New MG Graphic Novel - Opting Out by Maia Kobabe & Swati “Lucky” Srikumar

From the publisher, Scholastic, Published May 5, 2026.

From the award-winning author/illustrator of GENDER QUEER and a bright new talent, the story of a kid named Saachi, who is navigating friendship woes, sister issues, a new crush, and a resistance to blue-and-pink binaries.

Bodies are the worst. I wish I didn't have a body.

Saachi is a storyteller. At school, she's surrounded by kids she's known forever -- including her best friend, Lyla, who shares Saachi's love of fantasy novels and creating new worlds.

But as seventh grade starts, kids are changing. Suddenly, it matters who you like and if you can find a boyfriend or girlfriend. Even Lyla seems more interested in hanging out with her new boyfriend than in writing and drawing with Saachi anymore. Saachi's not interested in any of that boy/girl stuff. Why can't things just stay the way they were?

Saachi also doesn't love all the ways her body is changing. What if she doesn't feel like a girl -- or like a boy, either? In a world where there is so much either/or, Saachi is going to need to find her own options . . . and create her own story.

I found this graphic novel to be relatable and important and the main character, Saachi, felt real. She questions her gender and how she fits in, when her friends don’t have the same issue. It brings to light how different people struggle while figuring themselves out. I believe this novel has a home and will be beneficial to countless kids dealing with similar concerns.

There are many themes in this story: growing up is hard enough with just physical changes, but friendships change and school changes, too; finding your passion and people who support you; and not judging a book by its cover.  

A Must Read - I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This: A Graphic Memoir by Eugene Yelchin

I was mia for December and January. I should probably never post in December since it's a busy time. And in January, life just took over. To me, life is always a rollercoaster, just normal life. But I have been reading and finally getting a review posted. Maybe I'll even have one mid-month, but I'll see if I can read faster! Hope everyone had lovely holidays and welcome to 2026. Maybe January should always start in February. LOL

I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This: A Graphic Memoir by Eugene Yelchin

From the publisher, Candlewick Press, Published September 16, 2025.

No longer the creative little boy under his grandmother’s table, Yevgeny is now a young adult, pursuing his artistic dreams under the constant threat of the KGB’s stranglehold on Russia’s creative scene. When a chance encounter with an American woman opens him up to a world of romance and possibility, Yevgeny believes he has found his path to the future—and freedom overseas. But the threat of being drafted into the military and sent to fight in Afghanistan changes everything in a terrible instant, and he takes drastic measures to decide his fate, leading to unthinkable consequences in a mental hospital. With bold art bringing a vivid reality to life, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honoree Eugene Yelchin’s sequel to the acclaimed memoir The Genius Under the Table returns to Yevgeny’s saga, balancing the terror and oppression of Soviet Russia with the author’s signature charm and dark wit. I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This shines a stark spotlight on history while offering a poignant, nuanced, and powerfully resonant look at growing up in—and ultimately leaving—Cold War Russia in the early 1980s.

This latest book by Eugene Yelchin is more Young Adult or New Adult. If you haven’t read any of Eugene’s books, whether he wrote or illustrated it or both, middle grade or picture books, do yourself a favor and read them.

This story follows his life from 1980-1983. What he lived through and survived, his point of view is so important. He shows the difficulty of life and death of living in Russia during this time. Details and experiences that most of us would never have encountered. There’s so much I want to write but not give anything away. Art and love, pain and death. Courage and sacrifices. Definitely worth a read. 

New MG Graphic Novel - The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang

The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang by Stan Yan

From the publisher, Atheneum, Published September 30, 2025.

In this hilarious and heartfelt debut graphic novel, a girl born on a day considered unlucky in Chinese superstition starts to wonder if she really is cursed when she’s troubled by visions of doom set to occur on her thirteenth birthday.

Twelve-year-old Eugenia Wang has never celebrated her birthday on her actual birthday, April 4th, because of her mom’s belief in the Chinese superstition that four is an unlucky number. And that’s not the only thing Mom’s strict about; she won’t let Eugenia go to a summer comic art camp because she thinks art is a waste of time. This year, Eugenia is determined to defy her mom by applying for the camp, having her party on her actual birthday, and inviting her super cute crush while she’s at it, too!

But when Eugenia gets hit in the head with a sneaker during PE, she starts getting unnerving visions of impending doom about her upcoming birthday. It might be the aftereffects of her head injury, or maybe she’s just anxious about turning thirteen. As the visions get worse, even affecting her artwork, Eugenia suspects an unseen force may be sending her messages. If she’s haunted after all, Eugenia will have to figure out why before it’s too late. Even more horrifying, she may have to do the unthinkable: admit her mom was right.

The title is exactly what happens to Genie. Many, many misfortunes. Many funny disasters. Plus, the weird dreams she’s trying to fix, not realizing what they actually are. Like her Po Po is trying to warn her and I liked the twist with the grandmother also liking art.

I found her behavior with her friends, her younger brother and her parents to be very realistic. I didn’t find it spooky, but that might just be me. I was lucky that my friend attended an event with Stan and his editor and gifted me a signed copy.

Very cool MG - Ellie Engle Saves Herself, by Leah Johnson

Ellie Engle Saves Herself! by Leah Johnson

This one is a bit older, but I've only just read it and really enjoyed it. 

From the publisher, Disney Hyperion: available in paperback January 28, 2025 / hardback published in 2023.

Ellie Engle doesn’t stand out. Not at home, where she's alone with her pet fish since her dad moved away and her mom has to work around the clock. Not at the bakery, where she helps out old Mr. Walker on the weekends. And definitely not at school, where her best friend Abby—the coolest, boldest, most talented girl in the world—drags Ellie along on her never-ending quest to “make her mark.” To someone else, a life in the shadows might seem boring, or lonely. But not to Ellie. As long as she has Abby by her side and a comic book in her hand, she’s quite content.

Too bad life didn’t bother checking in with Ellie. Because when a freak earthquake hits her small town, Ellie wakes up with fantastical powers that allow her to bring anything back to life with just her touch. And when a video of her using her powers suddenly goes viral, Ellie’s life goes somewhere she never imagined—or wanted: straight into the spotlight.

Surviving middle school is hard enough. Surviving middle school when paparazzi are camped out on your front lawn and an international pop singer wants you to use your powers on live tv and you might be in love with your best friend but she doesn’t know it? Absolutely impossible.

This is such a great story, with excellent characters and a very cool situation.

I love the themes of standing up for yourself and being valued as a person and a friend. It’s not easy to stand up to friends when you’ve been hurt. Learning and understanding consequences; and how to do hard things. I found the characters’ struggles to be real.

Being yourself is enough.

Tension Filled YA - Best of All Worlds, by Kenneth Oppel

Best of All Worlds, by Kenneth Oppel

From the publisher, Scholastic Press: June 3, 2025

Xavier Oaks doesn't particularly want to go to the cabin with his dad and his dad's pregnant new wife, Nia. But family obligations are family obligations, and it's only for a short time. So he leaves his mom, his brother, and his other friends behind for a week in the woods. Only... one morning he wakes up and the house isn’t where it was before. It's like it's been lifted and placed... somewhere else.

When Xavier, his dad, and Nia go explore, they find they are inside a dome, trapped. And there's no one else around...

Until, three years later, another family arrives.

Is there any escape? Is there a reason they are stuck where they are? Different people have different answers -- and those different answers inexorably lead to tension, strife, and sacrifice.

In this masterpiece, award-winning author Kenneth Oppel builds to a heart-stopping pitch in drawing a story that feels very much of our moment, where our very human choices collectively lead to humanity’s eventual fate.

This book has mind-bending twists. What is the truth? Why is this happening?

The story had a fascinating hold on me throughout. The suspense is intense and the tension riveting. The story ups the ante with the addition of the new family, with very opposing views, into their world.

It’s a wild ride – enjoy it. 

MG - Heartfelt graphic novel - Winging It, by Megan Wagner Lloyd

Winging It, by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Michelle Mee Nutter (Illustrator)

From the publisher, Scholastic Press: available October 21, 2025

Twelve-year-old Luna never wanted to move from California to Virginia, even if it is near historic Washington, DC, and no matter how excited her dad is to show her the sites and introduce her to the area where her late mother grew up. And she definitely doesn't want to live with a very formal grandmother she barely knows. But during a visit to the National Museum of Natural History, the rarely seen luna moth for which Luna was named sparks her curiosity. Using her mother's old naturalist notebooks as a guide, Luna, who has always preferred the indoors, endeavors to see a real luna moth with her own eyes. Learning more about nature just might help her make a new friend, figure out how to feel at home in her new life, and understand the mother she never got the chance to know. 

What an excellent graphic novel. Very relatable and heartfelt.

The story unfolds seamlessly with each of the characters growing, changing, and learning about themselves changing for the better. Everything comes full circle and is very satisfying.

Communicating and being open to new people and experiences changes us and helps us understand the world and other people better. And watching Luna and her grandmother navigate their new relationship, does just that. Luna wants to learn about her mom and getting to know her through her nature journal opens Luna up to things she was closed off to before.

Grief is very hard for everyone and finding ways to deal and process it are so important.  

There are even instructions on how to make your own nature journal at the back of the book. It’s a story for everyone.

MG - Graphic Novel - The Cartoonists Club

The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier, Scott McCloud

From the Publisher: Graphix, April 1, 2025

Makayla is bursting with ideas but doesn't know how to make them into a story. Howard loves to draw, but he struggles to come up with ideas and his dad thinks comics are a waste of time. Lynda constantly draws in her sketchbook but keeps focusing on what she feels are mistakes, and Art simply loves being creative and is excited to try something new. They come together to form The Cartoonists Club, where kids can learn about making comics and use their creativity and imagination for their own storytelling adventures!

This is the perfect book for budding artists, writers, illustrators. We get to go along for the ride and join the cartoonists club where they learn all about how to make comics. We learn comic book/graphic novel jargon, see examples, and the story shows the development of their friendships, their comic book abilities, as well as the support they offer each other. 

I found The Cartoonists Club is inspirational and encouraging. And I loved it when they broke the fourth wall, talking to the reader. I love the unconventional way the story is told and enjoyed the fun along the way.