well as those of the women she came to know.

Genre: Non-fiction, memoir, travel writing

Themes: Friendship, Freedom, Self-discovery

Style: Witty

Suitable for: Years 10-13

Where is it? Upper School Non-fiction (305.486 ROD)

How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics by Eugenia Cheng

Description:  What is math? How exactly does it work? The book provides an accessible introduction to the logic and beauty of mathematics, powered by insights from the kitchen. You’ll also run the New York and Chicago marathons, pay visits to Cinderella and Lewis Carroll, and even get to the bottom of a tomato’s identity as a vegetable. 

Genre: Nonfiction, Science writing

Themes: Fundamentals of mathematics, food

Style: Accessible

Suitable for: Years 7-13

Where is it? Upper School Non-fiction (510.1 CHE)