Young adults Lou and Bea meet up unexpectedly as they both travel alone—for various reasons—across West Texas. Whatever the reasons, they seem to be better off together than alone in this graphic novel that addresses issues of sexual abuse, loneliness, sexual identity and betrayal.

The duo chat about their lives back home, which are often more frightening and uncertain than the ones they face ahead. Along the way, they face some odd occurrences—like a mysterious cat tagging along and the presence of two dark looming figures. Walden evocatively sets the mood and tone with deepening, ominous tones of black and white. Only the first few pages (presumably reality?), contain color, albeit in dark tones.

There are tears, fears, some raw language and evil foreboding in this graphic novel that will leave readers pondering and contemplating the power of human connection.

Award-winning cartoonist Tillie Walden’s latest book, On a Sunbeam, is a sumptuous feast for the eyes and the heart. Originally a web comic, Walden’s sci-fi graphic novel amazes and inspires.

Mia is a young woman who joins a crew on a spaceship in a universe we’ve yet to discover. Mia and her new friends travel from place to place repairing visually fantastic architecture, but Mia hopes for a stop in a very specific destination: the forbidden part of the universe called the Staircase, where she hopes to find her lost love, Grace.

A rich, complex and detailed story, On a Sunbeam has some extraordinary revelations. Even knowing ahead of time that the story is a lesbian romance, I was still surprised when I realized that Walden’s futuristic universe is filled entirely with female-identifying characters (and at least one nonbinary character). Everyone has two mothers, and all their siblings are sisters. There is no discussion or explanation about this in the story—it just is how it is. This world allows Walden to present a love between two women as the norm. Love, loss, adventure and discovery of new worlds are free to take center stage, not the tired girl-love-in-a-straight-world trope.

This remarkable and compelling book, filled with stunning ink and color art, will keep readers entranced for a long time.

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

If you think you’ve read everything there is to read about the Holocaust in young adult fiction, think again. True, Vesper Stamper’s debut novel, What the Night Sings, contains scenes that have come to be staples of the genre: a Nazi raid, an overcrowded train journey, prisoners starving in concentration camps. But Stamper frames these familiar motifs with a question not often addressed in Holocaust literature: What happens after liberation?

Gerta is a singer and a violist who has lost her family and her voice. Roza is relearning to play the piano with damaged hands. Lev finds solace in his prayers. Micah is scouring Europe for survivors who are willing to build a new life in British-occupied Palestine. As each character begins to heal in body, soul and spirit, they wrestle with difficult questions about their identities, their relationships and their futures. Suffused with detailed descriptions of Jewish life and customs, What the Night Sings is illustrated with Stamper’s sepia-tone drawings, and her background as an artist shines as she uses light, shadow and repetition to depict everything from meager food rations to a glorious wedding gown. Do not miss this stunning debut.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our Q&A with Vesper Stamper.

This article was originally published in the April 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Award-winning author and illustrator Lita Judge is best known for her picture books, but her new work, Mary’s Monster, introduces teen readers to the brilliant Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

Judge spent five years researching Shelley in order to create this dramatic, creative and fictionalized biography. (Frankenstein’s monster authors a prologue.) Narrated from Shelley’s point-of-view, Judge’s lyrical free verse is accompanied by more than 300 pages of evocative, black-and-white watercolor illustrations, and this innovative format will have special appeal for young graphic novel fans.

Judge divides Shelley’s story into nine sections, reflecting the number of months Shelley spent writing her draft of Frankenstein. The last pages include illuminating source notes, a bibliography and short bios of Shelley’s peers along with plenty of background information on Shelley and her classic novel. All of these educational additions should prove useful in helping teen readers appreciate the importance of both Shelley’s work and her struggle to lead a fulfilling creative life at a time when social norms severely restricted women’s options.

Mary’s Monster is aimed at mature readers, as Judge does not shy away from including details such as the death of Shelley’s first baby and the suicide of her half-sister. Instead, Judge weaves these personal losses seamlessly into her narrative, much as Shelley drew on her own struggles in order to breathe life into one of the most enduring books of all time.

Deborah Hopkinson lives near Portland, Oregon. Her most recent book for young readers is Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen.

Nimona’s not your average spunky teen, and this graphic novel, set in an anachronistic medieval society with both old-world magic and high-tech gadgets, is anything but typical. Originally introduced in Noelle Stevenson’s webcomic, Nimona hopes to become the sidekick to Ballister Blackheart, “the biggest name in supervillainy.”

Once a hero in training at the Institution, Blackheart now dons a mechanical arm after losing a joust with Goldenloin. While the fair-haired winner rose to glory and worked his way up the ranks at the Institution, Blackheart assumed the role he felt befitting: evil scientist and supervillain. Unable to resist Nimona’s charm (and neither will readers), he reluctantly lets the teen into his lair, especially when she reveals her shapeshifting abilities.

Together they become an unusual team with impulsive Nimona eager to maim, kill and destroy and methodical Blackheart always following the rules of villainy. As they take on the hypocrisy and corruption of the Institution, this unlikely duo begins to prove what it really means to be a hero. Stevenson’s expressive, action-packed artwork not only highlights their evolving, father-daughter-like relationship, but their dark secrets as well.

These secrets become the real demons to defeat. Stevenson balances this darkness with humor and tenderness that would melt even the coldest supervillain heart. Nimona is a force to be reckoned with, on the pages of this unforgettable graphic novel and in the minds of readers—both of which could use more kick-ass heroines. Luckily an open ending leaves room for more of Nimona’s plucky determination.