Each year, Austin Public Library youth services librarians read hundreds of books and we gather together lists of our favorites. Some of these win awards and are placed on official reading lists. . . and some aren't. If you're looking for great books that you might have missed last year, here are a few to try.
Recommended for grades 8-12.
Book List Category:
By Vera Brosgol.
Anya, embarrassed by her Russian immigrant family and self-conscious about her body, has given up on fitting in at school but falling down a well and making friends with the ghost there just may be worse.
By Gene Luen Yang ; illustrated by Thien Pham.
Dennis, the son of Chinese immigrants, yearns to play video games like his friends and, upon his strict father's death, becomes obsessed with them but later, realizing how his father sacrificed for him, he chooses a nobler path.
By written and created by Sean O'Reilly and Kevin Hanna ; art by Mike Thomas ... [et al.] ; letters by Shawn DePasquale.
When a young mechanical girl finds companionship with a mutant circus boy, the two must overcome the obstacle of their warring families.
By story by Jane Yolen ; art by Rebecca Guay ; letters by Clem Robins.
Two hundred years after humans drove the dragons from the islands of May, the last wyrm rises anew to wreak havoc, with only a healer's daughter and a kite-flying, reluctant hero standing in its way.
By Kazue Kato ; [translation & English adaptation, John Werry].
"Fight hellfire with hellfire! Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth -- the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin's veins! Rin swears to defeat Satan, but doing that means entering the mysterious True Cross Academy and becoming an exorcist himself. Can Rin fight demons and keep his infernal bloodline a secret? It won't be easy, especially when drawing his father's sword releases the demonic power within him!"--P. [4] of cover.
By story by Tsugumi Ohba ; art by Takeshi Obata ; [translation, Tetsuichiro Miyaki ; English adaptation, Hope Donovan ; touch-up art & lettering, James Gaubatz].
By Laura Lee Gulledge.
When Paige Turner and her family move to New York City from rural Virginia, she tries to make sense of her new life through her sketchbook, and it helps bring her true personality into the open, a process that is equal parts terrifying and rewarding.
By text by Samhita Arni ; art by Moyna Chitrakar.
This version of the The Ramayana is told from the perspective of Sita, the queen. It is an allegorical story that contains important Hindu teachings, and it has had great influence on Indian life and culture over the centuries.
By written by Jim Ottaviani ; art by Leland Myrick ; coloring by Hilary Sycamore.
"In this substantial graphic novel biography, First Second presents the larger-than-life exploits of Nobel-winning quantum physicist, adventurer, musician, world-class raconteur, and one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century: Richard Feynman. Written by nonfiction comics mainstay Jim Ottaviani and brilliantly illustrated by First Second author Leland Myrick, Feynman tells the story of the great man's life from his childhood in Long Island to his work on the Manhattan Project and the Challenger disaster. Ottaviani tackles the bad with the good, leaving the reader delighted by Feynman's exuberant life and staggered at the loss humanity suffered with his death" -- from publisher's web site.
By created, written, and drawn by Doug TenNapel.
Lyle, Karen, Janie, and Reese must find a way off an island while they dodge strange and dangerous things on the island.
