Shy Liam is a little confused when gregarious theater kid Milo wants to hang out with him, but they end up having fun together. After that, it seems they’re always running into each other at their boarding school, exchanging banter, and soon they’ve become friends. But Milo wants to be more than friends—and, once he lets himself think about it, so does Liam.
Admitting their feelings and getting together is just the beginning. Liam is terrified of his conservative, overbearing father finding out that he’s dating a boy, so the two agree to be discreet. This involves a lot of negotiation to determine how subtle they can be before it feels like they aren’t dating at all. Then, as they grow closer, it becomes harder to hide their relationship—and Liam starts to realize he might not want to.
This slice-of-life comic follows Milo and Liam through the emotional and logistical challenges of secretly being a couple. Meanwhile, they sometimes get dragged into hijinks thanks to various clueless and/or troublemaking school friends. A few of those friends get enough page time to have their own subplots, which then sometimes involve the protagonists, as when Liam’s roommate asks Milo to join the cricket team with him. We also see a little bit of what each boy is like outside of school, meeting Milo’s parents and Liam’s father, cat, and therapist.
The story touches on some difficult topics: Liam’s dad is critical and controlling, and Liam himself struggles with some ingrained homophobia—the first time Milo says something highly suggestive to him, a flustered Liam actually hits him in the face. Milo’s mom also becomes melodramatically miserable on learning that he is gay, though Milo seems mostly unbothered by this.
There is a little swearing, some smoking (mostly by Liam), and one scene of implied sex. No below-the-waist nudity is shown, but we do see the characters muddle through the realization that neither of them has done this before, and they turn to the Internet to find out “how to avoid it hurting.” There is a brief discussion of condoms and lube, and then we jump to the two cuddling in bed afterward.
The artwork has a manga feel, with most characters having big eyes, swoopy hair, and pointy little noses and chins. Much of the time, they are in school uniforms, though sometimes we see them in regular clothes (or Halloween costumes) that show a little more of their personal styles. The backgrounds are minimal: a few desks or cafeteria tables, a few trees outside, a glimpse of a messy dorm room. The focus stays on the characters, who are distinct and dynamic.
As a slice-of-life comic about two high school boys figuring out a romance together, this will likely have some appeal to fans of Heartstopper. The art is very different, and Liam is perhaps more prickly and walled-off than the boys of that series. Still, there are similarities, and fans of Heartstopper are a good place to start in recommending this new series.
Tripping Over You, Vol. One By Owena White Art by Suzana Harcum Macmillan First Second, 2025 ISBN: 9781250330710
Company Age Rating: 14-18
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Lesbian, Character Representation: Gay,
Santiago—Santi to his friends—is both excited and nervous to spend the summer with his beloved Abuela Emma. Excited, because he loves his grandmother (and her Colombian cooking), and her small town sounds like an interesting change from his NYC home. Nervous, because a big goal for this visit is to practice his Spanish, and he’s afraid he won’t be able to keep up.
Santi is half Colombian, half white, and his parents intended to raise him bilingual. But since he had some trouble learning to talk, they decided to start with just English. Now Santi is twelve, and is taking classes, but he’s embarrassed not to be fluent in the language spoken by half his family. This visit will be an immersion experience – just what he needs to improve. If he can understand enough of his abuela’s Spanish to stay afloat, that is.
At first, things go better than Santi expected. He can understand and speak enough Spanish to get by, and his abuela is patient and kind. Plus, he meets a crew of friendly local kids who show him around town and invite him to join their soccer team. Santi loves soccer! But it’s not all smooth sailing. Sometimes he feels like his Spanish will never be good enough, or like he isn’t Colombian enough. People laugh at his accent or act shocked that he doesn’t know Colombian slang. It makes Santi want to stop talking to anyone, including his abuela and his friends. Can his summer be saved?
This is a good-hearted book full of imperfect but well-intentioned people. They make mistakes, like Abuela Emma joking about Santi’s accent, or Santi taking out his frustration on his friends, but they apologize and forgive each other. Santi works diligently to improve his Spanish, which eventually allows him to have real heart-to-heart conversations with his abuela.
Santi’s struggle is a common one. In a note at the start of the book, author Julio Anta (who is Colombian American and Cuban American) discusses his own difficulties with navigating English and Spanish growing up. He explains that he modeled Santi partly on his son, who is also part Colombian and part white, and also struggled with language early on, complicating his parents’ plans to raise him bilingual.
This is the first of a planned series of Hillside Valley graphic novels. Each will follow one of the kids we meet in this story, with the other kids appearing as supporting characters. This volume introduces the town of Hillside Valley, with its charming main street, diverse and close-knit community, and woodsy mountain surroundings.
The art style is a slightly simplified realism – the characters a little cartoonified, the colors a little brighter than natural. The characters are distinct and expressive, and the backgrounds are clean, with just enough detail to set the scenes. There is some good visual variety, from mountain scenery to soccer field action to plates full of Abuela Emma’s Colombian dishes.
Much of the plot revolves around language. When Santi speaks Spanish, or another character speaks and he understands, their dialog appears in Spanish with an English translation following it in an attached speech bubble. These translation bubbles are outlined with dashed lines, while the speech bubbles actually spoken have solid outlines. If, however, a character speaks Spanish and Santi does not understand, then there is no translation bubble—and sometimes, a few of the Spanish words are scribbled out to indicate that Santi didn’t catch them. This is an effective and interesting way to put readers in Santi’s shoes.
Santi’s struggle with being a Latino kid who isn’t fluent in Spanish is relatable, but not commonly explored, especially in graphic novels. This book is an interesting and heartfelt addition to the category of middle-grade realistic fiction.
Speak Up, Santiago By Julio Anta Art by Gabi Mendez Penguin Random House Graphic, 2025 ISBN: 9780593651636
Company Age Rating: 8-12 Series ISBNs and Order Related media:
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Colombian-American, Cuban-American, Mexican-American, Queer, Character Representation: Colombian-American,
In mid-90s Paris, eighteen-year-old Nina is struggling to find her path. The daughter of a Black Muslim from Gambia and a Polish Jewish woman whose family narrowly escaped the Holocaust, Nina feels out of place almost everywhere: the university she attends, the parties thrown by fellow students, and definitely her ballet classes, where she is told “You’re a great dancer, but Sleeping Beauty is not Black.” When her ballet teacher suggests that she is not a good fit because “the corps de ballet must appear uniform,” Nina quits, feeling more adrift and rejected than ever. But when she discovers track and field – and a coach who says she has great potential as a runner—Nina is intrigued. She’s also intrigued by Jackson, a handsome runner on the team.
Nina joins the team, works hard, and soon qualifies for the regional championships. Finally, people are celebrating her accomplishments. But then things take a turn: three other athletes sexually assault Nina in the locker room after the championships. She doesn’t tell anyone, but the trauma eats at her. Meanwhile her crush, Jackson, keeps giving her mixed messages. Nina starts smoking and drinking, getting into trouble at school and on the running team. Her family, her best friend, and the running team’s sympathetic doctor are worried. Can Nina find her way through these challenges to a bright future?
This book is an adaptation of a semi-autobiographical novel. The author, Rachel Khan, shares Nina’s heritage and went from classical dance to track and field at about Nina’s age. In a forward to the graphic novel, Khan calls it a coming of age story about trying to find your way when you “don’t look like anyone around” and are deeply aware of the “weighty history” of your family.
While the running element adds interest, the real focus is Nina’s emotional life. As the book goes on, she speaks out more: she snaps at her racially insensitive professor, argues with her running coach, and tells off a classmate for seeing her as “exotic.” Though her anger is usually justified—after all, she faces problems as serious as racism and sexual violence – she sometimes has reactions that may feel odd or surprising to readers. For instance, when the running team’s doctor admonishes her for using drugs, she responds “I don’t need any lectures from you, Karim. My father is the child of slaves who was then adopted. So I could care less about your team and its stupid honor.” In this case, even the doctor pushes back, asking “What’s that got to do with your getting high”.
Despite her struggles, Nina has good things going for her. She adores her family and her Jewish religious community. She has a supportive best friend and, by the end of the book, a new romance. Her success on the track also boosts her self-esteem and helps her finally feel like she belongs.
The scene when three other athletes sexually assault Nina is not explicit, nor does she ever recount the incident on the page, but readers see her trauma and physical injuries. The book has a little other violence, like pushing and hitting between Nina and a running team rival, and some swearing. There is no nudity, and nothing more intimate than a couple of kisses. Nina reflects on and discusses religion and race, which both feature heavily in her experiences.
The artwork is a simple but expressive cartoon style. The characters are dynamic and distinctive. There is a wide variety of settings: Nina’s home, her school, the track, and more. Some are drawn with detail and interest, while others are sketched in and simplified, keeping them firmly in the background. The color scheme supports the mood and feel of different scenes: cozy neutrals in Nina’s family home, sunny brights when she runs on the track, and so on.
Nina’s experience—drawn from the author’s own—will resonate with some readers and perhaps be illuminating for others. Though it is fictionalized, the book may appeal to fans of memoirs.
I Run to Make My Heart Beat By Rachel Khan Art by Aude Massot FairSquare Comics, 2024 ISBN: 9781960171054
Related media: Book to Comic
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: French, Gambian, , Character Representation: French, Gambian, Jewish ,
Twelve-year-old Maya knows a lot about cooking, but not so much about making friends. She has just finished a lonely school year and now her dad’s girlfriend Charlotte is moving in, making Maya worry that she’ll get less of her dad’s time and attention. At least Charlotte is nice. In fact, she’s so nice that she is paying for Maya to go to culinary camp this summer. Finally, things are looking up!
Except that, oops, the camp where Maya ends up isn’t for young chefs-in-the making—it’s for vampires. Camp Dracula is a regular summer camp, with swimming, campfires, and other outdoor activities, except that all the other campers have fangs, don’t appear in mirrors, and drink juice boxes full of animal blood. Maya has no idea what they would do if they realized she was human, so she pretends to be a vampire, too. At first, she focuses on escaping Camp Dracula, but then she finds herself making friends and even doing some cooking in the canteen. Maya is having an excellent summer—but what happens if her new friends find out she’s actually a human?
Summer Vamp is a fun, silly story full of friendship and hijinks. Maya and her friends sneak out at night, get caught in a food fight, and play games like Capture the Bat, which is the vampire version of Capture the Flag. (Cue Maya claiming that not turning into a bat is “part of my strategy.”) There is lots of humor based on Maya badly pretending to be a vampire, her obsession with cooking, the vampire movie “Midnight” (this world’s version of Twilight), and more.
The book also touches on tricky friendship stuff: Maya has trouble speaking up for herself, while her cabinmate Alex keeps accidentally hurting her feelings when she’s trying to connect. As the summer goes on, Maya gains the confidence to try new things, and she and Alex both get better at communicating and being good friends.
The art is colorful and cartoony. The characters have a friendly, roly-poly look with floppy hair and lots of exaggerated expressions. They all have distinct appearances and their own fashion styles, like Maya’s collection of silly food-themed t-shirts. There are fun cooking sequences and yummy-looking food. There are also a few “scrapbook pages” illustrated with cute “photos” of the friends, trinkets and pressed plants, and scrawled commentary. The backgrounds—mostly cabin interiors and woodsy outdoor settings—support the characters well without drawing focus away from them.
The vampires make Maya nervous at first, but there is no real scary stuff in this book. These vampires definitely do not attack humans. There is roughhousing and some very cartoonish violence, like Maya beaning a counselor with a crepe pan, but nobody really gets hurt. A fellow camper seems to have a crush on Maya, but he’s shy and his inability to talk to her is played for laughs. There is no other romantic content, just tween summer camp mischief.
The culinary sequences establish Maya’s passion for cooking, and the vampire summer camp is a fun setting, but the story is really about gaining confidence and learning to be a good friend. Hand it to readers who like silly humor and friendship stories that don’t take themselves too seriously.
Summer Vamp By Violet Chan Karim Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593425220
Publisher age recommendation: 8-12 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
Twelve-year-old Ty is captain of the swim team, but he missed the last swim season because of a broken arm. That’s not all he missed: he hasn’t seen his best friends Max and Heather in months. They keep reaching out, but Ty doesn’t know how to talk to them now, because he’s feeling so many things he can’t explain. He’s scared to get back in the water, but doesn’t know who he is if not a champion swimmer. He hates that he gained weight while recovering. He gets overwhelmed frequently in social situations. Oh, and he secretly has a crush on Max.
So Ty has been hiding out at home, but that ends when he, Max, and Heather start summer camp. Camp means new friends and cool activities . . . and a looming swim competition that Ty can’t even think about. He’s struggling to rebuild his friendship with Max after avoiding him for so long. Meanwhile, he finds his own body disgusting and has started skipping meals. His friends and well-meaning camp counselors care about him, but they don’t understand what he’s going through. For Ty to get better – and to fix things with Max – he’s going to have to finally let other people in and ask for help.
This book, based on experiences of author Lee Durfey-Lavoie, touches on several serious issues without ever naming or diagnosing anything. Ty suffers from what might be panic attacks, depicted as water rising around him or waves crashing over him. He feels helpless and hopeless, and sometimes does things like go to bed super early to avoid doing activities and being around people. Ty hates his heavier body, often can’t bring himself to eat, and at one point digs his nails into his own stomach hard enough to leave marks that others notice. He also worries what others might think if they discover he is gay.
Ty starts asking for help fairly early, but the sympathetic camp counselors he talks to aren’t sure how to support him. Things get better as he makes new friends and starts to enjoy some new activities, letting him see himself as something other than a once-great, now-failed swimmer. Eventually, he stands up to his own cruel internal voice and finally shares his struggles with the person he has been shutting out for so long: Max.
The cast is diverse, including characters of various races as well as gay and trans characters. They have a variety of passionate interests, from bug catching to tabletop roleplaying games. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings cause Ty and Max to keep hurting each other, and the camp counselors are a little out of their depth with Ty’s problems, but the characters are all kind, supportive, and doing their best.
The art is colorful and active, with a cartoony style. The characters mostly keep the same outfits throughout the book, which is helpful for distinguishing between Heather and Max, siblings who otherwise look similar. The art is simple and clean, without much fine detail except in scenes that require it, like when Ty and his friends are designing and building a canoe.
Some readers may wonder about the fact that therapy is never suggested or mentioned, given the seriousness of Ty’s struggles. Because the book ends while he is still at summer camp, we also never get to find out whether he tells his parents what has been happening with him, or what they do next. Ty’s situation has improved by the end of the book, but one hopes this is only the beginning of his healing.
This is a hopeful book, with a protagonist who is struggling but who takes some good steps, like telling the adults in charge about his problems. The summer camp makes a fun backdrop, with lots of new friends and interesting activities. It may appeal to fans of Upstaged by Robin Easter, another story in which a queer kid goes to summer camp with their crush and has difficulty connecting. Fans of middle grade realistic fiction will enjoy this if they don’t mind some heavier subject matter than typical tween awkwardness.
Sink or Swim By Lee Durfey-Lavoie Art by Veronica Agarwal Penguin Random House Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593125519
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Indian American, Italian-American, Character Representation: Gay, Ambiguous Mental Illness, Eating Disorder
Cade is a shy, horror-movie-obsessed teen living in rural Texas. Surrounded by homophobia, he figures he’ll never be able to come out as gay, let alone find a boyfriend. Anyway, he has other things to worry about. His family is low on money, so his parents insist that Cade get a summer job at a ranch, which pays better than the more comfortable indoor jobs he would prefer. It’s hard labor, but on the plus side he gets to work with Henry, the teenaged son of the ranch owner. Henry is attractive, mysterious, and possibly interested in Cade. But there are rumors swirling around the ranch. People have died. In fact, the whole situation reminds Cade of a horror movie. Will he be the next victim?
This is a retelling of Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey, in which a young woman allows her love of Gothic novels to color her perception of the real world. Like the heroine of that novel, Cade sees and hears a few strange things and lets his imagination fill in the gaps with terrifying theories. Changing the Gothic novels to horror movies and the setting to a lonely ranch in modern-day Texas makes for a creative update. Cade’s unease and sense of being in danger are supported by encounters with racist and homophobic locals—a situation based on the author’s own experience growing up queer, closeted, and Latine in rural Texas.
Cade comes from a class background that is underrepresented in teen fiction: his blended, multiracial family is struggling financially, living in a rural area where military service and religion play a large part in many people’s lives. This adds to Cade’s isolation, as there is a lot of homophobia in the local culture. Even his generally well-meaning stepdad casually uses homophobic language. Henry, too, has struggled to reconcile his identity with his church’s condemnation of queer people.
A content note at the beginning advises that the book contains “moments of homophobia, misogyny, racism, domestic violence, animal cruelty, and confronting death.” There is a character whose past includes becoming suicidal and spending time in a mental health facility, and another character uses stigmatizing language about it. And although he is seeing a therapist and working on his anger issues, Henry can be violent, which is an alarming quality in a love interest. There are also a handful of swear words, up to and including the f-bomb. Despite all that, though, this story is not grim throughout. It is, after all, a romance, with plenty of sweet moments and—eventually—a hopeful ending.
The art is cute and expressive, with a simplified realistic style reminiscent of Faith Erin Hicks. The book is two-color, with shades of red and pink punctuated by bold black and lots of deep shadows, especially in the creepy parts. Horror movie fans may notice a few classic film posters in some of the panels.
This is a creative retelling that stands alone. Sometimes sweet and sometimes gripping, it addresses tough topics but also brings humor and smooches. Hand it to fans of Kevin Panetta’s Bloom and Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper.
Northranger By Rey Terciero Art by Bre Indigo Harper Collins Harper Alley, 2023 ISBN: 9780063007383
Publisher Age Rating: 13+ NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Hiromi Sakura is a burned-out office worker. He once dreamed of heroically helping people, but now works long, unappreciated hours for a toxic boss. He does have one friend at work, Saotome, but otherwise, Sakura’s life is pretty bleak. Then, on his way home from work one day, he sees a child being attacked by a bizarre and frightening creature. Sakura pulls off his tie and rushes to the rescue, but he’s no match for the monster—until he unexpectedly transforms into a magical girl, complete with super-strength, incredible reflexes, and fast healing. After winning the fight, Sakura changes back to his usual self, full of confusion. Aren’t magical girls the stuff of fiction? And even in fiction, isn’t it usually girls who transform into them? Why is this happening to Sakura? And what was that monster?
When Sakura’s work friend Saotome discovers his secret, he enthusiastically volunteers to help. Saotome pushes Sakura to learn more about his abilities, and also assists Sakura using his incredible wealth and influence (for Saotome, a citywide security announcement or a helicopter ride is just a phone call away). Which is good, because more monsters are turning up, and the entity responsible for them is interested in the city’s new magical girl. Sakura is going to need all the help he can get.
This manga offers an oddball spin on the magical girl trope. Most magical girl stories center on teenage girls who, when not transformed, usually attend school and live with their parents. This one follows a tired, insecure adult who lives alone and spends his days at the office. Indeed, a lot of this volume is devoted to Sakura’s work life, especially after he is assigned to mentor a new employee. Sakura is kind and welcoming, even shielding the new recruit from the ire of their abusive boss. This plotline later intersects with Sakura’s magical girl adventures, but the workplace scenes show that Sakura can be heroic in quieter, more ordinary ways.
Neither monsters nor magical girls seem to be part of the generally-accepted reality of Sakura’s world, as people are shocked and confused to see either one. However, Sakura is certainly aware of the concepts and tropes: during his first battle, he complains, “So I’ve got the costume but no weapon? Not even a helpful little mascot thing?”
Like most magical girl stories, this manga contains violence, mostly in the form of supernatural battles. The monsters Sakura faces were once human, and their transformations can be quite creepy. Sakura’s everyday, non-monster-fighting life is also decidedly more adult than that of most magical girls: he works for a jerk who mocks the notions of safe spaces and work-life balance and claims that accusations of abuse are just employees being “wimps.” There is also a little swearing and one reference to porn magazines, though no actual nudity or sexual behavior.
The art is active, with dynamic character poses even in the scenes that are set at Sakura’s corporate job. The page layouts vary, adding visual interest. Sakura’s magical girl form and the monsters he fights match the rest of the art in terms of style, but they stand out for being bizarre and different in the otherwise ordinary city setting.
The magical girl genre has inspired many spinoffs, including grim ones like the Puella Magi series and Magical Girl Raising Project. This is a more comedic take, though not without some serious elements. Its corporate-office drama and zany after-hours hijinks might appeal to fans of Aggretsuko, though obviously Magical Girl Incident has more combat and fewer cute animals.
Magical Girl Incident, Vol. 1 By Zero Akabane Yen Press, 2023 ISBN: 9781975360368
Publisher Age Rating: Older Teen NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
that, it seems they’re always running into each other at their boarding school, exchanging banter, and soon they’ve become friends. But Milo wants to be more than friends—and, once he lets himself think about it, so does Liam.
Santiago—Santi to his friends—is both excited and nervous to spend the summer with his beloved Abuela Emma. Excited, because he loves his grandmother (and her Colombian cooking), and her small town sounds like an interesting change from his NYC home. Nervous, because a big goal for this visit is to practice his Spanish, and he’s afraid he won’t be able to keep up.
In mid-90s Paris, eighteen-year-old Nina is struggling to find her path. The daughter of a Black Muslim from Gambia and a Polish Jewish woman whose family narrowly escaped the Holocaust, Nina feels out of place almost everywhere: the university she attends, the parties thrown by fellow students, and definitely her ballet classes, where she is told “You’re a great dancer, but Sleeping Beauty is not Black.” When her ballet teacher suggests that she is not a good fit because “the corps de ballet must appear uniform,” Nina quits, feeling more adrift and rejected than ever. But when she discovers track and field – and a coach who says she has great potential as a runner—Nina is intrigued. She’s also intrigued by Jackson, a handsome runner on the team.
Twelve-year-old Maya knows a lot about cooking, but not so much about making friends. She has just finished a lonely school year and now her dad’s girlfriend Charlotte is moving in, making Maya worry that she’ll get less of her dad’s time and attention. At least Charlotte is nice. In fact, she’s so nice that she is paying for Maya to go to culinary camp this summer. Finally, things are looking up!
Twelve-year-old Ty is captain of the swim team, but he missed the last swim season because of a broken arm. That’s not all he missed: he hasn’t seen his best friends Max and Heather in months. They keep reaching out, but Ty doesn’t know how to talk to them now, because he’s feeling so many things he can’t explain. He’s scared to get back in the water, but doesn’t know who he is if not a champion swimmer. He hates that he gained weight while recovering. He gets overwhelmed frequently in social situations. Oh, and he secretly has a crush on Max.
Cade is a shy, horror-movie-obsessed teen living in rural Texas. Surrounded by homophobia, he figures he’ll never be able to come out as gay, let alone find a boyfriend. Anyway, he has other things to worry about. His family is low on money, so his parents insist that Cade get a summer job at a ranch, which pays better than the more comfortable indoor jobs he would prefer. It’s hard labor, but on the plus side he gets to work with Henry, the teenaged son of the ranch owner. Henry is attractive, mysterious, and possibly interested in Cade. But there are rumors swirling around the ranch. People have died. In fact, the whole situation reminds Cade of a horror movie. Will he be the next victim?
Hiromi Sakura is a burned-out office worker. He once dreamed of heroically helping people, but now works long, unappreciated hours for a toxic boss. He does have one friend at work, Saotome, but otherwise, Sakura’s life is pretty bleak. Then, on his way home from work one day, he sees a child being attacked by a bizarre and frightening creature. Sakura pulls off his tie and rushes to the rescue, but he’s no match for the monster—until he unexpectedly transforms into a magical girl, complete with super-strength, incredible reflexes, and fast healing. After winning the fight, Sakura changes back to his usual self, full of confusion. Aren’t magical girls the stuff of fiction? And even in fiction, isn’t it usually girls who transform into them? Why is this happening to Sakura? And what was that monster?
