Memoirs often capture memories frozen in time, yet over the years, these memories can become reshaped, remixed, and even distorted. After all, facts become scattered but the truth behind the experiences endures. In her introspective memoir Until We Meet Again, Lily Kim Qian wrestles with deeply ingrained truths as she recounts her earliest memories leading to the estranged relationship between her parents, setting her on a path to discovery and inner healing.
The story begins in a jumbled dream-like state as Lily, a daughter of Chinese Canadian immigrant parents, sorts through a mixture of forgotten and remembered childhood memories—baby pictures, birthday parties, walks on a frozen lake, sizzling fried eggs made by her PoPo—which abruptly shifts to a darkened room where she watches her mother in a deep slumber. The scene later segues into a two-page spread where a tidal wave sweeps into a bedroom, signifying violent verbal battles between her parents that rage like a relentless tsunami. Narrated in vignettes, each story illustrates a moment in time, highlighting intimate details as she grapples with the gradual decline of her mother spiraling into the throes of mental illness. Segmented into chapters labeled after family members and locales spanning from Toronto to Shanghai, the plot runs the gamut of turbulent family dynamics converging through time and place as Lily constructs shattered fragments of her childhood to forge a new identity. From affectionate moments of her mother giving her a bath and dining over a meal of fried rice to outbursts of anger erupting between her warring parents, she navigates the ebbs and flows of fractured relationships in search of meaning and stability.
Bold and vivid line streaks infused with flecks of color paint the emotional landscape of each story. A variety of layouts—dynamic double-page spreads, a collage of photos, full-page scenes of places and characters—showcases a compelling assortment of visual compositions and storytelling prowess. Most striking is how the artwork translates metaphors into concrete images, which ranges from Lily somersaulting through recursive panels to illustrate her constant displacement from one home to another to a tangled ball of yarn symbolizing the mass confusion in the triangular relationship with her parents.
A memoir that reveals episodes of inherited trauma encompassed by the stigma of mental illness in Asian cultures, this story unearths poignant experiences dredged up from private memories. Much like how the brain functions when bombarded by a barrage of memories, Lily’s stories, or rather her recollection of them, unravels through a kaleidoscopic series of fractured moments that form a complex mosaic. Until We Meet Again adds a deeply intimate voice to young adult collections, exploring the complex emotional landscape of dysfunctional family dynamics in a beautifully rendered visual memoir from an Asian Canadian perspective.
Until We Meet Again By Lily Kim Qian Macmillan First Second, 2026 ISBN: 9781250884237
Company Age Rating: 14-18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Canadian-American, Chinese, Depression Character Representation: Canadian-American, Chinese, Depression
In fact, it took me a very long time to gather my thoughts to write this review for the book, and I’m still not convinced that I have come up with a cohesive whole here, but here we go.
Our protagonist is Jenny, but even giving her the title of “protagonist” is a bit generous. I tend to think of protagonists as very active in their respective narratives, but the way this story was constructed makes me feel like she’s more of a canvas on which this surreal narrative is projected. Which, according to the product description, is intentional and it definitely contributes to the overall negative tone of the book.
The surreal aspects are definitely something I appreciate about the narrative, but the story overall is rough. The plot is a string of loosely connected stories that, for me, boil down to a laundry list of traumas and disasters. And, for me, it’s very hard to get through. I’ll let the publisher explain it:
A coworker-turned-prospective-lover confesses a hard-to-swallow fetish. A train ride fantastically goes off the rails as old habits get dragged across the tracks. Cousins revisit summer holiday bliss—or was it really horror? Exes fumble an attempt to reconnect over a dip in the pool on a squelching summer day. And an expectant mother slips into an unusual place as she embarks on a communion with her baby more pure than language can accommodate.
There are several adult themes featured in the narrative including sexual fetishes, (child) death (but also: childbirth), religious trauma, child sexual abuse, and vehicle collision/accident.
The narrative’s final page offers the reader one small sliver of hope—a newborn baby, a chance to protect a new life from what plagued Jenny.
For me personally, I was not able to catch the optimism that I think was supposed to be projected here. There simply isn’t enough in the overall story to suggest that change is possible.
The artwork is interesting when it breaks from reality and introduces seemingly unrelated imagery that freely flows through the narrative. It’s otherwise difficult to criticize because it’s not particularly notable in either direction. The scratchy pencils are perfectly competent and they are technical in showing plane changes, but the overall look is not distinct and I actually had a little trouble identifying different characters. I always appreciate a muted and largely monotone color pallet, however.
This might be the first book I don’t feel comfortable recommending, not even in very specific circumstances. I think there is value in these sorts of memoirs, and they are unfortunately relatable to many readers, but I think there is better on offer. Please see Tsunami by Ned Wenlock, Epileptic by David B., Precious Rubbish by Kayla E., or even the tried-and-true classic, Maus by Art Spiegelman.
I Ate the Whole World to Find You By Rachel Ang Drawn and Quarterly, 2025 ISBN: 9781770467583
Publisher Age Recommendation: N/A, but I will note that Drawn and Quarterly has a Kids section on their website and this title is not listed there
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Australian, Character Representation: Australian,
But I’m going to try, because the book deserves it.
Pastimes is a collection of four-panel vignettes by Saguenay-born Pascal Girard about his life as a 40-something man with a family. STICK WITH ME HERE!
The humor is bone-dry, the emotional points land with humor, and the other material… well, if you’re a fan of the works of Larry David, you’re in for a treat. Much of these comics come from Pascal’s every day life as a social worker for a hospital and the family he has at home and, subsequently, he experiences many baffling social interactions that result in confusion, frustration, or uneasiness (or a combination of all three). He’ll say the inside thoughts out loud and face the consequences. Not in a way that’s noble, but in a way that reminds us that our actions have consequences.
Pascal clearly loves his wife Rebecca and five-year-old daughter Lucie, and even though the strips don’t suggest much struggle past what could be expected in parenthood, the comics do a good job of showing that these struggles still exist. His little girl is obsessed with dying, a subject that gives both her and her father anxiety; it’s often a gateway into a larger subject—of the author losing his younger brother when he was also five-years old. Pascal is getting older; he has to put more of an effort in staying in shape, making healthy choices for himself, and going out to those loud, crowded, dive-y venues for the punk and hardcore music he tends to favor late at night is getting more difficult these days (though he doesn’t give it up, even sharing certain aspects of it with his daughter).
The strips don’t dabble in mature themes like sex, but death, recreational drug use, aging, and uncomfortable social interaction are explored. Not every page is a winner, but there are definitely a number of belly-laughs for me.
I would first describe the book as “cozy.” No Flying No Tights has reviewed literally thousands of comics that are visually complicated and layered and colorful and perhaps epic works of art and Pastimes… is not any of that. Nor does it need to be. The drawings are simple outlines, there is no color, but the characters are still expressive and the visual components of the punchlines land.
I find the book incredibly endearing. It’s not a deep exploration of things that we might think of as we age – perhaps sacrificed for the sake of humor—but it does suggest that there is more going on. Pastimes is deeper than just 4 panels of funny drawings. It’s a light in a dark hallway. And not just because I am also an aging punk rock adult who sees themself in Pascal’s work and therefore established a deep empathetic connection to his life with the first comic and see it as some sort of signal that everything is going to be okay.
Probably.
Maybe.
But the only way to find out is to pick this one up and read it yourself!
Pastimes By Pascal Girard Pow Pow Press, 2025 ISBN: 9782925114543
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Canadian, Character Representation: Canadian,
Stephanie wrote this autobiographical comic based on her own life, growing up in an evangelical community and trying to mash that upbringing into a secular world that had her questioning her core beliefs as a young adult. Luckily, she met James during this time. He was attending seminar and deep in research about the religion, which helped both of them navigate their growing romantic relationship.
Stephanie covers a broad range of topics and emotions that many women will find familiar and intimate, including desire, being comfortable with your own body and thoughts, motherhood, loss, and faith. And she presents them through a lens of lived experience rather than as a prescription you should follow.
As you might expect from the title, color plays an important role throughout Stephanie’s story of growing up, maturing, and coming to terms with herself. Flashbacks and childhood memories tend to be presented in grayscale with a hint of sepia. She uses the most vibrant colors for childbirth and memories with her son. I found the most interesting correlation was when her memories mixed the two to signify that she wasn’t sure of herself and her own thoughts. Especially when exploring how she imagined herself based on her upbringing versus what she was feeling in her body in the moment.
Because of these interactions, and because she doesn’t shy from exploring all of childbirth, there are many depictions of the naked female form represented throughout the book. None of these are sexualized; however, this is clearly meant to be for young/new adults into their maturity and would be best suited for an adult collection in a public or academic library. Give this to your patrons who are feeling disconnected from their childhood, their own body/thoughts, or from their faith. While there aren’t any “answers” presented in Stephanie’s narrative, her story might help others find peace within themselves.
Everything in Color A Love Story By Stephanie Stalvey 23rd St., 2026 ISBN: 9781250347800
Once upon a time in ye olde 2013, in the very blue state of Illinois, Chicago Public School (CPS) officials banned the use of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis in the entire district. 13 years later this feels disgustingly common, a story we’ve learned to tune out, but at the time it shocked the local community and the response was immediate. High school students led a protest, teachers and librarians were up in arms, free speech advocates were taking notice, and it was picked up by news outlets. But information coming from the school district was confusing and inconsistent and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests produced little information or clarity.
Roughly two years later, library graduate student Jarret Dapier, remembering his frustration with the ban and lack of answers, decided to dig deeper for a thesis paper. He interviewed former and current students, teachers, librarians, administrators, and journalists. With little hope of success he sent in his own FOIA request to CPS and was surprised with 42 pages of emails and all the answers he could ask for about the ban and who in the school district was responsible.
Wake Now in the Fire is Dapier’s debut graphic novel and a mingling of those true events with mostly fictional characters based on the students and teachers he interviewed. He follows several high school students (and a few teachers) as they discover the ban and take action. His diverse characters have varied and realistic lives, dealing with all the ups and downs of being a teenager. They struggle with homework, strict parents, and awkward crushes, but also grief, uncertainty, and mental health issues. I really loved that Dapier gave his student characters space to speak and share and develop their, sometimes messy, thoughts in and outside the classroom.
AJ Dungo illustrates Dapier’s narrative with a distinctive and fun graphical style. His clean lines and grayscale color palette are more than able to handle the relatively large cast of characters and complex situations. One detail that I really enjoyed was the use of red only when the book Persepolis is in view in a panel. It’s a nice pop of color that highlights the book’s presence in the lives of the characters.
It feels easy these days to get crushed emotionally by the routine threat of book bans, and I worried a graphic novel focused on it would really bring me down, but Wake Now in the Fire is largely positive. The students are fired up to stand up for their rights to read. The parents, teachers, and librarians are largely supportive. There is visible power in a community that rises against censorship. In his afterword, Dapier draws attention to how things have changed since 2013 with regards to the massive increases in book bans, growing control over marginalized bodies, and the escalating danger of armed government agents. Those comments snapped me back to reality after bathing in some good old fashioned hope during the narrative, but it’s important that our current reality is acknowledged.
The publisher rates this story for ages 14+, which are the ages of the main student characters. There aren’t too many things that would make this difficult for readers under 14, but some issues to be aware of are brief off-screen violence, depictions of mental health struggles in kids and adults, and alcoholism in one of the parents. That parent experiences an on-screen health emergency that his daughter has to respond to in an intense scene. The most stressful parts of the students’ lives are handled well and with grace. This book is a vital addition to a teen, or even an adult collection because it merges history and fiction to tell a compelling story with that crucial element of hope that is so desperately needed right now.
Wake Now in the Fire: A Story of Censorship, Action, Love, and Hope By Jarrett Dapier Art by AJ Dungo Ten Speed Press, 2026 ISBN: 9780593838044
Company Age Rating: 14+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales is a wildly successful series of historical stories told in graphic format. He’s also written short stories with the same style for various anthologies. In his 13th book in the series, he goes full tilt into the short story format with a series of creepy, gross, terrifying, and weird stories, most, but not all, centered around the United States.
The story is framed by his original narrators and characters from history—Nathan Hale, the hangman, the British provost, and, added in Major Impossible, Bill Richmond. Hale starts the story with his narrators peering at a sketch of the front cover, with the historical Nathan Hale explaining that “this book was created by hand by a real human artist.” There’s a humorous warning at the beginning about the scary content, then the framing plot opens.
The four narrators are sheltering from the rain under the gallows and decide to tell scary stories, starting with Captain Hale. Since it’s his thirteenth tale, he tells a scary story about a thirteen baby—the Jersey Devil. Black and white art, picked out with spots of green, illustrates the gruesome creature and its victims, ending with a short discussion on folklore and history. The provost demands a true story, so Hale begins “A Sip of Radiation” and the backgrounds glow a ghostly green as he tells the true story of Radithor, radium-infused water. The story jumps between Curie’s discovery of radium and the effects of Radithor on a welathy young man, Eben Byers, who died a gruesome death due to the “miracle cure” and ends with the radium girls and a creepy correlation between overuse of radium and the possible effects of unlimited internet use. The stories continue with the ghostly “The Demon Cat,” a grotesque tale from Edgar Allan Poe, “Hop-Frog,” and more. They include snapshots of US history, like a dream of Abraham Lincoln, a ghost story from the Civil War, and, of course, reappearances of the Jersey Devil.
Bill Richmond’s contribution, “The Boo Hag” is framed in a slightly darker green and features a cast of Black characters with creepy fleshless monsters, and placid, swirling waters in the South Carolina Sea Islands that hide dark secrets. Hale switches to a sharper contrast in “The Head in the Jar” which features the folk legend of Joaquin Murrieta. Stark white backgrounds on the small panels show the bare desert of the stockades and Gold Rush towns then switch to a mass of grays as Murrieta suffers and reenacts his vengeance in the dark of night.
The story ends with a transition that takes the readers to Denmark and introduces the berserkers of the title. Hale’s characters in this tale show sharply defined faces with pointed, craggy noses and long-haired, narrow faces contrasting with bulky, bearded warriors and fleshy tyrants. The story comes to a gory and dark end, featuring monstrous beasts and dense, packed panels showing heroes battling creatures in the dark. The stories return to the US and the true crime story of “The Butler Goes Berserk” featuring the mysterious crimes at Frank Lloyd Wright’s estate, Taliesin, committed by his butler, Julian Carlton. The collection is finished with a goofy story from the hangman, framed in glowing green and a final appearance of the Jersey Devil.
Hale ends the book with his usual meticulous research; in this case he adds additional information to the sources explaining which parts of each story are factual and which are folklore or legends. He also includes an encouragement for readers to explore short stories and some recommendations and sources.
This is a fitting transition to twelve wonderful historical graphic novels and hopefully marks the beginning of a new set of these histories. It’s also a fun way to get readers to try something new as well as stop to think a little more deeply about the media and stories they consume, since Hale includes lots of discussion points throughout the story as well as plenty of gore, monsters, and creepy happenings. A sure bet for middle school readers and anyone who enjoys creepy stories and interesting historical tidbits, this will delight both old fans of Hale and those new to his work.
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Bones and Berserkers By Nathan Hale Abrams, 2025 ISBN: 9781419773204
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
This is a relatively new series, focusing on creepy or mysterious stories. However, although written by the same author, the first two books in the series are very different.
In the first title, Area 51, Steve Foxe teams up with Fran Bueno to present a slightly creepy but generally informational explanation of the theories, legends, and facts around “Area 51.” The framing story is a young boy attending his unknown uncle’s funeral. TJ, uncomfortable in a black suit with slicked-back red hair, sneaks off on his own and discovers a secret room in his uncle’s house with CIA classified documents. Bueno illustrates this portion like a, as TJ says, “history textbook.” There are images of Eisenhower, a history of the CIA, an explanation of the popular understanding of the events after nuclear testing, and up through the formation of, and public knowledge, of what came to be known as Area 51.
Throughout this section, the colors vary between dull, sandy browns with a few bright reds showing imagined images of mutants and aliens. The story leads up to the development of aircraft meant for intelligence missions and these planes are shown in sleek blacks with secret night-time scenes in dark blue. As TJ continues reading the files, he is interrupted by men in black suits and his mother and he hastily finishes the tales up through the current day, from humorous denials from public figures like Bill Clinton to a thoughtful look at how conspiracies form and current speculations about Area 51. The story ends with an anticlimactic confrontation with the suited men and TJ returns home with his parents, a single bright disc shooting across the night sky.
The second title, Unwanted Guests, features a different illustrator, Naomi Franquiz, and blends several “true” ghost stories into the framing story. Franquiz’ art in the opening story is colorful and includes lots of folds and lines in clothing as well as the background. Foxe sets the framing story by introducing a biracial family moving to a new neighborhood. Minnie, the younger sister, has thick black eyebrows, an exuberant bush of brown curls, a missing tooth, and freckles. She’s dressed in blue overalls and a pink striped shirt. She’s followed by her older brother Jackson. His curls are shaved on the sides with a pompadour style on top and he wears khaki pants and a bright checked orange and yellow sweater. The two siblings bicker over mysterious stains and noises until their dad, with darker skin and a chinstrap beard, sends them off to the park to play. At the park they meet “Theo” a spookily pale kid who presents Asian. Franquiz continues the bright colors with a reddish playscape surface and bright autumn colors in the leaves.
Theo drops hints about their house and then tells them two scary stories. In the first story, a ghost tale from the 1920s, Franquiz switches to a more subdued palette with sepia tones that contrast with the brightly colored contemporary neighborhood. Minnie and Jackson interrupt for explanations of terms like spiritualism and poltergeists and Theo ends the story on an ambiguous, creepy note. After a very nervous night, the siblings approach Theo again and he tells them a second story about yet another Minnie – Minnie Clyde Winston and her bleeding house. This story, which is from the late 1980s, has brighter, more contemporary colors. Minnie is shown as a Black woman with light skin and curly hair and the pools of inexplicable blood are a viscous red. There are a few gruesome images of blood-drenched monsters but the story fades away as Minnie gradually denies the events to reporters to get some peace. As the story ends, readers return to the bright autumn park and Theo hints at a third story, about a young boy named Theodore who disappears in an attic… echoes of the earlier stories he told are revisited in the siblings’ experiences that night and the book ends with a final, ghostly shiver.
Both titles include sources for the unsolved mysteries, but the first book has a more straightforward, historical approach which is mirrored in the simpler, more basic tones of Bueno’s art. The second book, with the lengthier and creepier framing story, has a more gruesome tinge which pairs well with Franquiz’ colorful art and heavily emphasized lines. While both books will appeal to young readers, the first is more likely to interest those who already have an interest in aliens, unsolved mysteries, and history while the second will appeal more to fans of ghost stories and scary tales.
Archives of the Unexplained By Steve Foxe Art by Fran Bueno, and Naomi Franquiz Macmillan First Second, 2025
Volume
ISBN
1 Area 51
9781250850287
2 Unwanted guests
9781250850263
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
From studying under J.R.R. Tolkien in university to fighting the rise of fascism in the 20th century to serving as a powerful creative force behind the most famous works published by George Orwell—23rd Street Books dives into the life of Eileen O’Shaughnessy in Mrs. Orwell, written by journalist, author, and filmmaker Andrea Chalupa with art by Brahm Revel.
Mrs. Orwell opens with our introduction Eileen O’Shaughnessy (later Eileen Blair), studying at university under the esteemed Professor Tolkien, partying at night, and chafing against the strict social standards which hold women back in the name of propriety. At a party, she crosses paths with a writer named Eric Blair, who publishes under the name George Orwell.
With shared interests in art and politics, the two find a deeply passionate connection, somewhat to the dismay of Eileen’s brother with whom she lives. From marriage to traveling conflict zones in Europe in search of political movements and armed resistance to the rise of fascism and the brewing storm of what would become World War II, Eileen and her husband find themselves tested as they fight for both their ideals and their lives.
A talented writer on her own, Eileen throws herself fiercely behind supporting her husband’s work, serving as editor, typist, and muse for numerous of his publications, especially influencing his most famous titles, Animal Farm and 1984. With a world in violent chaos and a marriage fraught with turmoil and infidelity, this graphic novel shines a light on two incredibly influential writers—only one of whom remains widely known today.
As discussed in the note at the end of the book, Mrs. Orwell serves as a work of historical fiction that nevertheless draws heavily from recorded fact. It even includes a reading guide for anyone wanting to dive deeper into Eileen’s life. While never shying away from the complexities and failings of either Eileen or Eric, the main focus remains on recognizing and celebrating Eileen’s work and the vital role that art and resistance play in the face of violence. The characters are layered, revealing facets of themselves through engaging and entertaining dialogue, while Chalupa carries us through a great span of time including major historical events on the world stage. It’s a great deal of content to cover in a book of this sort, and if Mrs. Orwell has any flaw, it’s that there’s not quite enough time to unpack some of the history, particularly in the book’s later portion.
Nevertheless, in tackling themes of fascism, war, censorship, art, and media—there’s a wealth of material here that remains all too relevant today. But in addition to uncovering lesser known biography and vital discussions about the nature of creation and resistance, the book is also simply fun to read. Entertaining and often funny, it succeeds on a narrative level as much as a historical one. It’s a feat to balance all these elements, and Chalupa has written a striking story about two passionate, flawed, messy, creative, and highly influential people which brings them to vibrant life within these pages.
And speaking of vibrant pages, Revel’s shifting palate of art is a delight from start to finish. Colors and tones shift across the story, as do the layouts and structures of each page. With a careful eye for pacing and visual storytelling, Revel keeps the art grounded without being afraid to weave in flashes of stylization and dramatic representations of emotions alongside the more focused, powerful moments the book has to offer. Heightening both humor and heartache, Revel’s visuals are a vital aspect of the book’s appeal. The grit feels real, as does the threat of war and death. At the same time, we get soft romantic interludes, mixed realities where fiction intrudes on the present, and appropriate weight given to the heavier themes the book holds in store.
23rd Street Books lists this title for adult readers. There are smatterings of violence, sexuality, and language throughout, but the book never lingers on the more mature elements or presents them in graphic detail. At the same time, with a strong historical focus alongside a range of complex topics and themes, it’s likely the book will appeal most to older readers and those already familiar with Orwell’s work. It could also be a good companion read for older students studying Orwell’s life and writing. Overall, Mrs. Orwell is an excellent read in its own right, while also bringing to life a figure often lost in the obscurity of history. A woman who refused to accept the bounds society placed on her, a fighter who dreamed of a better world, a writer who left her mark for generations to come—more people should know the name Eileen O’Shaughnessy, and this graphic novel is an excellent step in ensuring that her life and accomplishments are not forgotten.
Mrs. Orwell By Andrea Chalupa Art by Brahm Revel 23rd Street Books, 2026 ISBN: 9781250877857
Company Age Rating: Adult
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Heartcore is a roller coaster of the ups and downs of falling in and out of love. Author Št?pánka Jislová examines her relationship with relationships. How do we form preferences? What do our preferences say about our personal character? How are we informed about our identities? How do our identities dictate our roles in society? And, more importantly, how do we rebel against those dictations?
I am very thoroughly impressed how Jislová manages to blend all these things together in a way that is coherent and relatable—this book is a memoir, it’s a comic, it’s a romcom, it’s a tragedy, and it’s also a bit of a character study/psychological evaluation. Follow Jislová through her “classic Eastern bloc postcommunist 1990s childhood” and learn about the things that made her her. English language magazines, the coming of the widely-available internet, the contradictions in societal expectations for girls and women, the emotional repression of boys and men, first and early relationships, and navigating the isolation she felt as a young person.
“With infatuation came mania, and with mania, obsession. And with obsession, frustration.”
Heartcore was one of New York Public Library’s Best New Comics for Adults of 2025, and I do want to emphasize this is a book for adults. A lot of adult subject matter is discussed – casual hookups, alcohol, drugs, assault, and the like. The book is not explicit nor graphic, but there is nudity and sexual themes throughout.
The artwork is a simplistic and smooth style – no rendering with a very limited palette. The reds stand out among the grays and gives importance and hierarchy to the items or people the comic wants to highlight. The text and narrative are very easy to read, despite how densely packed this comic is.
A thoughtful and compelling read about the lines of sex and love and where those lines interconnect (or don’t). Be mindful of its placement in your collection if you add it – the clean, uncomplicated drawings might give off the idea that the story within is simple, but it absolutely is not and it is absolutely not for children.
Heartcore By Št?pánka Jislová Graphic Mundi, 2025 ISBN: 9781637790908
Company Age Rating: 16+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Czech, Bisexual,
Science Comics is a long-running series, which invites a wide variety of skilled creators to explore different scientific subjects. All of the titles in the series have a certain amount of narrative story holding the information together, but some definitely lean more towards the expository, which is the case in this title
A prose introduction from Emily Lindsay, a paleontologist who works at La Brea Tar Pits, gives some context for the book, explaining the rise and extinction of megafauna and prehistoric mammals and the importance of large mammals today. Flood begins the narration with an iconic sequence of panels showing a line of mammoths tramping across a glacier in Siberia, where they are then attacked by a pack of cave lions and one young mammoth plunges into the icy water below.
He uses this sequence to kick off the basic concepts being introduced in the book, showing the modern relatives of mammoths and cave lions – elephants and African lions – and then jumping back to the origin of mammals and their gradual development over millions of years. These pages are filled with neatly drawn charts of evolution and cartoon creatures in bright colors who comment on each other’s adaptions with jokes.
Flood helps readers follow the evolutionary development of mammals with a yellow diapsid, “Dia” and a red synapsid, “Sid.” Eventually, Dia evolves into the dinosaurs, eyeing Sid hungrily, while Sid evolves into the early mammals, brownish-yellow, blue, and purple creatures. In the next big extinction, Dia’s survivors shrink down to a feathery yellow bird while Sid returns to his red, basic mammalian form. Flood’s color-coded animal adaptations make it easy for young readers to follow the complex concepts of evolution and adaptation over the huge periods of time represented.
The story next moves on to the Cenozoic, the age of mammals. Flood illustrates the early mammals in soft browns and grays with faint black patterns, setting them amidst lush green jungles and forests. This morphs into the more colorful variety of mammals we’re more familiar with today, as well as gradually diversifying plant life, with colorful flowers, birds, insects, and more. Dia and Sid continue to show up—Dia staying in her yellow bird form while Sid changes frequently, although generally keeping to a four-footed, small red mammal shape.
Flood continues the story, showing how the changes in climate and habitat prompted evolutionary changes in mammals and drawing more and more parallels between prehistoric and modern creatures as evolution progresses. The original red of Sid the synapsid shows up again here, in the arrows and charts, while extinct animals are generally shown in plain greys and browns, allowing the animals who have contemporary survivors to show up more clearly in the artwork.
Sid shows up again, illustrating the evolution of herbivores from small to large, to survive the large carnivores. Dia flies along above a fleeing Sid, making comments on the predator and prey racing about. The two follow along as the story nears the modern day, showing the niche animals that evolved on the now-distinct continents and the convergent evolution of different species. When the narration reaches the ice ages of the Pleistocene, Flood steps away from animals in a spread to illustrate the climate changes with blue and green diagrams and a fiery sun shooting rays of orange and red toward earth.
The narrative begins to return to the introduction, showing the migration of mammoths and describing the La Brea Tar Pits, as well as introducing the evolution of a new mammal – humans. Sid and Dia show up again, watching the arrival of humans. Flood illustrates the changing evolution of different human species, showing a variety of darker skin colors, postures, and hair textures. He has a distinctive style when drawing human faces and this begins to show up in this last section of the book, with larger eyes, square, blocky hands, and thick lips. The story ends with a discussion of the current extinction event we are living through and the effect it has on mammals, including humans.
Flood has written or illustrated several other Science Comics titles and his blocky, simply style with lightly humorous touches and clear, simple diagrams is well-suited to the series. He does an excellent job in this title of connecting the complicated and wide-ranging topic together, moving between epochs and eras and tying the exposition together with narrative touches from beginning to end. The text is very readable, although the number of Latin species names may daunt some young readers. However, those who are interested in prehistoric life will be generally familiar with the nomenclature and the text is very understandable even if readers stumble over some of the names. This is another excellent entry in a strong series that should be represented in all public and school libraries.
Prehistoric Mammals From the Jurassic to the Ice Age By Joe Flood Macmillan First Second, 2026 ISBN: 9781250868428
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
Memoirs often capture memories frozen in time, yet over the years, these memories can become reshaped, remixed, and even distorted. After all, facts become scattered but the truth behind the experiences endures. In her introspective memoir Until We Meet Again, Lily Kim Qian wrestles with deeply ingrained truths as she recounts her earliest memories leading to the estranged relationship between her parents, setting her on a path to discovery and inner healing.
upbringing into a secular world that had her questioning her core beliefs as a young adult. Luckily, she met James during this time. He was attending seminar and deep in research about the religion, which helped both of them navigate their growing romantic relationship.
Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis in the entire district. 13 years later this feels disgustingly common, a story we’ve learned to tune out, but at the time it shocked the local community and the response was immediate. High school students led a protest, teachers and librarians were up in arms, free speech advocates were taking notice, and it was picked up by news outlets. But information coming from the school district was confusing and inconsistent and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests produced little information or clarity.
with the same style for various anthologies. In his 13th book in the series, he goes full tilt into the short story format with a series of creepy, gross, terrifying, and weird stories, most, but not all, centered around the United States.
force behind the most famous works published by George Orwell—23rd Street Books dives into the life of Eileen O’Shaughnessy in Mrs. Orwell, written by journalist, author, and filmmaker Andrea Chalupa with art by Brahm Revel.
relationships. How do we form preferences? What do our preferences say about our personal character? How are we informed about our identities? How do our identities dictate our roles in society? And, more importantly, how do we rebel against those dictations?
titles in the series have a certain amount of narrative story holding the information together, but some definitely lean more towards the expository, which is the case in this title
