Mata Austronesia by
Mata Austronesia is a collection of illustrated stories told by Austronesians past and present―an (ethno)graphic novel. Mata, the word for “eye” in numerous Austronesian languages, represents the common origin of the many distinctive Austronesian peoples spread throughout their vast oceanic realm. The tales in this book immerse us in the beauty of this shared heritage, ancestral memory, and cultural legacy.
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Made in Korea by
Jesse is a nine-year-old proxy, an android child, adopted by an American couple, it soon becomes clear that her intelligence is off the charts. But things get complicated when the engineer who created Jesse travels from Korea because he believes he should be taking care of her, and Jesse begins attending high school. She soon befriends two boys at school who take advantage of her naïveté and lead her to taking part in an unspeakable act. Jesse returns to Korea and begins to question her identity and the concept of freedom.
Banned Book Club by
During South Korea's Fifth Republic from 1981 to 1987, Kim Hyun Sook convinces her traditional mother that women should go to college. In 1983, Sook looks forward to immersing herself in Western literature, but she finds out that reading can be a life-or-death activity under a totalitarian regime. A young man invites Sook to a reading group, which she learns is actually a secretive group reading banned books in a basement.
The Infinity Particle by
After building an Artificial Intelligence robot named SENA, teenage Clementine Chang wins the opportunity to leave Earth for Mars to work under her idol, Dr. Marcella Lin, a famed AI pioneer. Wowed by Dr. Lin's lab and her AI research assistant Kye, a male-human-presenting robot, Clementine begins collaborating with Kye on various research that begins to have strange effects on Kye, namely a growing independence. Dr. Lin, who seeks to control Kye's abilities, becomes increasingly frustrated with the development, and lashes out at Kye. These episodes trigger PTSD in Clementine, who suffered from an abusive past relationship and who has grown to love Kye. As a result, she is determined to help Kye break free from Dr. Lin, even if it means jeopardizing everything she has worked for.
Monstrous by
Born in South Korea and adopted as a baby by a white couple, Sarah has never known anything about her birth family, and she has always felt out of place. She constantly feels like an outsider in the small rural farming community where she lives with her parents and sister, and she faces extreme bullying from her classmates at school. Sarah finds an escape through art and becomes obsessed with anime and cosplay, but her vivid imagination has a down side, as she begins expressing her emotions in a disruptive, often violent way. As she grows older and the bullying gets worse, Sarah must find a way to come to terms with her identity and accept herself for who she is.
Family Style by
In this graphic novel memoir, Vietnamese American Thien Pham uses different types of food to signify and explore his experiences as a refugee who fled Vietnam with his family, spent time in Thailand in a refugee camp, and resettled in California. As Thien recounts his efforts to recover from his trauma, find happiness, and live out the American Dream, different foods came to signify his struggles and triumphs and became an important source of self-discovery, healing, and hope.
M Is for Monster by
After their science experiment goes horribly wrong, Doctor Frances Ai's younger sister Maura dies. Frances brings her back to life, but she doesn't remember a single thing about Maura's life. The girl calls herself "M," and she attempts to pretend to be Maura with the help of Maura's ghost so Frances won't take her apart. But as the lies start to pile up and she struggles with living a life that isn't hers, M decides she wants to be her own person and reveals the truth about what happened.
Those Who Helped Us by
When Sumiko Tanaka is eleven years old, she and her family are forced to leave their home and sent to a concentration camp called Minidoka in Idaho during World War II. Life in the camp is hard, but friends from their life in Seattle refuse to turn their backs on them, and Sumi finds joy in continuing to play basketball. After three years of enduring freezing winters and scorching summers in the camp, Sumi and her family are finally able to return to Seattle, but they return to a very different world.
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Displacement by
While on vacation in San Francisco, sixteen-year-old Kiku finds herself displaced to the Japanese-American internment camp that her late grandmother was forcibly relocated to during World War II. After finding herself "stuck" in the 1940s, Kiku adjusts to the harsh life of the camp and experiences how the internees managed to create a community and commit small acts of resistance in order to survive.
Pashmina by
Priyanka Das, an Indian girl living in America, has always wondered why her mother abandoned her home in India years ago, taking Priyanka with her, and still refuses to tell Pri anything about India or her father. One day, Pri finds one of her mother's pashminas in a forgotten suitcase, and, putting it on, finds herself transported to a place that very much resembles India--however, it may be another world altogether, and there is danger.
Messy Roots: a Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by
In this autobiographical graphic novel memoir, Wuhanese American Laura Gao describes her childhood growing up in Wuhan, China, moving to Texas when she was four years old, and adjusting to life in a new country. Follows her experiences as the child of an immigrant, learning she was gay, and dealing with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Almost American Girl by
Graphic novel in which a South Korean girl named Chun and her single mother leave for America on vacation and end up staying after her mother announces she's getting married. Chun changes her name to Robin and tries to fit in at her local high school where she doesn't know the language. When her mother enrolls her in a comics drawing class, she begins to feel more at home in the United States.
Everything Is OK by
Author and illustrator Debbie Tung offers a graphic novel memoir of her struggle with depression and anxiety. Some days just getting out of bed is a battle, and some days she overthinks everything in her life, even her own personal ancient history. In the end, her message to herself, and to readers, is that she is not defined by her mental health struggles, and that a little self kindness goes a long way.
Grass by
A graphic novel-style non-fiction account of a Korean girl named Okseon Lee, who is forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. Okseon experiences the Japanese occupation and witnesses the terrible oppression of her people, but finds comfort and strength in the natural beauty of her country, even in the grass.
Turning Japanese by
Graphic novel memoir of the half white, half Japanese author who details her life in the 1990s as a hostess in Japanese bars in California and Japan while traveling with her boyfriend, Guiseppe.
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Dragon Hoops by
Gene Luen Yang, a graphic novelist and math teacher in Oakland, California, follows his Catholic high school's men's varsity basketball team, the Dragons, over the course of one season. Interviews Coach Lou and his players on their lives, the team's mysterious past, and its quest for the state championship.
In Limbo by
A graphic novel-style memoir following the author through her troubled youth as a South Korean immigrant in the United States, where her imperfect English, her teachers unable to pronounce her Korean name, and her face and especially eyes, all made her feel just wrong. Her mental health spirals down to a suicide attempt, which she survives. After that, she learns the art of self-care and develops resilience, finding a deeper knowledge of her ancestry and of herself.
Saints by
"Saints" tells the story of a lonely, unwanted girl known as Four-Girl, who lives in Bao's neighboring village. Converting to Catholicism, Four-Girl is baptized and named Vibiana. Vibiana soon discovers that being a Christian in China is very difficult, and her faith is tested in matters of life and death. "The juxtaposition of these opposing points of view, both of them sympathetic, makes for powerful, thought-provoking storytelling about a historical period that is not well known in the West" (SLJ)
Tina's Mouth by
Fifteen-year-old Tina M., daughter of Indian immigrants, whose father is a medical doctor and has high expectations of all his children--all of which have been shattered--writes an existential journal for her English honors class in order to find out who she is. Topics include her love of literature, her confusing best friend, and being kissed on the mouth by skateboarder Neil Strumminger.
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The Magic Fish by
Tien, the son of two Vietnamese refugees, is struggling with the right way to come out to his parents. With a language barrier, Tien wonders how he will ever tell his parents the truth. As he helps them with their English, Tien realizes he may be able to use fairy tales to get his message across.
Losing the Girl by
As Blithedale searches for a missing girl, rumored to be abducted by aliens, a group of high school students experiences a series of romantic relationships and their effects on friendships.
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