At least, that’s how the rumor goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a crocks-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online—after doing a little ritual to put their spirits to rest. It’s creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it’s kind of cool, too.
They make a deal: Jacks will teach Snap how to take care of the baby opossums that Snap rescued, and Snap will help Jacks with her work. But as Snap starts to get to know Jacks, she realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic—and a connection with Snap’s family’s past.
(Publisher description)
Snapdragon By Kat Leyh ISBN: 9781250171122 First Second, 2020 NFNT Age Recommendation: Tween (10-13)
Adrienne Ashe never wanted to be a princess. She hates fancy dinners, is uncomfortable in lavish dresses, and has never wanted to wait on someone else to save her. However, on the night of her 16th-birthday, her parents, the King and Queen, locked her away in a tower guarded by a dragon to await the rescue of some handsome prince. Now Adrienne has decided to take matters into her own hands!
(Publisher Description)
Princeless By Jeremy Whitley Art By M. Goodwin Emily Martin ISBN: 9781939352545 Action Lab, 2012 NFNT Age Recommendation: Tween (10-13)
In Sam Bosma’s debut graphic novel, a young explorer and her musclebound friend go treasure hunting in a mummy’s tomb—but if they want to get rich, they’re going to have to best the mummy in a game of hoops! Can they trust their bandaged adversary to play by the rules? Or will they be stuck in the tomb… forever?
(Publisher Description)
The Fantasy Sports Series By Sam Bosma ISBN: 9781907704802 Nobrow, 2015 NFNT Age Recommendation: Tween (10-13)
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school’s production of Moon over Mississippi, she can’t really sing. Instead she’s the set designer for the drama department’s stage crew, and this year she’s determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn’t know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen. And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!
(Publisher description)
Drama By Raina Telgemeier ISBN: 9780545326988 Graphix, 2012 NFNT Age Recommendation: Tween (10-13)
After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins — Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone — are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. Eventually, the cousins are reunited at a farmstead run by tough Gran’ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter, Thorn. But little do the Bones know, there are dark forces conspiring against them and their adventures are only just beginning!
(Publisher Description)
The Bone Series By Jeff Smith ISBN: 9780439706407 Scholastic Graphix, 2005 NFNT Age Recommendation: Tween (10-13)
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.
As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
(Publisher description)
New Kid By Jerry Craft ISBN: 9780062691200 Quill Tree Books, 2019 NFNT Age Recommendation: Tween (10-13)
Twelve-year-old Cici has just moved from Taiwan to Seattle, and the only thing she wants more than to fit in at her new school is to celebrate her grandmother, A-má’s, seventieth birthday together.
Since she can’t go to A-má, Cici cooks up a plan to bring A-má to her by winning the grand prize in a kids’ cooking contest to pay for A-má’s plane ticket! There’s just one problem: Cici only knows how to cook Taiwanese food.
And after her pickled cucumber debacle at lunch, she’s determined to channel her inner Julia Child. Can Cici find a winning recipe to reunite with A-má, a way to fit in with her new friends, and somehow find herself too?
(Publisher description)
Measuring Up By Lily LaMotte Art By Ann Xu ISBN: 9780062973863 HarperAlley, 2020 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
Maureen and Francine Carter are twins—and best friends. They participate in the same clubs, enjoy the same foods, and are partners on all their school projects. But just before the girls start sixth grade, Francine becomes Fran—a girl who wants to join the chorus, run for class president, and dress in fashionable outfits that set her apart from Maureen. A girl who seems happy to share only two classes with her sister!
Maureen and Francine are growing apart and there’s nothing Maureen can do to stop it. Are sisters really forever? Or will middle school change things for good?
(Publisher description)
Twins By Varian Johnson Art By Shannon Wright ISBN: 9781338236132 Graphix, 2020 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
In thirteen-year-old Aster’s family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn’t shifted, and he’s still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help — as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family, and to be truly himself.
(Publisher description)
Witch Boy By Molly Ostertag ISBN: 9781338089516 Graphix, 2017 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten “relocation centers,” hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.
They Called Us Enemy is Takei’s firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the terrors and small joys of childhood in the shadow of legalized racism, his mother’s hard choices, his father’s tested faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.
(Publisher description)
They Called Us Enemy By George Takei Justin Eisinger Steven Scott Art By Harmony Becker ISBN: 9781603094504 Top Shelf Productions, 2019 NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16)
