New graphic novels to look for

 I just finished two graphic novels you might want to be on the look out for.  My students really love graphic novels that are realistic fiction, like Smile and Drama by Reina Telegmeier or the Baby Sitter's Club, so these two new ones are right in that sweet spot.

The first one is by one of my favorite authors, Wendy Mass.  Wendy has written some amazing middle grade fiction like 11 Birthdays and the Candymakers that are perennial hits in my elementary school library.  Her first foray into graphic novels is called Lo and Behold.  Like many of her books, the story is based around a middle schooler, Addie, who is going to spend the summer with her dad who is a futurist, which is a scientist who helps people plan for the future.  His current line of study is augmented reality and he's super into it.  Addie's mom is out of the picture-of course Wendy doesn't tell you the whole thing at the beginning, but it involves a bike accident and pain killers.  Addie really loves science, especially tortoises and space, so she's hoping there will be something fun for her at the university too.  When they arrive, the team of scientists/students greet both Addie and dad enthusiastically and there are nice people across the hall from where they are living, even a boy Addie's age but Addie isn't too sure about any of it.  As the summer progresses, Addie finds that the virtual reality is a lot cooler than she thought and she thinks up some pretty terrific applications for it.  She also gets to know Matteo from across the hall, who is way cooler than she initially finds.  This is a fun book to read.  There are elements of science and humor, family dynamics, pain and loss AND virtual reality.  Gabi Mendez's art work helps to develop the mood of the story as well as the feelings of the characters in a very fundamental way.  I really liked how the art work helped to move the story along without being too busy or overworked.  It was a perfect balance to the text. I think this one is going to be super popular among the bigger kids at my school.  Do NOT miss the AR application that goes along with the book, it's totally amazing!

The second one is called The Do-Over by Rodrigo Vargas and Coni Yovaniniz.  It's about Mariana (or Maru) who has moved from California to Ohio with her dad, a hairstylist.  She's not really happy about being in Ohio and hasn't really made any friends but her grandmother, Abuela, is there.  Maru's mom died a while back and Maru and her dad miss her a lot.    People keep telling Maru she needs to get off her phone and into the real world.  She goes into the girls bathroom at school one day to find two girls who are having a bit of a hair emergency.  They've been experimenting with hair color and one wants to cut the other's hair.  It's quite successful and the three girls hatch a plan to open their own hair studio, which happens sooner than any of them can imagine with the help of Maru's abuela.  This is a fun story to read with themes of friendship and communication and problem solving, with a healthy dose of finding your own voice.  The art work is fun and helps the storyline along with added visual details that aren't necessarily carried by the text.  There's also a sprinkling of Spanish language in the text (that's easy enough for even non-Spanish speakers to figure out) which adds a nice cultural connection.  I know the kids at my school will like this one a lot and I'll bet yours will too.