Book 1: The Flight of the Prince, illustrated by Michael Dialynas
Wynd is trying to be the typical boy in Pipetown - one of the last human settlements that has strict laws against anything magical or with “weirdblood.” Meanwhile, the king is on his deathbed, daily making his son promise to uphold the Blood Laws that have kept the humans of Pipetown safe from magical infection. The prince decides this isn’t the way he wants to rule, and he sneaks out in the middle of the night to find his uncle, The Duke, who has a much nicer outlook on magical folk. The king calls back his best enforcer, The Bandaged Man, to root out any other weirdbloods, and, of course, Wynd catches his attention. Wynd's adoptive mother plans the Prince's escape out of Pipetown in exchange for bringing Wynd to safety, but the plan doesn't go quite as expected. Wynd, his adoptive sister Oakley, Prince Yorik, and Yorik's trusted friend Thorn try to escape the pursuit of the King's Men, and begin to see the world maybe isn't what they thought it was.
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Illustrated by Werther Dell'Edera, colored by Miguel Muerto
James and a few of his friends go into the woods one night on a dare, but James is the only one who comes back out alive. He swears a giant monster killed his friends, but everyone believes James did it. Tales of monsters attract Erica Slaughter to the town of Archer's Peak, a mysterious fighter who travels around killing monsters. She enlists James’ help far enough to help locate the monster, but despised telling him anything more. Even stranger, Erica often talks to a stuffed octopus toy and seems to be getting information from it. Other locals believe Erica may be the cause of the children going missing. The local sheriff gets involved, as well as others whose family members have disappeared in the woods.
Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose, colored by Andrew May
Three teens named Sam - Samir, Samuel, and Samantha - all stumble upon a budding alien life form in the woods on their way to school. The alien links their minds and is hungry to devour human psyches. Each of the three Sams is struggling with their own demons, especially their acceptance amongst their peers. Samuel runs a vlog that pleads with other teens not to be brainwashed by the acceptable narrative. Samir struggles with being the "perfect" Muslim and keeping his family together. Samantha is trying to get out of this small town and craves the fresh start where everyone won't know her past. And Chip, as they name the alien life form, feels their pains, their struggles, and is manipulated into carrying out their selfish agendas on friends, foes, and family.
Illustrated by Bex Glendining
In this title, readers are presented with details of the life of sculptor Mary Edmonia Lewis, a woman of Native American and African American descent. Her educational journey was distinctly and full of prejudice and false assumptions, so she wasn’t allow to finish college. She felt drawn to sculpting, and tried to find a teacher under whom she could apprentice. After several re-elections, she finally found someone who would train her in the art of bust-making. When buying busts became less fashionable, she moved to Rome to fully immerse herself in the art form. While in Rome, she was criticized for spending money on piano lessons and attending parties of the elite, but, arguably, she had to associate herself worth the people who were more likely to buy sculptures. Her most famous work is the Death of Cleopatra, which was almost lost to time and weather when it was placed outside the entrance to a horse racing track.
Adaptation of the novel by the same name. Illustrated by Celia Moscote.
19-year old Juliet has a summer internship set up with Portland author Harlow Brisbane, creator of a modern feminist handbook that Juliet finds inspiring. Just before leaving the Bronx and departing on this journey, Juliet comes out to her Puerto Rican family, to mixed success. Her mother thinks it’s all a phase, even though Juliet has been dating her current girlfriend for a year. With that goodbye plaguing her, Juliet takes off on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, of learning about the diversity of queer culture, and confronting white fragility and racism.
Illustrated by Sonia Liao
Disclaimer: This graphic novel is part of the An Ember in the Ashes series, I haven’t read any of them, so I went into this completely blind. Helene, Elias, and Tavi are part of an elite group of soldiers-in-training sent on a mission to steal an extremely deadly poison from a remote island. They aren’t the only team there, as the Blackcliff Academy sends teams to this island as a rite of passage. The island is well guarded, and the leader there expects the onslaughts because the Academy often sends students on this mission.
Illustrated by Lissa Treiman, colored by Whitney Cogar
College roommates Susan, Ester, and Daisy navigate their budding college lives together. Ester is the feature of some cyber stalking when a photo of her at a party ends up on a website rating hot first years. After they both took a gap year, Susan’s “nemesis” comes to her university, and she uses the power of her feminist magazine to splatter his reputation. Daisy’s new friend furnishes her with some pills to make sure she really enjoys her 18th birthday party. Daisy isn't sure if the pills have made her attracted to her new friend, or if this feeling is natural.
Vol 3, Encore: illustrated by Sam Johns, Rian Sygh, Brittney Williams, Caitlin Rose Boyle, Katy Farina, Walter Baiamonte
This graphic novel is a collection of Valentine's Day and Halloween stories featuring our favorite Stage Crew. Beckett hates Valentine’s Day and emotions in general, and usually spends Valentine’s Day watching scary movies. But everything turns out great when his crush joins him for some slasher thrillers. In the Halloween stories, Sasha hates Halloween for showing him clowns aren’t real, but he solves the mystery of a scary giant bug that comes out in the theater on Halloween every year. Vol 1, Beware the Kitten Holy: co-written by Grace Ellis, Faith Erin Hicks, illustrated by Brooke A. Allen, Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Carolyn Nowak, Carey Pietsch Lumberjanes takes place at a summer camp for Hard-Core Lady-Types. It is modeled after Girl Scouts, with pledges and badges, which become the theme of each issue. The story focuses on one cabin's occupants: Jo, Ripley, April, Molly, and Mal. Each of these ladies are strong and positive, and they are encouraging to one another. In this volume's adventure, there are three-eyed monsters everywhere, a white-water canoe ride, and a creepy cave guarded by stone warriors. At the cave's center is a room full of anagrams, one being "Beware the Kitten Holy." They also find a strange tower and a boys' camp. With each slice of adventure, a different Lumberjane has the chance to exhibit her talents.
Vol 2, The Show Must Go On: illustrated by Rian Sygh
One day while the Backstagers are hanging out and playing games, they here cries for help that send them back into the magical world behind the theater. They discover the Heart of the Theater and run into Beckett’s old school crew from Penitent Angel. The Heart is a huge space with a ton of concentrated magic. Sasha’s “friend” Polaroid comes to explain that all theaters' backstages are connected, and all their paths lead to The Heart. This is where the true magic of the theater lives, and each of their spaces borrow from here to put on performances. Polaroid gives Jory a sketchbook that reveals the magic of the backstage, and then he threatens the two crews with releasing all the magic into the real world. Jory discovers that their faculty advisor knows more about the crew who disappeared in 1987, which included Polaroid. Through their Stage Managers, crews from across the world collect together to help stop Polaroid from destroying the magic of the theater. |
About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this siteRatings, Audience, and Subject Tags
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