Illustrated by Michael Sloan

In the Fall of 2016, the Aldabaan family receives word that they have been approved to travel from Jordan to the United States.  Brothers Ibrahim and Issa are able to emigrate with their families, but they are leaving behind their mother and another brother and family.  This is after they have all fled war-torn Syria.  The eldest son, Naji, can't wait for the family to start their new lives in the United States, but the political climate has Ibrahim and his wife, Adeebah, unsure of what they're going in to.  Once in Connecticut, they receive help from IRIS, a refugee resettlement agency, and told that they need to become self-sufficient within four months.  The whole family adjusts to oddities of America, such as basements and Life Alert.  Naji and his sister, Amal, start school and are treated as outcasts.  The family constantly wonders if they've really left behind the worse life.

Illustrated by Sonia Paoloni and Thibault Balahy

Delve into the formation of the first all American Indian Rock Band: Redbone, as told from Pat Vegas’ perspective. Before they were a full band, Lolly and Pat Vegas played clubs in LA and jammed with some of the greats - Jimmy Hendrix before he was Jimi, Sonny and Cher, and more.  As they started to collect other talented musicians who were also passing as Hispanic Americans, rather than showing 

Adrien Gombeaud & Améziane, illustrators

This historical graphic novel begins an explanation for the student protests beginning April 15th, 1989 and concluding in the Tiananmen Massacre on June 5th, 1989.  Most people know of this event from the famous photo, Tank Man (pictured below).  What isn't largely talked about is the months before this photo where students camped out in Tiananmen Square and inspired protests across China.  Students and professors participated in Hunger Strikes against the Chinese government and demonstrated in the hopes that the country would move away from dictatorships and into democracy.  The People's Liberation Army was called in to clear the square, but citizens of Beijing impeded their progress and protected the students.  Wealthy businessmen became involved as financial backers of the protest.  Some of these protests were captured by the Worlds' Press reports during a state visit from Mikhail Gorbachev, but there still exists a lack of certainty about those involved, number of deaths from the Massacre, and much more.

This book has only been out for a week and DANG has it taken the world by storm.  Highly reviewed from several publishers, so I won't gush too much, but this is such a powerful story and so necessary.  I know publication dates are decided well in advance, but this book hit the shelves just as America was talking about our border camps being another incarnation of the Japanese internment camps.  PERFECT TIMING!