(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Ann Xu & Sunmi. Color by Sunmi. In this graphic novel set "somewhere near Seattle," Michelle and her older sister, Claire, are far from the best of friends. Self-assured Claire takes pride in and embraces her Taiwanese heritage; self-conscious Michelle is more interested in hanging out with her white friends at her middle school, eager to stay in classmate Jess's good graces to secure an invitation to her end-of-summer bash. The scene shifts when their parents send both sisters to a Taiwanese American summer camp. Immersed in Taiwanese culture, Michelle strives to forge her dual identity while struggling with the Taiwanese language, practicing calligraphy, competing in a dragon boat race, and memorizing folksong lyrics for a talent show. In this story of cultural heritage and identity reconciliation, LaMotte and Xu (Measuring Up, rev. 3/21) explore the often nebulous, isolating experience of not quite fitting in and being stereotyped based on appearance. Cultural activities, from making Taiwanese shaved ice to crafting glove puppets, occupy full-page panels packed with a lively collage of details. Moments of humor captured through playful manga-like facial expressions and gestures propel the plot forward in whimsical fashion.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) YA The Buddhist belief that the soul goes through "a state between life and rebirth" for forty-nine days before crossing over provides the intriguing structure for Lee's debut graphic novel. The story straddles the worlds of the living and the dead, beginning with a Korean American girl named Kit awakening by a shore. She treks along the deserted beach toward an unknown destination, only to wake the next day in the same spot where she'd started. Repeated excursions lead to a seeming demise as she slips off a boulder or gets swept away by a powerful tide. As the scenes progress, they begin to include flashbacks, with memories of the communal activity of preparing kimchi providing glimpses of the ties of family. A parallel plot shows Kit's family in the present day coping with their grief. Each story line has its own soft palette (grays for Kit's wandering, muted orange for the memories, reddish brown for Kit's family now), with wordless panels appearing frequently and showcasing the bold, dark line drawings. Juxtaposed disparate shots challenge readers to infer the narrative continuity and meaning in between panels. The forty-nine rapidly paced chapters unpack a tale of grief, loss, love, and healing through a metaphysical journey of redemption and self-discovery. An author's note touches on the broad spectrum of Buddhist traditions regarding death.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(1) YA Illustrated by Faith Schaffer. A pair of mismatched fighters embarks on a quest to vanquish a yamauba (a monster that devours children) in a graphic novel that seamlessly blends fantasy in a reimagined feudal Japan with trappings of contemporary technology. When fifteen-year-old Chihiro's father is asked to come out of retirement to fight the yamauba, he declines due to an injured leg, prompting his daughter to leap at the chance to take his place and perhaps gain entrance to the prestigious Keisi Academy. She sets out to find a ronin traveling companion -- her idol Tatsuo Nakano, the first girl accepted into the academy -- only to find that she's now a washed-up drunkard with an attitude. Donning ronin garb, with swords in hand along with their cellphones, they launch into their perilous journey, with malevolent monsters and threatening dangers lurking about. The backstory to Tatsuo's unraveling is revealed through intermittent episodes, switching between dramatic dark and light grays set in the past and boldly colored panels in the present. Combat scenes unfold through action-driven panels that slash across the page in cinematic jump-shot fashion. Themes of self-determination, betrayal, revenge, feminism, and social justice are at the core of this fast-paced, twisty adventure.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(2) 4-6 Kevin Lee, a 1990s Chinese Canadian boy, struggles with being invisible among his peers, but somehow lands in the spotlight at the most embarrassing moments. When he brings preserved eggs to middle school for lunch, he becomes a laughingstock and gains the nickname "Egg Boy." Then in gym class he throws a basketball and accidentally hits the substitute teacher, knocking out a tooth. His parents' divorce doesn't make his life any easier: his older sister resents taking on extra responsibilities as she prepares for college, while his mother barely makes ends meet running an alterations shop. When Popo, his maternal grandmother, arrives from China, she reminds him that "today's pain is tomorrow's strength." Xu's coming-of-age graphic novel follows Kevin's ups and downs as he strives to fit in at school, get along with his sister, and help his mom. He takes refuge in a fantasy world of comics depicted by lively, action-packed panels -- a world that later comes to life at an amusement park. Amusing facial expressions and gestures capture the distinctive persona of each character and their interactions. Themes of sacrifice, survival, and love abound in a multidimensional story of navigating the bumpy terrain of family tensions and resilience across generations.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) YA Korean American Yuna feels stifled by the traditional ways of her immigrant parents. She brings homemade lunches to school while her classmates get pizza. She stays home while her friends have sleepovers. A Korean legend passed down to Yuna from her halmoni (grandmother) says that if one gathers a thousand paper stars into a jar, a wish is granted. Yuna takes on this challenge, and upon folding the thousandth star, makes a fateful wish to return to Korea and so lead a "normal" life. The next morning, she awakes to learn that Halmoni has died unexpectedly and finds that her own hand has started transforming into paper. In Korea for her grandmother's funeral, she strives to fold another thousand stars in order to reverse her wish and bring Halmoni back to life--and avoid turning into paper ("I am a paper girl...blowing in the wind. Alone and fragile. I am invisible"). Yi's poignant graphic novel weaves together themes of isolation, belonging, guilt, death, and family along with the complex dynamics of forging a Korean American identity. The plot oscillates between the past and present, unraveling events through intermittent flashbacks. Yuna's memories unfold through pastel shades of blue; her mother's memories of her childhood and Halmoni, in sepia tones. Montage panels reflect Halmoni's endearing acts of love. Memory, magic, and mystery converge to tell an intergenerational story that captivates the imagination and heart.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) YA Colors by Sarah Davidson. After an embarrassing mishap on social media, almost-fourteen-year-old Aria unplugs for the summer. She visits Nainai, her Taiwanese grandmother, in San Francisco, to help run her boba shop. When Bao, the cafe cat, gives birth to eight kittens, Aria attracts more customers by rebranding the shop as a boba cat cafe. But there are mysteries that she can't make sense of: prairie dogs hang out in the shop's back lot, Nainai gets strangely upset when the cafe fails to close on time, and the shop's kitchen is strictly off limits. Aria eventually learns that for nearly forty years her grandmother has been staving off an underground monster that rocks the city, triggering huge earthquakes unless it is fed -- and she decides to help free Nainai from this burden. Chanani's (Pashmina, rev. 1/18; Jukebox) inventive graphic novel, featuring an endearing granddaughter-grandmother relationship, explores themes of healing, making new friends, taking personal responsibility, and communicating across generations. The illustrations feature plenty of warmth and cartoonish cuteness. Scene-setting depictions of San Francisco highlight iconic sites, including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts; images of bakeries, eateries, and small shops in residential neighborhoods create a vibrant sense of community.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) YA Illustrated by Erica Henderson. The premise of this page-turning graphic novel is that on the eve of the twenty-first century, the world plummeted into an electronic meltdown, causing plane crashes, hospital blackouts, and depleted food and supply chains. Years later, with the world now a dystopia consumed by decaying technology, magic surfaces in the hands of a few who power spells by sheer emotion, with good or sinister intentions. The story hits the ground running with Marguerite de Pruitt, the "Chosen One," and her talking dog sidekick, Daisy, in pursuit of rare magical totems. Armed with a single unlocking spell, she maneuvers through a fragmented world divided into magical realms to retrieve three enchanted items for her uncle Bernard, who plans to use them to cast the ultimate spell and save the world from apocalyptic destruction. Along the way, she and Daisy encounter strangers, allies, and enemies while navigating friendship, love, duty, and betrayal. The rapidly paced plot unfolds as Marguerite embarks on a quest punctuated by periodic flashbacks, with some narrative sequences unfolding through wordless panels. Occasional scenes in striking limited palettes create a cinematic spectacle for readers in the mood for a mix of science fiction and fantasy wrapped in mystery.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(1) YA For many immigrant families, the American dream is a journey paved with countless obstacles; this struggle plays out in the lives of three Taiwanese siblings in Tang's graphic novel. The story begins in 1981 when the Lin family, undocumented immigrants from Taiwan, arrives in Los Angeles, allegedly for a vacation. But soon ten-year-old Feng-Li (who adopts the American name Ann) and her older brother Ke-Gng (Jason) and sister Jia-Xi (Jessie) find out that the move is permanent, and their father is not staying with them; a month later they learn they will need to fend for themselves--their mother must return to China after her visa is not renewed. They work to adapt to American culture: Feng-Li strives to make friends in school; Ke-Gng searches for his identity while joining a clique of Chinese American teens that pressures him into smoking, skipping class, shoplifting, and worse; Jia-Xi studies for the SATs and looks for a job but falls prey to an insidious scam. Vibrant colors and expressively drawn faces capture the dynamic ups and downs in their lives. Intense dilemmas punctuated by humorous moments dramatize the challenges faced by each character. Tang weaves themes of family, racial stereotyping, cultural adaptation, sacrifice, peer pressure, sexuality, bullying, and survival into a poignant and triumphant story of perseverance and resilience, presenting a remarkably honest depiction of an Asian American immigrant experience.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) 4-6 Stories and truths cross paths in Agyemang's debut graphic novel. After twelve-year-old Nana ("It's '­NAH-na,' not 'NAN'") makes up one too many tales, landing her in the principal's office again, her parents send her to Ghana to spend the summer with her extended family, including her grandmother, who is also a storyteller. While adjusting to life in her mother's childhood village, Nana stumbles upon an evil company that's stealing the village forest's magic and killing it in the process. She then finds herself negotiating with Ananse, trickster spider and bearer of the world's stories. Agyemang herself spins this tale by drawing upon stories of the past. Classic folktales come to life through energetic folk art–style illustrations capturing the vibrant setting and colorful Ghanaian attire. Most striking is Ananse's versatile human-spider form, which shifts around adroitly through the panels. Exploring themes of fitting in, honoring tradition, enacting social justice, and finding one's truth, the book takes readers on a voyage of self-discovery while demonstrating the magical power of stories and their ability to reach across cultures and generations.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) 4-6 Seventh grader Freddie is jinxed by a family curse. Bad luck follows him "like toilet paper stuck to my shoe," whether he's tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his face or losing his pants. One day, Freddie finds what looks like an ancient coin in his garage. It turns out to be a family heirloom in which the spirit of his great-granduncle Ramon is trapped. Determined to free Ramon, Freddie has just thirteen days to outsmart the evil spirits that have been casting misfortune on his life--and that are now bent on trapping Freddie. Badua's intriguing and humorous debut novel integrates snippets of Filipino American history into the plot alongside elements of the supernatural and contemporary-kid life. Intergenerational conflicts arise between Freddie's parents and his lovable, superstitious grandma, Apong Rosing, leaving our protagonist and his quick-witted cousin, Sharkey, to defeat the Ruiz family curse once and for all. Weaving together mystery, folklore, history, magic, and intrigue, Freddie's adventures are an entertaining delight.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(1) YA In this graphic memoir, debut author Gao wrestles with questions about her evolving sense of identity while navigating the frequently choppy waters of growing up. From her early childhood in Wuhan, China, to her years in Texas and later San Francisco, Gao's memories spring to life: adapting to life in the U.S., struggling with being stereotyped as a math whiz, journeying back to China with her family, dealing with anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, and eventually developing a crush on her first girlfriend. Whether satisfying her craving for White Rabbit Candy (a Chinese confection), reflecting on the Moon Maiden folktale, or imagining a video-game avatar for herself, Gao personalizes her experiences with insight and humor. Through sketched line drawings rendered with often comic expressions and complemented by warm reds and yellows, this book delivers a coming-of-age story that tackles themes of immigration, assimilation, racism, sexuality, and self-identity. An affecting and candid depiction of the universal search for one's place in the world.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) 4-6 Meet Missy and Gizmo, a bookish young girl and her trusty cat sidekick, stars of this graphic novel. Missy loves science and building gadgets while searching for fun and excitement in the ho-hum town of Idleville. Hungry for adventure, Missy and Gizmo join a superhero boot camp and befriend a group known as the "League of Heroes"--only to be kicked out after activating a robot that wreaks destruction. Shifting to a life of mischief, the disheartened duo masquerades as supervillains Mischief and Mayhem, committing pranks such as stealing toilet paper and ­revealing spoilers at movie theaters. Amidst their zany exploits, a devious mastermind emerges, with intentions to rid the world of all things super. In his debut graphic novel, packed with thrills and quirky humor, Lamug has created characters whose personalities burst with energy. Individual panels capture their vibrant personas through animated facial expressions. Shaded hues of pink, purple, and gray rendered against the violet backdrop of the city enliven the mood. This fast-paced story breathes life into a young, inventive female character who learns that sometimes the greatest powers lie within.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

(2) YA This tenderhearted graphic novel explores the traumatic aftermath of gun violence experienced by a teen, Manuel, who had witnessed his teacher being threatened at gunpoint. On his road to recovery, he slips into panic attacks brought on by dreams, video games, and random images from the scene of the crime. While hanging out at a farm with his friends Caysha and Sebastian to work on a group project for art class, Manuel copes by using photography as a form of therapy; snapshots from his camera phone deliver parts of the visual narrative. Intermittent flashbacks reveal disturbing details from the incident, much like fragmented memories that lie buried until they rise to the surface. Scenic rural landscapes infused with shades of deep blue and rosy pink create a ­calming mood and tone. Vivid panels rendered in black, gray, and white magnify Manuel's increasingly intense disassociating episodes as the plot progresses before ­coming to some resolution and healing. This moving story touches on themes of friendship, ­coping, and self-discovery amidst a haunting experience.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(1) YA In this imaginative graphic novel, thirteen-year-old Vietnamese American boy Tin and his Vietnamese-refugee seamstress mother, Hin, have always loved stories, with the two often reading library books aloud while enjoying time together. Nguyen (a comic artist also known as Trungles) delves into the world of Vietnamese fairy tales, including "Cinderella" and "The Little Mermaid" variants. Themes from these works--parent-child struggles, unrequited love, and the timeless quest to attain one's innermost desires, for example--are reflected in the versions of the illustrated retellings Tin reads and in his day-to-day life at home and school, including his secret crush on a male classmate. Nguyen's artistry radiates elegance on every page. Pastel shades of red, brown, and purple alternate to signify present, past, and imaginative plot segments. While some panels feature characters in pensive curiosity or profound melancholy, others burst with vibrancy, their exquisite portraits spanning an entire page or across multiple panels. Infused with emotional depth and integrity, this coming-of-age story broadens the range of Vietnamese American creative voices in books for young people.

Reviewer: Jerry Dear | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021