Graphic novels are perfect summer reads, whether you're picnicking in a park or lounging by the lake. Looking for a new favorite? Here are some new graphic novels to keep you company this summer.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up With Me is a teen book, but I found it presents new ideas in teen fiction, such as the importance of a platonic friendship. I appreciate Mariko Tamaki’s narrative journey back to high school, and Rosemary Valerio-O'Connell’s art is a stunning pastel wonderland.
Girl Town is an anthology of five short comics in the genre of magical realism. Two of my favorite stories, “Radishes” and “Diana’s Electric Tongue,” won Ignatz Awards. This graphic novel is highly recommended to those who appreciate the weirdness of web comics. It has a similar feel, as many of the stories are short, open-ended snippets of these young women’s lives. Carolyn Nowak (Lumberjanes) is a talent to watch.
Good Talk by Mira Jacob is a nonfiction graphic novel about talking and listening to others in an era of polarizing arguments. Framed around her son’s innocent questions about race and America, this book also addresses topics such as her parents’ arranged marriage, her in-laws' political views and how she felt as a brown-skinned woman in New York on 9/11. This book will resonate with fans of the graphic memoir, as it's both laugh-out-loud funny and incredibly heartfelt.
When I Arrived At The Castle is the highly anticipated second book by artist Emily Carroll (Through the Woods). Carroll uses black, white and red in her horror comics, and this volume is no different. Paying homage to one of the first gothic vampire books, Carmilla, this book is a lesbian fairy tale with horror, magic and mysteriousness. If you need a quick read on a dark and stormy night, this is it.
What graphic novels are you reading this summer?
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