Read and Shine » fiction

In the last decade, graphic novels have made a place for themselves on the shelves of readers young and old. While often misconstrued with comic books, these visual stories are an excellent way for readers of all kinds to experience books. Many graphic novels are geared toward boys and reluctant readers, which is why this list focuses on the female leads found in these stories. The books in this list are all graphic novels with female main characters; some are their own unique stories, while others are graphic representations of well-known tales. These books are best suited to readers ages 8-12.
Contributed by: Mary Lanni

	The Stonekeeper (Amulet series book #1) By: Kazu Kibuishi After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids’ mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals. Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.
	Beauty and the Beast: The Graphic Novel By: Michael Dahl Illustrated by: Luke Feldman Presents a graphic novel version of the story of a kind and beautiful maiden who releases a handsome prince from the spell which has made him an ugly beast.
	The City of Ember: The Graphic Novel By: Jeanne DuPrau Adapted by: Dallas Middaugh Illustrated by: Niklas Asker In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.
	El Deafo By: Cece Bell In this cleverly illustrated graphic novel, Cece Bell re-imagines her childhood self as a superhero bunny with deafness. Cece is only four years old when she becomes deaf. Her doctor gives her a Phonic Ear to help her hear. From then on, her life changes dramatically. The Phonic Ear, a box that hangs around her neck with cords and earbuds attached, makes Cece feel very insecure. Eventually, she realizes that the earbuds, buried deep in her long rabbit ears, give her the superpower of hearing others, even from far away. This superpower leads to the creation of Cece’s new secret identity: El Deafo.
	Giants Beware! By: Jorge Aguirre Illustrated by: Rafael Rosado Claudette wants nothing more than to slay a giant, but her little village is too safe and quiet.
	Good-bye Marianne By: Irene N. Watts Illustrated by: Kathryn E. Shoemaker Tells the story of Marianne Kohn, an eleven-year-old Jewish girl in Berlin in 1938 who experiences the division in her homeland due to the Nazi regime, and who eventually boards a boat to take her to safety in London.
	Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust By: Loïc Dauvillier, Marc Lizano, and Greg Salsedo A grandmother shares the story of her experiences in WWII with her grandchild in this graphic novel for young readers.
	Little Robot By: Ben Hatke When a little girl finds an adorable robot in the woods, she presses a button and accidentally activates him for the first time. Now, she finally has a friend. But the big, bad robots are coming to collect the little guy for nefarious purposes, and it’s all up to a five-year-old armed only with a wrench and fierce loyalty to her mechanical friend to save the day!
	Stargazing By: Jen Wang Moon is everything Christine isn’t. She’s confident, impulsive, artistic . . . and though they both grew up in the same Chinese-American suburb, Moon is somehow unlike anyone Christine has ever known.
	Princeless: Save Yourself By: Jeremy Whitley Illustrated by: M. Goodwin Locked in a tower with her sisters and tired of waiting to be rescued by a prince, Princess Adrienne, her sidekick Bedelia, and her guardian dragon Sparky begin a quest to save themselves.
	To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel By: Siena Cherson Siegel Illustrated by: Mark Siegel Dancers are young when they first dream of dance. Siena was six — and her dreams kept skipping and leaping, circling and spinning, from airy runs along a beach near her home in Puerto Rico, to dance class in Boston, to her debut performance on stage with the New York City Ballet.
	A Wrinkle in Time By: Madeleine L’Engle Illustrated by: Hope Larson A graphic novel adaptation of the classic tale in which Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg’s father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

Whether you are protecting your school, family, or community, getting rid of zombies takes a lot of bravery. Enjoy these 8 middle grade reads about courageous zombie hunters, and a few courageous zombies themselves.

	Project Z: A Zombie Ate My Homework By: Tommy Greenwald Arnold Z. Ombee has escaped a secret government lab that’s developing zombies. Young, scared, and alone, he is found by the Kinders, a warmhearted couple who take him in. The Kinders decide Arnold will become part of their family. They help him disguise his undead appearance and teach him how to act like a human boy. After a lot of practice, he’s ready for the ultimate test: Fifth grade!
	Zombies By: Evan Jacobs When Leo the liar is terrorized by real zombies, no one believes him because of his dishonest reputation.
	Zombie Elementary: the real story By: Howard Whitehouse After he is almost eaten by one of his classmates, zombie-hunting fourth grader Larry Mullet and his friends fight back against the zombies who have invaded their school.
	Enter the Zombie By: David Lubar When the head of the Bureau of Useful Misadventures (or BUM) discovers that an evil organization is using the Student Mind and Body competition to recruit agents, he asks Nathan to enter the competition, but things go terribly wrong when Nathan’s nemesis starts to notice some odd things about him, and Nathan fears his zombie identity will be exposed.
	The Zombie Zone By: Ron Roy Reports of zombies and grave-robbers alarm the people of a Louisiana swampland village, but Ruth Rose, Josh, and Dink begin to suspect that the supernatural may not be the cause of the eerie occurrences.
	The Music of Zombies By: Vivian French When planning for Cockenzie Rood Day, Prince Albion gets kidnapped because a zombie wants to play his fiddle in the talent contest. Trueheart, a prince and Gubble the troll must stop the zombie before real damage is done to the Five Kingdoms.
	Undead Ahead By: John Kloepfer While trying to survive after zombies take over Phoenix, Arizona, Zack, Rice, and Madison discover a zombie antidote and embark on a mission to save the nation from the undead scourge.
	Invasion of the Appleheads By: Annette Cascone Katie and her eleven-year old brother Andy Lawrence move to Appleton, and while spending a day sightseeing at the famous Appleton Orchard strange things start happening, starting with their parents turning into appleheads and the town’s children are turning into zombies.

After reviewing hundreds of upcoming titles featuring female characters, we decided to hone our Fall Fiction List to include books with female characters involved in problem-solving, acts of bravery, or adjusting to a new normal. Each title was chosen to fill a spot on your shelf to encourage not only girls, but all students who find themselves in these situations. Suggested age range and month of publication is included with each entry. Be sure to use the links provided to find similar books to those shown.

	The Third Mushroom By: Jennifer L. Holm When thirteen-year-old Ellie’s Grandpa Melvin, a world-renowned scientist in the body of a fourteen-year-old boy, comes for an extended visit, he teaches her that experimenting–and failing–is part of life. Ages 8-12. (September)
	King Alice By: Matthew Cordell A young girl wakes her father by informing him that she is Queen Alice, then draws him and other family members into her imaginative activities, from writing a book to a sleepover with fairies. Ages 3-5. (September)
	Smoke and Mirrors By: Kristin Halbrook Bullied while attending fifth grade with the Islanders, Sasha, who always loved being part of Cirque Magnifique, wishes it would all go away. But, when her parents disappear in the Smoke, it is up to her to save them. Ages 8–12. (September)
	Princesses Save the World By: Savannah Guthrie and Allison Oppenheim Illustrated by: Eva Byrne Princess Penelope Pineapple and her fellow princesses from the Fruit Nations are on a mission to rescue the Strawberry Kingdom’s food from certain ruin, and surprisingly Penny’s beloved bees are the key to saving the realm’s produce. Ages 3-6. (September)
	The Yin-Yang Sisters and the Dragon Frightful By: Nancy Tupper Ling Illustrated by: Andrea Offermann Twins with opposite personalities work together to convince a dragon to stop blocking their village bridge. Ages 4–8. (September)
	Ella Unleashed By: Alison Cherry Ella becomes a dog handler with help from her stepfather, and tries to help her dad adjust to the new family dynamic. Ages 8–12. (September)
	The Bookshop Girl By: Sylvia Bishop Illustrated by: Poly Bernatene Property Jones and her family are in dire straits when they win a drawing for the greatest bookstore in England, but the previous owner was hiding something nearly as big as Property’s secret. Ages 8–12. (October)
	Lorraine: The Girl Who Sang the Storm Away By: Ketch Secor Illustrated by: Higgins Bond Pa Paw and Lorraine always lift their spirits by playing music together, but their instruments are missing when a fearsome storm hits the Tennessee hills. Lorraine must find the music inside her to get through it. Ages 4–8. (October)
	Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters: The Questioneers Book #1 By: Andrea Beaty Illustrated by: David Roberts When Rosie is unable to invent a contraption to help one of Aunt Rose’s Raucous Riveters friends, she calls on classmates Iggy Peck and Ada Twist to help. Ages 6-9. (October)
	Ghosted By: Leslie Margolis After hitting her head, Ellie Charles, thirteen, encounters a mysterious girl who takes her to moments in her past that explain how she became a manipulative, unhappy person in a story reminiscent of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Ages 10-14 (October)
	Jack (Not Jackie) By: Erica Silverman Illustrated by Holly Hatam Susan loves her baby sister, Jackie, but as Jackie grows older and behaves more and more like a boy Susan must adjust to having a brother, Jack, instead. Ages 4–8. (October)
	Kat Wolfe Investigates: Wolfe and Lamb Mysteries By: Lauren St. John The debut novel in a series about a girl in England, twelve-year-old Kat Wolfe, who starts a pet-sitting agency and finds herself unraveling mysteries. The owner of her first client goes missing and only her new friend shares Kat’s conviction that the parrot’s owner is the victim of foul play. Ages 8–12. (October)
	The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club By: Alex Bell Stella Starflake Pearl just wants to be part of the Polar Bear Explorers Club. But Stella’s a girl, and everyone knows that girls aren’t allowed to be explorers but Stella’s ready to prove everyone wrong. Ages 8–12. (November)

Our Fall 2018 YA list includes books that follow this year’s trends of empowering females and recognizing the plight of all people, regardless of race or origin. Each book reflects timely issues that are being played out in our society, regardless of the book’s setting or time-period. Books included are both fiction and nonfiction for ages 12 and up, and each entry includes publication month. Be sure to use the links provided to find similar books to those shown.

	Here to Stay By: Sara Farizan When a cyberbully sends the entire high school a picture of basketball hero Bijan Majidi, photo-shopped to look like a terrorist, the school administration promises to find and punish the culprit, but Bijan just wants to pretend the incident never happened and move on. Deals with issues of bullying and Islamophobia. (September)
	Sadie By: Courtney Summers When Sadie’s sister, Mattie, is found dead in a field, it’s the last straw. Sadie’s life has been hard she lives in a dead-end town, her drug-addicted mother abandoned her and her sister, she’s constantly mocked for her stutter, and her childhood was plagued with a string of abusive men but she can’t stand to watch her sister’s case slip through the cracks of a disinterested police force. With nothing left to lose, she takes matters into her own hands, packing light and tracing a scanty trail of breadcrumbs toward the man she knows is responsible for Mattie’s death. But Sadie’s disappearance doesn’t go unnoticed. Soon a true-crime podcast is on the case, and its host, New York journalist West McCray, interviews Sadie’s friends and neighbors in an attempt to both tell Sadie’s story and trace her whereabouts before there’s another dead girl. (September)
	Mary Shelley: The Strange True Tale of Frankenstein’s Creator By: Catherine Reef On the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, comes a riveting biography of its author, Mary Shelley, whose life reads like a dark gothic novel, filled with scandal, death, drama, and one of the strangest love stories in literary history. (September)
	The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein By: Kiersten White The events of Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein unfold from the perspective of Elizabeth Lavenza, who is adopted as a child by the Frankensteins as a companion for their volatile son Victor. (September)
	Steal This Country: A Handbook for Resistance, Persistence, and Fixing Almost Everything By: Alexandra Styron Inspired by Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book, Styron offers a resource for activist kids who refuse to accept things as they are. Includes how to organize, march, rally, and petition, and calls young people to vote, volunteer, and talk to others about their opinions. (September)
	Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower By: Christian McKay Heidicker Phoebe, fifteen, the daughter of a famous mother and unearthly father, suddenly begins experiencing radical changes as she enters one scene after another from 1950s and 60s science fiction movies. She will run from flesh-eating plants, radioactive ants, and other monsters, and must fend for herself once her mother vanishes.(September)
	A Heart in a Body in the World By: Deb Caletti Followed by Grandpa Ed in his RV and backed by her brother and friends, Annabelle, eighteen, runs from Seattle to Washington, D.C., to escape the tragedy and trauma of the past year. Along the way she is becoming a reluctant activist as people connect her journey to her recent trauma.(September)
	Ignite the Stars By: Maura Milan When the notorious I.A. Cocha is captured by the Olympus Commonwealth and revealed to be a sixteen-year-old girl, she is sentenced to correctional rehabilitation at a training ground for the elite Star Force where she forms unlikely alliances and tries to find a way to escape. (September)
	Dry By: Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman A lengthy California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, turning Alyssa’s quiet suburban street into a warzone, and she is forced to make impossible choices if she and her brother are to survive. (October)
	The Boneless Mercies By: April Genevieve Tucholke This re-imagining of Beowulf centers around four female mercenaries known as Boneless Mercies, weary of roaming Vorseland, ignored and forgotten until they are needed for mercy killings, decide to seek glory by going after a legendary monster. (October)
	History vs. Women: The Defiant Lives That They Don’t Want You to Know By: Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams Illustrated by: T.S. Abe Profiles 25 extraordinary women from around the world who changed the world around them, such as female Mongolian wrestlers, Chinese pirates, Egyptian scientists, and British Prime Ministers. (October)
	Anything but Okay By: Sarah Littman Life has suddenly turned chaotic for high school student Stella since her brother, Rob, got home from his second tour of duty in Afghanistan: her school is on edge with ethnic tensions and her brother seems to be suffering from post-traumatic stress but will not talk about it. But when Rob’s anger finally spirals out of control, Stella realizes she has to find the courage to take a stand against the forces of hate in her hometown.(October)
	Come November By: Katrin van Dam Senior year at high school is going to be hard enough for Rooney Harris, desperate to get into a good college and away from her small town, but things get tougher when she ends up as the sole support for herself and her younger brother because of their mother’s obsession with the Next World Society, a cult that believes they will be whisked away to a new world paradise on November 17. (October)
	Just Wreck It All By: N. Griffin Crippled with guilt after causing a horrific accident two years earlier, sixteen-year-old Bett’s life is a series of pluses and minuses. But when the pluses become too much to outweigh the minuses, Bett is forced to confront her self-harming behavior. (October)
	What They Don’t Know By: Nicole Maggi Alternating journal entries chronical the powerful fight for Mellie’s right to choose after she becomes pregnant by rape. (October)
	Fire and Heist By: Sarah Beth Durst As Sky Hawkins, a were-dragon, faces her first heist she discovers secrets about her missing mother, the true reason her boyfriend broke up with her, and the valuable jewel that could restore her family’s wealth and rank. (December)

The Maxwell Medallion is given by the Dog Writers Association of America. This award, named after Maxwell Riddle who wrote a syndicated dog column for 30 years and was a past president of DWAA, is given to many forms of professional writing devoted to dogs. Nominees are announced in the winter edition of the newsletter, Ruff Drafts.

The Maxwell Medallion 2017 Children’s Category Winner and Nominees
	Toby By: Hazel Mitchell A young boy and his father adopt a dog, Toby, from a local rescue shelter. Unfortunately, Toby is having a challenging time adjusting to his new home and the father is wondering if Toby was the right dog to choose.
	Sled Dog Dachshund By: Laura Atkins Jasper the dachshund wants to be in Alaska’s biggest dog sled race. He enters the race but finds he is too little. Still, size is no obstacle for Jasper as he becomes part of a team.
	The Story About Tigger By: Cameron Pendergraft Tigger’s life is changed when her family abandons her at a no-kill animal shelter.
	Harry Taylor, Hometown Hero By: Alden Taylor A children’s picture book about Harry and his Green Bay Packers pride.