by Raina Telgemeier

5 Stars

Telgemeier’s writing continues improving, and this is her greatest novel yet. Her whole body of work has been tremendously successful and multi-award-winning, thanks in part to her infectious joy and energy. Smiles and Sisters were memoirs that I felt were wonderful for pre-teens but that I still read now that I’m older. Cat, our primary heroine in Ghosts, is a tween who must leave her friends to travel to Bahia de Luna to treat her breathing-challenged sister, Maya, who has cystic fibrosis. Bahia de Luna is inspired by foggy Half Moon Bay, coastal California, a magical area, and her narrative is also influenced by Dia de Los Muertos. For the joyful Maya, the possibility of death and ghost hood is ever-present. It’s a good thing to be aware that individuals may die. Ghosts, the spirits of the people we love that Dia de Los Muertos honours, are extremely prevalent in this foggy village in this story.

A local boy named Carlos introduces Maya and Cat to spirits and a Day of the Dead celebration, and from there, we witness how each of the characters gets to know one another on a personal level, as well as how Cat and Carlos develop some romance. Ghosts is a wonderfully vivid, interesting story that celebrates family and tradition while also embracing death as a part of life. Another benefit is that Telgemeier shows an understanding of sister dynamics. I enjoy all of the characters (even the ghosts and silent spirits!). Maya, the character with cystic fibrosis, in particular. She’s spunky, charming, and a lovely younger sibling. And I could really connect to her older sister, Catrina, who is always trying to be the responsible one while still wanting to get along with everyone. Overall, Ghosts is a great escape book for me when I’m stuck for anything to read or simply want to unwind. I definitely suggest it!

Manaal I.

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by Noelle Stevenson

5 Stars

An endearing and adventurous comic that will keep you on your toes, Nimona is a beautifully illustrated comic written by none other than Noelle Stevenson. While flipping through pages filled with divine artwork, you will find yourself in a world filled with a bit of everything; from mad science to noble knights, flea markets to hidden organizations, you are bound to find something you like. 

Nimona, a bright, mischievous shapeshifter, manages to secure the title of ‘Sidekick’ for her hero, the infamous Ballister Blackheart. As she helps with his evil planning – though sometimes messes with things more than actually helping – both characters find themselves in situations which force them to question their morals, push boundaries, and face what they’ve been putting off.

The pages take you through the adventures of Blackheart and Nimona as they work to take down an evil organization, the ‘Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics’. Blackheart’s plans are constantly foiled by his ex-lover, now nemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin.

But when our 2 main protagonists get into a fight, one of Nimona’s darkest secrets is revealed; she had lied.

Nimona is an entertaining, humourous and overall, enjoyable comic. It displays the difficulty of relationships (whether that be with friends or others), the uncertainty between right and wrong, and the hardships we as people face every day. It was created for a young audience, though I believe everyone can thoroughly enjoy it. It sheds a positive light on queer relationships, not making it seem foreign and alien. This touching piece of work has won the Eisner Award, a Cybils Award, and a Cartoonist Studio Prize, as well as becoming a New York Times bestseller.

A comic where the magical world is unexplained, creating a dreamy feeling where anything is possible.

Sarah B.

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by Lincoln Peirce

5 Stars

Better prepare your laughing muscle as you prepare to read this hilarious new book. Big Nate: Hug it Out is one of the newest additions to the Big Nate comic series by Lincoln Peirce that explores more events of his sixth-grade school year and preceding summer vacation. Whether you are someone just diving into the series or someone who has enjoyed the books for a while, you will still enjoy this comedic book the same as always. It was so much fun going through the nostalgia and reliving my time reading those comic books smiling and laughing at all the jokes.

The story takes place in Rackleff, Maine and follows sixth-grade student of P.S. 38, Nate Wright, and his friends, Francis Pope and Teddy Ortiz. They are there to support him with most of the troubles that come their way, but no matter, they will still stay friends at the end of it all. But there are also many other characters that you will meet along the way and will get to see their relationship continue with Nate. It could be through comedy or romance or rivalry or something entirely new. “Never a dull moment with Nate and his crazy gang is around,” said Garima from a review on goodreads.com. It will be so interesting and exciting that you might want to read more books, to see the connections to them or for more funny jokes and great stories.

Whatever your comic reading style is, whether it is one-page shorts or longer storylines, and detailed image or simple readability, you can get it all in this book along with the other ones in the series. Maybe Francis will finally end his factoids, or his baseball team will do well, or maybe Nate will finally find love (again for about the 4th time)? Well, you won’t know until you read the amazing book by Lincoln Peirce, Big Nate: Hug It Out! I enjoyed my time reading it, and I hope you will too.

Elijah J.

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By Kei Sanbe 

5 Stars

This mystery, science fiction, suspense manga is full of twists and turns, and each chapter leaves you wanting to read more while also leaving you with a lot of unresolved questions. The original Japanese name of ERASED is called Boku Dake ga Inai Machi which means ‘The town where only I’m missing’. The title refers to a time when children in Hokkaido, Japan, went missing. 

This manga is about a man by the name of Satoru Fujinuma, a 26-year-old Japanese man, aspires to be a great name in the manga industry but has had difficulty breaking through, and is usually depressed during his days. Satoru has an unknown ability called “Revival” which allows him to go back in time to prevent tragedies. He is sent back in time to the year 1988 to help save kids from being abducted. 

The plot is interesting because his choices will have an impact on the future, and he can’t rely solely on his ability to save him from danger. Another fascinating thing about this is that the protagonist is in the body of an 11-year-old boy but has the mind of a 28-year-old man, which aids him in decision-making due to his experience. 

There are several points in the manga where the protagonist has reservations about these decisions and is unable to overcome them, resulting in horrific circumstances. When I was reading the novel, I came across a quote that stuck with me: “The future is always blank. Only your willpower can leave footsteps there.” Satoru discovers that the only person on whom he can fully depend for his decisions is himself. 

Benjamin J.

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by Tyler Bevins

5 Stars

The graphic novel Ninja: The Most Dangerous Game is written by Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Justin Jordan, and illustrated by Felipe Magaña. It tells the story of Ninja, a very good gamer that plays a battle royale game. Ninja and his friends receive a box in their mail, and when they open the box, they are “teleported” to a battle royale game. Inside the game, they become characters of it, and they have to play and win the game. 

The plot is very well written, in many instances, the reader thinks something is going to happen, but actually, the opposite of that happens. The book is written especially for battle royale players because the plot is set on a battle royale game. The characters have to go through the same experiences of battle royale players, but they are inside the game, and as the book says, “the last player standing wins the game and all of the others die”. 

Felipe Magaña did a great job of illustrating this graphic novel. Magaña made the players look like it is game, and the objects inside the game are very well-drawn. The effects like powers, teleporting, and others are kind of realistic but at the same time are illustrative, so it has very nice comics. 

The book is short in length and can be easily read in some hours. There should be some more details like explain what are some things for and why some things happened because sometimes the reader could get a little confused. 

Overall, it is a really fun read, and the plot makes the reader want to keep reading forever. 

Even though it is intended for teenagers, youth adults, and battle royale gamers, other groups would also like it because it is very engaging, the reader is kind of forced to think of solutions to some problems that happen in this graphic novel.

Thales R.

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by Raina Telgemeier

5 Stars

Callie Marin is a middle school student with a love for all things related to theatre. As soon as she is made aware of the fact that her school is putting on a production of a play named “Moon Over Mississippi”, Callie immediately signs up to be in charge of set design, with a passion to create a Broadway-worthy set with a middle-school budget. Faced with challenges along the way, Callie does the best she can in order to overcome all the drama at school and in her personal relationships. The story focuses on her as she learns the importance of teamwork, friendship and being inclusive, as well as how that can be beneficial both off and on stage. It also introduces and teaches children about LGBTQ+ topics, normalizing the idea of being different.  

Drama is a beautifully written graphic novel with fantastic characters that many kids can relate to, those feeling like outcasts because of their sexualities are taught that they are not alone. It is one of my favourite books I’ve read in a while. It’s very refreshing to see openly gay characters portrayed as normal people, not having their whole personality being based on the fact that they have a different sexual preference than those around them. I would rate Drama a definite 10/10 based on its quality, story-telling, and representation. I’d recommend this graphic novel to those who are 13 or older since some scenes are more for mature audiences, but it is amazingly written, and the style is beautiful therefore I’m positive anyone can enjoy it.

Vlada E.

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by Kayla Miller

4 Stars

This graphic novel written by an amazing graphic novelist author, Kayla Miller, was about a girl named Olive in grade 5 who’s facing a dilemma. In her grade 5 class, there’s a talent show going on that she’s very excited about. When all her classmates have an act she has to decide what to do. Whether she asks to be in one of her many friend’s acts or go solo. Olive is expecting to be asked to be included and not ask her classmates. She even says in the book that if she were to ask, it would make her seem like a dork. This graphic novel not only tells you about Olive and what she does to fix her situation but, it also teaches you about how at the right time and the right place something good can happen to you that may or may not fix our problem. Lastly, it also teaches you about who are your friends and who aren’t your friends. I would recommend this book to kids from grade four to grade 8. This book is based on a girl in middle school and might be too “childish” for those that are in high school

Not only was it an entertaining book, but it was also funny, exciting, and had a few moments of suspense. I liked the graphic novel so much that I finished it in the span of two days with a total of 2 hours, maybe even less. This graphic novel would be very age-appropriate for the ages of 9 and above. Although I’m above the age of middle school, I really enjoyed this book. I give this graphic novel a score of 4 stars out of 5 because there are some parts of the graphic novel I’d change. Olive was quite popular among her fellow classmates, but she didn’t seem to really have a best friend. All her classmates were basically her friends that she’d hang out with during different periods of the day, whether it was during the weekend, sleepovers, or just at school. Another thing that I’d change is some of the attitudes that Olive had toward different things. She didn’t want to ask anybody to be in their performance for the talent show because it would make her seem like what she thought was a dork. If I was her, having the whole class as my friends, I’d ask. It doesn’t hurt to ask, when you ask you’ll get your answer. Lastly, I’d change the appearance of some of the characters. In the graphic novel, some characters shown included Olive’s little brother, aunt, and mother. The presence of her brother in this graphic novel wasn’t there as much as I would have liked. What were her mother’s friends, her aunt’s friends, her brother’s classmates? Overall it was a well-written graphic novel to read. In the future, I’d most definitely read another novel like this, written by Kayla Miller.

Faith D.

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