Aisling is a princess about to turn eighteen, but a week before her big debut, she is kidnapped by Forget-Me-Not, who plans to get revenge for being replaced at birth by a changeling. Aisling is that changeling, although she had no idea of her fae heritage and neither did her parents because they don’t recognize her without the glamour she’s been wearing. As they travel through the fae lands, both Aisling and Forget-Me-Not discover they have more in common than they originally thought and start developing a relationship. We learn more about the fae lands through Aisling’s interactions (and almost disasters) and Forget-Me-Not’s backstory about growing up in an alien world that isn’t hospitable to humans. The story wraps up at the end of this volume and provides an epilogue to tie up all the loose ends of the relationship between our two main characters.
The saturated colors worked well with the fantastical setting, and I personally liked how the lighting was used to convey emotions and ambiance throughout the story. This is a standalone as opposed to the start of a series, which makes it a great choice for teen or adult readers looking for a one-and-done LGBTQ+ (specifically sapphic) fantasy romance. There is on-page kissing between two female characters (one that has a masculine look) but no sexual content. I would highly recommend this book for any public library and high school library looking to follow the romantasy trend with LGBTQ+ content. Your patrons will thank you for it.
Forgive-Me-Not By Mari Costa Macmillan First Second, 2026 ISBN: 9781250784179
Company Age Rating: 14-18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Brazilian, Portuguese, Character Representation: Lesbian,
A lot of the graphics I’ve read recently are BIG stories: epic adventures, fantastic settings, or, in more realistic pieces, life or death stakes. It’s easy to make even a straightforward coming of age tale a BIG story with the angst, drama, and anxiety of even the most bog standard puberty. What’s hard is telling an entertaining small story, one that feels honest and real and intimate, something that at once feels universal and unique. Turning Twelve by Kathryn Ormsbee and illustrated by Molly Brooks is a small story. And it is completely lovely.
This follow up to Growing Pains by the same pair and released by Penguin Random House in October 2024, picks up with central character Katie as she turns twelve. Twelve is looking to be a big year for her: the threat of her first period is lurking around every corner, she’s going to her youth groups annual retreat, she gets to start babysitting, and she’s positive she’ll be cast as the lead in an upcoming musical. The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that was central in the first book still buzzes in the background, but Katie is learning to accept that as part of how her brain works. Things turn sideways for Katie quickly—her best friends move out of town, she doesn’t get the lead in Annie, and things that felt natural and easy last year are filling her with questions and doubt. The biggest question is her new friend Grace. Grace is pretty. Really pretty. Really really pretty and nice and talented and makes her heart go thump thump thump. This is a big problem for Katie whose church makes it very clear that being gay is not okay.
Visually, Turning Twelve is nearly a perfect middle grade graphic. The art is cute and there are a few recurring visual themes that do a lot of story work, like the thumps of Katie’s heart or the buzzing bees of her anxious thoughts. The panels have a smooth, clean layout that moves the story along at a quick clip. This is a really quick read which is good because there isn’t really a lot going on in this story. Even in slow moments, the story doesn’t drag or meander. Katie is a very compelling character who breathes life into the story and gives the reader a solid anchor into the world of the story. Katie is so well developed in fact that the other characters don’t get much beyond a surface level treatment. Hazel, the would be new youth group friend, is never more than just there, and even Grace, the object of Katie’s confusing affection, doesn’t get a whole lot of characterization. The reader never really sees Katie’s parents so there’s no sense of how founding her stress in her awakening sexuality is. This is Katie’s story and Katie’s conflict and the other characters aren’t given much beyond her lens.
When I say Turning Twelve is small, that’s not to say it’s not saying big or important things. It absolutely is. But it’s not trying to solve those big important things. There are no big confessions or clear answers. Just like the mental health struggles Katie had in the first book, there are no fixes in this story because there is nothing to fix, just new ways for Katie to interact with her world and an acceptance of herself. The story ends with the hope that that world will be kind to our main character and that, while her road may still be bumpy ahead, Katie is going to be okay.
Turning Twelve Vol. 2 By Kathryn Ormsbee Art by Molly Brooks Penguin Random House, 2024 ISBN: 9780593650066
Company Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Lesbian, Character Representation: Lesbian, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord by Yodokawa, translated by Stephen Paul, is a slice-of-life manga about Asako Suga. The 26-year-old manga editor decides to move to a new home for a fresh start after breaking up with her girlfriend. Little does she know, her 19-year old landlord Miyako Kitano is a former idol. The naive and friendly Miyako resides in the attic of the home as a “live-in landlord”. It helps to know something about idol culture to understand what Miyako’s life has been like up until now. “Idols” are famous pop stars (J-Pop and K-Pop) who perform in groups and are trained by and represent their recording labels or companies. They craft carefully controlled images and hone their performance-related talents. Young musicians and dancers covet and compete for idol status. (I know this from listening to the audiobook XOXO by Axie Oh).
Presumably, the story will continue with some explanation of why Miyako abandoned her successful career and retreated into a mundane life as well as offering backstory about Asako’s failed relationship. With the first volume, the story unfolds as a slice-of-life about Asako and Miyako getting to know each other and becoming roommates, even friends. Miyako hails from the Kansai region and speaks in a style that reads as rural or country. She calls Asako “Onee-san” which means “big sister”, and Asako calls Miyako “Landlord-san”. There is the potential for a romance to develop, but Miyako is so child-like that I find the idea a little off-putting. For teen readers who are closer in age to the main characters, the romance might be more appealing.
The art in the story is familiar to any manga reader, even a novice like myself. In grayscale with the panels reading from right to left, top to bottom, it shows the characters doing everyday things, mostly at home with simple backgrounds. Sound effects punctuate the panels as Japanese characters with tiny anglicized and translated captions. The characters have large eyes and occasionally exaggerated facial expressions. They are attractive and wear stylish clothes. In keeping with the slice-of-life genre, the tone is gentle, calm and soothing. The cover art represents the feel of the interior artwork very well.
As of July 2024, there are three volumes in print of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord. This is a good title for teen readers who appreciate a gentle slice-of-life story with little action but the potential for some queer romance and drama. Some readers might prefer a more sophisticated story, but this should hit the spot for those who enjoy simple comfort reads with queer characters.
Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord Vol. 1 By Yodokawa Yen Press, 2023 ISBN: 9781975362652
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Japanese, Character Representation: Japanese, Lesbian, Queer,
Newly single and ready to live on her own, Asako rents a charming house that “comes with a landlord.” When it’s too late to break the contract she discovers it comes with a beautiful landlord… living in the attic.
Though the volume begins with Asako’s harsh breakup, she has little time to wallow in sadness. The mangaka she edits for immediately points out her girlfriend was awful, but Asako is a sucker for a pretty face and someone in need. Asako can’t deny this. When she later spots a rental ad that’s too good to be true it sparks a desire to reset her life and prove she can be independent. Meanwhile, all around her, people are gossiping about a an idol group’s lead singer unexpectedly retiring before immediately retreating from the public eye.
A visit to the house cements Asako’s desire to start over, even if she has to tell herself not to be swayed by her prospective landlord’s pretty face. As she’s planning her move, she discovers her landlord, Miyako, crashing in the attic. Backing out now would be far too much trouble and Miyako has a sob story and an obvious secret to go along with the looks Asako can’t resist.
What follows are primarily gentle episodes about eating, shopping, and spending time together that highlight how well Miyako’s naivety and spontaneity work with Asako’s thoughtfulness and logic. They find their rhythm as roommates. Miyako refers to Asako as big sister, not seeing how Asako denies her attraction to Miyako.
Both the artwork and writing are charming, though it doesn’t offer much new to the genre. That isn’t a flaw, however, as it contributes to an overall cozy feeling. There are occasional moments of tension – a potential stalker, Miyako possibly being forced to leave, etc. – but these are blips in a sea of soft humor, sweet moments, and blushes.
This is a story of people finding their place in the world – probably with each other. I don’t think we can have too many stories like this. Even when the characters fit into well-known archetypes, their personalities vary enough to give new people a chance to feel seen. In this case, while they fit into a common serious vs. goofy dynamic, both characters are dealing with their own types of co-dependence and hopefully learning how to create a healthy relationship with each other.
While the publisher rates the title teen, it’s likely more interesting for an adult audience. Both characters are adults – 26 and 19, respectively – and are primarily dealing with adult issues. However, this is a chaste volume with no violence beyond face grabbing. Older teens may be interested in the themes dealing with finding your own place, growing comfortable with new roommates, and finding confidence in yourself.
It’s lighter, so far, than series such as Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon and She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat, but will appeal to fans of both. A second volume released in March and the third arrives in August, so now is a great time to start reading and recommending.
Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord By Yodokawa Yen Press, 2023 ISBN: 9781975362652
Publisher Age Rating: T
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Japanese, Character Representation: Japanese, Lesbian,
In her newest graphic novel, The Deep Dark, Molly Knox Ostertag (Girl From the Sea and The Witch Boy) once again shares a hauntingly beautiful story about family and friendship with veins of the fantastical intertwined throughout. The story follows Magdala (Mags), as she holds tight to a deep dark secret, which is draining her energy and life.
Mags is isolated and lonely in a small desert town. She works, goes to school, and cares for an ailing grandmother, all in a muted fog. Ostertag, introduces the story in shades of gray, mimicking Mags’ pale existence. In the first pages there are only small splashes of color, from a text message, the glow of a tv, blood flowing down a drain, etc. Even her relationships feel empty and hollow. Her parents don’t really seem to understand her, and both they and her grandmother carry many expectations, especially in regards to the veil of secrecy she must hide behind. Mags occasionally hooks up with another girl from school, another secret, hidden from the girl’s boyfriend.
We only see hints of her secret in the basement. A lock on the basement door, a cage, and a bandaged hand. But we do see the effect: exhaustion, and little else. That changes when a childhood friend, who has since transitioned to Nessa (she/her), reaches out on social media. The illustrated memories are vibrant, in color and emotion. They are the first pages in full color. Ostertag shows sharp contrast to the current reality, creating a before and after, connected in some way to Nessa. Something happened in their childhood. A secret was shared and a young child lost their life.
Nessa is visiting for Christmas from LA, where she is studying photography. Mags comes more to life in her presence, but is still stifled. The gray becomes darker, but the color still hides. They are both eager to connect, but each holds something back. Mags is still controlled by the secret in the basement. Nessa knows something but is unsure, and she has her own story. A controlling ex-boyfriend who refuses to let go. But as their relationship rekindles, secrets come out, and with them, there is growing understanding, acceptance, and color.
The story is beautiful, and the expanding relationship between Mags and Nessa will be loved by many readers. Ostertag’s books have been a popular mainstay in many collections, and this one will be loved just as much, if not more so, than those that came before.
Both of the main characters are LGBTQ. Mags is lesbian and Nessa a trans bi-sexual woman. Their identities are clear, and a part of their character, however, they are non-issues in the plot. Both are out in the open. In a book whose main focus is secrets, it’s refreshing that their identities are never hidden.
The Deep Dark is a must purchase for high school collections. My school library will have a few copies. I know many students who seek out stories such as this one, and I know many readers will love it as much as me. Ostertag is a talented writer and illustrator, and this might be my favorite of her books.
The Deep Dark By Molly Knox Ostertag Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2024 ISBN: 9781338840001
Publisher Age Rating: 14 and up
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Lesbian, Character Representation: Latinx, Lesbian, Trans,
Many people remember their teenage years fondly, even if those years are looked at through rose-colored glasses. When coming-of-age stories tackle teenagers, they will often focus on the friendships that form in those turbulent years, the ones that keep an individual grounded and feel destined to last forever. What strengthens the bond between the teenagers in The Cull Vol. 1, a science fiction/horror/coming-of-age story by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis, is a search for a missing brother across an alien landscape.
Cleo’s family life is torn apart because of her brother Jake’s disappearance. Under the cover of darkness, she and a group of her friends, under the pretense of making a short film, investigate a strange cave on the shore that leads into a whole other world, a world that seems too fantastic to be real. But they soon discover, to their horror, that there are things that follow them back, things that mean to do real harm to their world, forcing these friends to momentarily forget the problems in their own lives and embark on a quest to close the door they may have accidentally opened.
It’s easy to compare Kelly Thompson’s story to Stranger Things, due to the show’s popularity, or even The Goonies, due to these kids going on a perilous quest. But Thompson’s story, through its teen characters, touches on topics that neither intellectual properties have explored. Katie, a level-headed teen, still holds out hope that she can get back together with Cleo, despite Cleo’s own issues. There’s Lux, who appears to fit the teen princess trope, but comes from a very difficult homelife. Along with characters that go beyond their teen trope templates, the alien world the kids find themselves in has less in common with The Goonies treasure and traps and more in common with the world found in Alex Garland’s film Annihilation, a world full of monstrous horrors.
While the tone and appearance of said alien world references Annihilation in atmosphere and appearance, the creatures populating that world are things one would find in movies featuring giant monsters like Cloverfield. The alien shapes rendered by artist De Iulis are not only completely unlike anything seen in our ecosystem, but they are also given a truly monstrous scale. The humans drawn near them are usually shown running in terror from monsters who are as tall or taller than the panels on which they’re drawn. De Iulis’s monsters and mastery of light and shadow is guaranteed to pull in readers. The mundane world is bathed in shadows and shrouded in fog, while the colors and fauna of the alien world glow on the page. The characters in this comic are so gorgeously and realistically rendered that they look like they could leap off the page and interact in our world.
The Cull, Vol. 1 is a graphic novel that blends the best of both a compelling story and amazing artwork. For any science-fiction or horror fans, particularly those who love when those two genres combine, they should definitely give The Cull a read, and librarians with those older teen and adult patrons/fans of science-fiction/horror should give this book a chance to invade their graphic novel collections.
The Cull, Vol. 1 By Kelly Thompson Art by Matta De Iulis Image, 2024 ISBN: 9781534397873
Publisher Age Rating: T+ NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
To the world at large, Dahlia Racers is a master of stagecraft. A designer of illusions for professional magicians. But that job, thrilling as it is, is not the redhead’s true vocation. In truth, she’s not even a redhead, and that’s not the only misleading thing about Dahlia Racers.
The truth is, Dahlia Racers is a unique sort of fixer whose occupation doesn’t have a name. She makes people disappear—for a price. Not in the same way assassins make people disappear, but helping people go off the grid. With a latex mask, a change of clothes, and some DNA, she has helped many people start a new life. Some of them were bad people seeking a fresh start. Others were good people on the run. So long as their money was good, Dahlia didn’t much care, as long as she got a rush from the work and some time with a beautiful soon-to-be ex-girlfriend along the way.
However, Dahlia’s latest gig may be too hot for even her to handle. Her old acquaintance Joanna Tan (aka the gun smuggler known as Gun Honey) is on the run with former federal agent Brook Barrow. They need someone to fake their deaths before they wind up dead for real. Unfortunately, the people hunting them have brought in Sarah Claride—a sociopathic assassin as deadly as she is beautiful. It will take every trick up Dahlia’s sleeve (and a few more invented on the fly) to help her meet her day job obligations and get Joanna and Brook to safety, while taking the heat off herself.
Heat Seeker picks up where the previous Gun Honey series, Blood for Blood, ended. Despite this, it’s a wonderful introduction to the world of Charles Ardai’s Hard Case Crime comics. It’s also a neat spin on the modern noir formula, thanks to Dahlia Racers being a unique and memorable heroine.
Most noir adventures are built around a hard-living protagonist, with dangerous women crossing their path and dragging them into intrigue. Heat Seeker is no exception, but is notable for having a lesbian protagonist. Dahlia’s narration describes how she discovered stage magic the same winter she discovered girls… “magic of a different sort.” This puts a new spin on the usually tired genre tropes, though Dahlia does flirt with just as many femme fatales over the course of the story as Sam Spade and James Bond.
The artwork by Ace Continuado is smooth and sketchy. There is more detail in the backgrounds than the characters and the inks by Jose Zapata barely outline the characters. The end result, paired with the colors of Asifur Rahman, is far brighter and lighter than one would expect of a hard-boiled thriller. Yet that only serves to make Heat Seeker stand out as something memorable.
Heat Seeker is rated 17+ by Titan Comics. I believe that to be a fair assessment. There is not much in the way of blood or bloodshed in this book, though there are several people who are shot and one hung up to die. Of larger concern to moral guardians is copious amounts of nudity and sexuality activity, up to and including a climactic firefight at a nudist colony in Mexico.
Heat Seeker: A Gun Honey Series By Charles Ardai Art by Ace Continuado Titan, 2024 ISBN: 9781787740914
Publisher Age Rating: 17+ NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
Don’t let its cute manga-inspired art fool you. Matchmaker, the queer slice-of-life comic book by Cam Marshall, addresses plenty of serious topics in its compact print volume, such as: staying safe during the Covid-19 pandemic; the stress of being unemployed or underemployed in a capitalist society; work life balance; and asserting and affirming sexual and gender identities.
In six chapters, the book reveals the lives of three young friends struggling through life and searching for romance, with fully realized side characters to round out the story. Transgender, nonbinary lesbian Kimmy attempts to set up gay cisgender Mason with the perfect guy. Meanwhile, Kimmy develops feelings for their mutual friend Marlowe. The relationships unfold at a natural pace while the reader waits to find out if Kimmy’s matchmaking will succeed. Romance is the core of the plot but subplots such as artist Marlowe’s wrist injury; animator Mason’s desperate search for decent paid work; the friends’ thorough efforts to protect immunocompromised Mason from Covid while others remain lax; and Mason’s sister Sam’s questioning of sexual identity balance out what would otherwise be a one-dimensional story.
Marshall’s art is in black, white, and gray. It is arranged in panels with full page artwork at the beginning of each chapter. The dialogue and images fit neatly within the panels and each enhances the other, especially in terms of humor which is depicted textually and pictorially. Exaggerated facial expressions and well-placed onomatopoeia give a fun, goofy vibe to the story. Picture a winking Marlowe handing a receipt with her phone number on it to love-struck Kimmy with a BAM! while Kimmy’s eyes spiral in a classic “knocked out” expression (151). The print book is about 5.5 inches tall by 5.5 inches wide, an unusual size for an adult section book. But it’s conveniently portable and surprisingly, the art and text are not negatively impacted.
The youthful sense of humor, timely existential woes, and art style of Matchmaker will mostly appeal to folks in the mid 20s to mid 30s age range. Recommend this charming book to fans of slice-of-life stories such as Giant Days or Wet Moon.
Matchmaker By Cam Marshall Silver Sprocket, 2023 ISBN: 9798886200294
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: Nonbinary , Character Representation: Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Nonbinary, Trans, Depression
In the future, safe long distance space travel is made possible by a unique resource called alcanite. This story features the end of that era as alcanite is running out and no replacement has been found. Ada, Mallic, and Haika are a team of scavengers looking for forgotten alcanite in historic shipwrecks. The work is dangerous, especially as the competition for this resource grows and unsavory people get involved. Ada finds a clue that could lead to an alternative travel method rumored to be used by her ancestors. Unfortunately, the inscriptions that might hold that knowledge have been moved off world by a wealthy collector.
The crew takes low priority cargo at the behest of Outher, their go-to mechanic who fixes their ship. During the long manual voyage, they discover that the unknown contents of the cargo is actually people who’d hoped to escape before getting stuck away from home when the alcanite runs out. Seems like the person in charge of their transportation wasn’t invested in their health and all the passengers, minus one, perished. Ada and Haika are able to rescue Hodge and promise to drop him off at the next station. When they arrive, they have a disastrous run-in with the wealthy collector when they discover he is connected to the dead travelers and has no desire to share an alternative to alcanite with anyone not paying.
The story device of limited resources is not a new one. However, set in the vastness of space where anything is possible, it does a good job of showcasing what makes a person human. Especially when they aren’t always humanoid like Mallic the octopus or Hodge the alien. The illustrations fit the story with muted versions of brighter colors, like the colors have dirtied over time. Detail lines not only define the drawing, but give the sense of texture as well. You can see that things aren’t what they used to be.
My biggest issue with this book is that there is no indication this is the beginning of a series, and the story doesn’t even begin to resolve the main issue of how an alternative to a non-renewable resource might affect people’s lives. This book focuses on character growth and relationships instead of the plot, which is not bad, but could leave your patrons feeling unfilled if this is the full story. Because of on-page murder, human trafficking, and other emotionally charged conversations between the characters, this would work best in a collection for older teens or adults. It is relatively short for a graphic novel, but there’s a lot going on.
The Hard Switch By Owen D. Pomery Avery Hill, 2023 ISBN: 9781910395707
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
The advanced review copy of Dear Body, edited by Lea Bordier, that I read for this review states on its cover: “In Dear Body, 12 women and non binary describe their relationship with their own bodies in their own words.” As Bordier explains in the introduction, the twelve short pieces the volume contains are adapted from a video project that she created. The stories are translated from French, leading to some occasional awkward turns of phrase, but overall, it’s an easily digestible, thoughtful collection of women and non-binary folks’ stories about their bodies. Each story is illustrated by a different artist, offering a variety of voices and styles.
The stories contemplate topics such as pregnancy, rape, illness and injuries, feminine grooming and dressing, being fat, being Black, and being disabled. A common thread throughout several of the stories is how other people react to the bodies of the main characters, and how the words and actions of others towards their bodies contribute to the characters’ perception of themselves. It emphasizes how societal norms and ideals can affect our self-worth, especially when we defy those norms and ideals. Even more so, it questions why some people feel entitled to treat others a certain way based solely on their bodies. The main characters range in age, with some diversity among the dozen: one lesbian, one nonbinary person, one Black woman, and one Asian woman. One character, Camille, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, a walker, and crutches throughout her story.
The deep and introspective stories surprised me with a breadth of topics. Shonah struggled to be taken seriously by doctors and it took years to reach her diagnosis of Vestibulodynia. Blaise asks themself of feminine grooming rituals, “Am I doing this for them or for me?” Sophie took two bullets during a shooting and relates her slow recovery through surgery, physical complications, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mathilde, a fat woman, gets called hurtful names and has trouble finding clothes that fit, but she also sings in a band, has a fun social life, and works out at the gym. Each story is told with lush, beautiful art. “Mathilde”, by Mademoiselle Caroline, reminds me of something you’d see in The New Yorker, with curving, painterly lines and bold pops of color. It also depicts a fat body naked in everyday scenarios such as lounging with a lover and showering at the gym, which complements the story well. “Sophie”, by Karensac, is drawn in a pleasant, cute cartoon style with an orange and blue color palette. Assigning a different artist to each story adds to each one’s unique feel.
The only minor issue with the collection is that the translation from French to English stumbles in some places. For instance, in “Aurelie”, the text reads, “I lost so much weight I had to be hospitalized. I didn’t attend my sophomore or junior year. I was pretty sheltered from comments because I was marginalized until I was 20,” (81). I think by marginalized, perhaps the author meant something closer to isolated. In “Mayalan”, the main character admits, “I had a lot of trouble accepting my body up until one day when I said: Enough!” (91). In the same story, Mayalan points out her faults on a diagram of her own body, with an arrow pointing to her ankles that reads “terrible hemline,” (89). Still, with Lea Bordier’s original video project in French, this may be as good as it gets for an Anglophone audience without French language proficiency.
Dear Body is a decent anthology with some lovely art and an array of themes, though Ivanka Hahnenberger’s translation is awkward at times. Consider it an optional purchase for adult graphic novel collections.
Dear Body By Lea Bordier Art by Carole Maurel, Karensac, Eve Gentilhomme, Lucille Gomez, Mademoiselle Caroline, Sybilline Meynet, Cy, Marie Boiseau, Anne-Olivia Messana, Mirion Malle, Mathou, Daphne Collignon FairSquare Comics, LLC., 2023 ISBN: 9798985927832
Publisher Age Rating: 16+ NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
revenge for being replaced at birth by a changeling. Aisling is that changeling, although she had no idea of her fae heritage and neither did her parents because they don’t recognize her without the glamour she’s been wearing. As they travel through the fae lands, both Aisling and Forget-Me-Not discover they have more in common than they originally thought and start developing a relationship. We learn more about the fae lands through Aisling’s interactions (and almost disasters) and Forget-Me-Not’s backstory about growing up in an alien world that isn’t hospitable to humans. The story wraps up at the end of this volume and provides an epilogue to tie up all the loose ends of the relationship between our two main characters.
stakes. It’s easy to make even a straightforward coming of age tale a BIG story with the angst, drama, and anxiety of even the most bog standard puberty. What’s hard is telling an entertaining small story, one that feels honest and real and intimate, something that at once feels universal and unique. Turning Twelve by Kathryn Ormsbee and illustrated by Molly Brooks is a small story. And it is completely lovely.
Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord by Yodokawa, translated by Stephen Paul, is a slice-of-life manga about Asako Suga. The 26-year-old manga editor decides to move to a new home for a fresh start after breaking up with her girlfriend. Little does she know, her 19-year old landlord Miyako Kitano is a former idol. The naive and friendly Miyako resides in the attic of the home as a “live-in landlord”. It helps to know something about idol culture to understand what Miyako’s life has been like up until now. “Idols” are famous pop stars (J-Pop and K-Pop) who perform in groups and are trained by and represent their recording labels or companies. They craft carefully controlled images and hone their performance-related talents. Young musicians and dancers covet and compete for idol status. (I know this from listening to the audiobook XOXO by Axie Oh).
late to break the contract she discovers it comes with a beautiful landlord… living in the attic.
In her newest graphic novel, The Deep Dark, Molly Knox Ostertag (Girl From the Sea and The Witch Boy) once again shares a hauntingly beautiful story about family and friendship with veins of the fantastical intertwined throughout. The story follows Magdala (Mags), as she holds tight to a deep dark secret, which is draining her energy and life.
Many people remember their teenage years fondly, even if those years are looked at through rose-colored glasses. When coming-of-age stories tackle teenagers, they will often focus on the friendships that form in those turbulent years, the ones that keep an individual grounded and feel destined to last forever. What strengthens the bond between the teenagers in The Cull Vol. 1, a science fiction/horror/coming-of-age story by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis, is a search for a missing brother across an alien landscape.
To the world at large, Dahlia Racers is a master of stagecraft. A designer of illusions for professional magicians. But that job, thrilling as it is, is not the redhead’s true vocation. In truth, she’s not even a redhead, and that’s not the only misleading thing about Dahlia Racers.
In the future, safe long distance space travel is made possible by a unique resource called alcanite. This story features the end of that era as alcanite is running out and no replacement has been found. Ada, Mallic, and Haika are a team of scavengers looking for forgotten alcanite in historic shipwrecks. The work is dangerous, especially as the competition for this resource grows and unsavory people get involved. Ada finds a clue that could lead to an alternative travel method rumored to be used by her ancestors. Unfortunately, the inscriptions that might hold that knowledge have been moved off world by a wealthy collector.
The advanced review copy of Dear Body, edited by Lea Bordier, that I read for this review states on its cover: “In Dear Body, 12 women and non binary describe their relationship with their own bodies in their own words.” As Bordier explains in the introduction, the twelve short pieces the volume contains are adapted from a video project that she created. The stories are translated from French, leading to some occasional awkward turns of phrase, but overall, it’s an easily digestible, thoughtful collection of women and non-binary folks’ stories about their bodies. Each story is illustrated by a different artist, offering a variety of voices and styles.
