Tall Water

Tall Water is a coming of age teen graphic novel that follows one girl’s journey to Sri Lanka to reconnect with her long-lost mother during the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. The book won the Asian Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature Honor Award in 2026. It was published in August 2025.

The publisher's summary:

Ever since she turned sixteen, Nimmi has wanted to see her mother. Though she has a loving but overprotective father and a budding relationship, she yearns to travel to Sri Lanka to confront the mother who refused to leave the island during a war, not even for Nimmi’s sake. Her father is going back for the first time as a reporter on assignment, but he refuses to take her, deeming Sri Lanka too dangerous.

But then Nimmi's mother appears to her in a dream, asking her to come find her, and Nimmi knows she must go. Her father is livid when he sees her at baggage claim, but by then it’s too late, and he reluctantly agrees to help Nimmi make contact with her mother. In Sri Lanka, Nimmi tags along with her father and his guide, past checkpoints and armed soldiers and increasing hints of the war that rages there.

However, the day after Christmas, disaster strikes and a tsunami ravages the island. Stranded amid the devastation and destruction, can Nimmi reunite with her mother? Through her journey, Nimmi might just learn that the person she most needed to find was herself.

This story is fantastic. I could not put it down. Although only 245 pages, the plot is extraordinary as are the characters. Nimmi is more mature than her sixteen years would allow and she is fearless. It takes guts to plan a last minute trip to a place she has never been before. She had no qualms over taking a long distance flight by herself nor did she seem to feel any uneasiness about meeting her mother for the first time during the planning phase if the trip. Nimmi’s plan was to meet her father at the airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, unbeknownst to him, even though his flight left South Dakota one day earlier. I didn't understand this but, hey, its fiction. Nimmi took a mature stance on her relationship with her boyfriend Daniel. They were planning on attending colleges in different states. Daniel thought a long distance relationship would work but Nimmi, being practical, knew she would end the relationship. 

Nimmi’s father Andrew was protective of her which is why he told her she couldn't accompany him to Sri Lanka. When he saw her at the Colombo airport he was of course surprised but not too upset. He thought she would be safe under certain circumstances. Nimmi’s mother Renuka was not a sympathetic character in my mind. While she was heroic to care for over ten kids in an orphanage, she didn't connect with Nimmi as I expected. Yes, she was thrilled to see her daughter but I felt Renuka cared more about trying to fix Sri Lanka's problems than getting to know her daughter. There were also several secondary characters who were sympathetic so the story has fantastic characters.

The plot was both thrilling and informative. I knew nothing about the 2004 tsunami before reading the book. With the artwork by Dion MBD the readers sees upfront what life is like in rural Sri Lanka as well as the devastation the tsunami caused. I particularly liked the color pallette, which is how I decide on getting a graphic novel. If the colors aren't pretty I probably won't get the book. Another fact I learned from the book is that the Sri Lankan people are resilient. Almost immediately they began to rebuild the orphanage, having already located a safe place for the kids to stay. Nimmi’s maturity shines here as we see her taking care of the kids and contributing to the cooking without anyone asking her to help out.

The novel has so much more than described here. It's one of the best coming of age stories that I have ever read. 5 out of 5 stars.

This Place Kills Me

This Place Kills Me is a YA fictional graphic novel concerning a private girl's boarding school in Massachusetts. The story is set in the 1980s and is told in comics, letters, diary entries, and news articles. It is a page-turning whodunnit that kept me on the edge of my seat. This novel was published in August 2025.

The publisher's summary:  

At Wilberton Academy, few students are more revered than the members of the elite Wilberton Theatrical Society—a.k.a. the WTS—and no one represents that exclusive club better than Elizabeth Woodward. Breathtakingly beautiful, beloved by all, and a talented thespian, it’s no surprise she’s starring as Juliet in the WTS’s performance of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. But when she’s found dead the morning after opening night, the whole school is thrown into chaos.

Transfer student Abby Kita was one of the last people to see Elizabeth alive, and when local authorities deem the it-girl’s death a suicide, Abby’s not convinced. She’s sure there’s more to Wilburton and the WTS than meets the eye. As she gets tangled in prep school intrigues, Abby quickly realizes that Elizabeth was keeping secrets. Was one of those secrets worth killing for?

Abby is the protagonist of the story. She is totally rejected by her classmates because of her appearance. Abby has old fashioned big glasses and is a sloppy dresser. Even her roommate Claire refuses to speak with her. Because she is an outcast, Abby spends all her time outside of classes listening to her walkman. She is a curious person though. When she sees lights from a flashlight from her window in the middle of the night Abby runs outside to see what's happening. She overhears police officers discussing Elizabeth's death on one occasion and on another she finds a classmate trying to kill herself with drugs.

All of her classmates are mean girls. The author does a good job of showing the usual dialogue between them. The word "like" is repeated by them constantly and, of course, they all are huge gossipers. There are several mysteries to solve in this story. How did Elizabeth die, who is distributing drugs and why has Abby been banished to this school by her parents. 

The artwork is the reason I bought the book. The back cover blurb informed me that the plot was a nice mystery but the color palette was what I found enticing. The illustrator, Nicole Goux, used cool tones of pink and blue with a thick black font for the dialogue. The cover design was appealing too. 

I enjoyed reading this book. In fact I read it twice before writing the review. There are some dark elements that might upset readers such as death, suicide, drugs and LGBTQIA issues. I didn't see them as triggering but I am an old lady. Kids may find them troubling.

5 out of 5 stars.

Daughter of Blue City

Daughter of Blue City is a sequel to Mother of Red Mountains which I read and reviewed last month. It is a historical fiction novel that takes place in post-Revolution China and continues the tale of the Zhou family into the next generation.

The publisher's summary:

How do you survive when the world you know is at war with itself? In the unyielding chaos of China's Cultural Revolution, young Lianlian's life is a constant battle against family violence, public shame and brutal poverty. Raised by a resilient mother and anchored by her little sister, she learns to endure, but with a family fractured by divorce a future seems impossible.

When the political climate finally shifts and the nation scrambles for direction, Lianlian discovers her most powerful weapon is her mind. With few options left, she fixates on a single hope: a chance at a university education. Fueled by sheer will and the quiet support of her mother, she fights for her spot at a top university, seeing it as the one true path to building a life of her own.

When the prior book ended, Lianlian's mother Jun was struggling to work and take care of her kids. Lianlian was probably two or three years old. I cannot remember. Mother of Red Mountains ended abruptly and I expected that the sequel would continue her story. However, Daughter of Blue City begins with Lianlian in middle school. The book is Lianlian's story, not Jun’s. She attends the top school in her community and hopes to attend high school and then university. Lianlian's grades were so high that she was later accepted into Peking University which was the best in China. Most of the book centers on Lianlian's educational achievements and her hopes for a top job.

Lianlian and her sister Shanshan grew up in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia which is in northern China. Hohhot is known as the blue city because of its intense blue skies. We read about how their lives were affected by politics. The author does not give us a narrative of the historical events but rather writes how the Zhou family mourned the deaths of Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong. As the politicians changed educational possibilities for the common people, Lianlian benefited and was allowed to try for higher education. Of course, as the top scoring pupil in Hohhot her possibilities were enormous and she applied for acceptance into the top three universities. Lianlian and her sister Shanshan were very close. Shanshan insisted on accompaning Lianlian everywhere. She was not interested in making friends with kids her own age.

As an admirer of all things Chinese, I couldn’t put the book down. The plot was riveting and the Zhou family characters were adorable. It would be nice if there was a third novel, maybe highlighting Shanshan or Lianlian's life after university. 5 out of 5 stars.

Total Suplex of the Heart

Total Suplex of the Heart was published in 2024 by Humanoids. This 161 page graphic novel is about a young journalist, Georgie, who goes undercover in the local hardcore wrestling scene, exploring themes of identity, toxic relationships, and self-discovery in a male-dominated world. The story is inspired by author Joanne Starer's own experiences.

The publisher's summary:  

Glowing up isn’t the same as growing up.

Georgie’s always been nerdy: Teased by jocks, spending her lunchtime with a comic in hand, and falling in love with wrestling from Saturday nights on the couch with her dad. But that was then – This is now!

She’s out of school, freelancing as a journalist, and hot as heck. In an effort to prove to her mom that she has a “real job,” she goes undercover in the local hardcore wrestling scene to investigate a piece. She’s quickly swept up in the drama, both in and out of the ring. With new friendships developing and potential romance blossoming, she’s riding the wave of attention that temporarily silences her own insecurities. But as girl fights, casual hook-ups, and creepy older men begin to dominate her days, Georgie has to ask herself who really holds the power in her life, and whether she’s happy with where it’s headed.

This was an enjoyable story. It would be nice if it continued with another release. I cannot remember any past comic concerning the wrestling world so the story is unique. Poor Georgie had to endure alot of sexism but she let it all fall by the wayside. The wrestlers who became her friends were always trying to get her into bed and a few of them got lucky. At one point Georgie thought she was pregnant and didn't know who the father might be. It turned out her menses stopped because of her anorexia. She questioned her relationship with Steve. They were living together but Georgie was doing all of the work in the relationship as well as in their business teaching women how to wrestle. 

Georgie was a sympathetic character, the only one in the comic. Her mental health struggles and the trauma from being raised by an incompetent mother scared her. She accepted poor treatment from her friends because she felt that was all she deserved. You just want to hug her. 

Total Suplex of the Heart is an intriguing story. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

The High Desert

I selected this graphic novel because it has won several awards.The book won the 2022 ALA Alex Award and the 2023 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Print Comics. In addition, it was one of The Washington Post's 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2022, one of New York Public Library's Best Books of 2022 and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2022.  I had high expectations for it. However, I did not like it much. 

High Desert is a coming-of-age graphic memoir by the creator of Afro-punk, James Spooner. We read about him as a teenaged African American boy who has to deal with identity, racism, teen love and belonging in the isolated California desert that he lived in with his white single mother. James searches for community by being punk. James thinks going to a new high school will bring him new friends but he finds that he is just one out of 15 African American students at the school. The African Americans are gangbangers while the white students are racist. Some are skinheads. James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders, skaters and unhappy young rebels caught up in the punk groundswell sweeping the country. His life changes with a new punk haircut and becoming a bass player in a band. 

I did not understand the slang. After looking up several pages worth of slang I gave up. The story was actually judge dialogue between James and his fellow students at various moments in school. There was no plot. I felt sorry for James, though. He had a rough adjustment to his new community and didn't feel his mother understood him. I read several reviews of this book and all were positive. These reviewers had the same life experiences as James. While I didn't like the book I would definitely recommend it for my friends' kids who might be feeling just like James.

Brownstone

I loved reading this YA graphic novel. The main character is Almudena, a fourteen year old girl, who is sent to live with her father for the summer because her mother is taking a once in a lifetime trip. The problem is that she has never met him and he does not speak English. Xavier is Guatemalan and is happy to see her, but he expects her to live in (and help fix up) his old, broken-down brownstone. Along the way, Almudena must navigate the language barrier. 

As Almudena tries to adjust to this new reality, she gets to know the residents of Xavier’s Latin American neighborhood. Each member of the community has their own joys and heartbreaks as well as their own strong opinions on how this young Latina should talk, dress, and behave. Some can’t understand why she doesn’t know where she comes from. Others think she’s “not brown enough” to fit in.  However, Almudena becomes fast friends with them all.  By summer's end, she hates leaving her new friends behind but is happy to return to living with her mother.

I loved the Almudena character. She is a happy go lucky girl who can deal with any situation. She helps all of her new neighbors with their problems without skipping a beat. Somehow she is able to communicate with her father and new friends who only speak Spanish. Note that the novel is bilingual. While it is mainly told in English, there is dialogue in Spanish that is not translated.  The artwork was primarily colored in brown tones to match the storyline.

5 out of 5 stars.

Two Tribes

After a late night yesterday I wanted easy reading this morning. I found this full length graphic novel by Emily Cohen. The story is based upon her own life and dissects her two ethnic nationalities:  Native American and Jewish.

The publisher's summary:  

In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the complexity, meaning, and deep love that comes from being part of two vibrant tribes.

Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn’t want to talk about him, but Mia can’t help but feel like she’s missing a part of herself without him in her life.

Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma—without telling her mom—to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side.

I enjoyed reading about the Jewish and Muskogee customs. It was fascinating to see how the author wrote into the story Mia's punishment for running away by having to spend time with a rabbi. The rabbi used a study of the Bible story of Jonah to teach Mia a lesson. Jonah ran away from God after refusing to preach gloom and doom and ended up inside a whale. There was also an element of mystery in the story. While Mia was making strides in making her dream come true, I knew that her deception was going to catch up with her soon. Each chapter ending provided enough action to make me think that Mia was finally about to get caught. When she did get caught, Mia admitted her deception. She owned it. You don't see that every day. 

While this book was written for kids aged 8 to 12, there are lessons for adults as well. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars. This is an educational  story for everyone.

The Fox Maidens

Robin Ha, author of Almost American Girl, is one of my favorite graphic novelists. Her 2024 graphic novel, The Fox Maidens, is based on a famous character from Korean mythology, Gumiho. The story takes place 400 years ago in Korea during the reign of the Joseon Dynasty and it was a fun read.

The publisher's summary:

Kai Song dreams of being a warrior. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved father, the commander of the Royal Legion. But while her father believes in Kai and trains her in martial arts, their society isn’t ready for a girl warrior.

Still, Kai is determined. But she is plagued by rumors that she is the granddaughter of Gumiho, the infamous nine-tailed fox demon who was killed by her father years before.

Everything comes crashing down the day Kai learns the deadly secret about her mother’s past. Now she must come to terms with the truth about her identity and take her destiny into her own hands. As Kai desperately searches for a way to escape her fate, she comes to find compassion, and even love, in the most unexpected places.

Set in sixteenth-century Korea and richly infused with Korean folklore, The Fox Maidens is a timeless and powerful story about fighting for your place in the world, even when it seems impossible.

First of all, I cannot be more excited about a comic's illustration than with The Fox Maidens. The color palette is gorgeous. Most of the comic book strips are drawn and colored with cool tones of every color but with a splash of bright colors such as red. It's very appealing.

Concerning the writing, it is fast paced with compelling characters and an action packed plot. Kai is the main character. She is presented as a feminist by her desire to fight alongside the men in her village. She is fearful of marrying and having children and hopes that her parents won't force her into marriage. At the end of the story we see her love for another female character. Kai's mother, Meorhu, is a physically fragile woman with a surprising past as a fox maiden. She hopes that her daughter will be able to escape the same fate. Then there is Gumiho. Gumiho is the deadly fox spirit who destroys the lives of all the others with her magic. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this story but must say that the first half was more exciting. During this part of the story we read about Kai as a human being. Her life in the village depicted the type of life a girl in Joseon Korea would live. In the second half she becomes a fox and here we really see the fantasy aspect of the story. The author’s note at the end explains her inspiration for writing this graphic novel. I found it as fascinating as the story itself.

4 out of 5 stars.

Ash's Cabin

Ash's Cabin is a coming of age graphic novel by Jen Wang. It was published on August 13, 2024 and has been written for young adults in grades 10 through 12. 

The publisher's summary:

Ash has always felt alone. Adults ignore the climate crisis. Other kids Ash’s age are more interested in pop stars and popularity contests than in fighting for change. Even Ash’s family seems to be sleepwalking through life. The only person who ever seemed to get Ash was Grandpa Edwin. Before he died, he used to talk about building a secret cabin deep in the California wilderness. Did he ever build it? What if it’s still there, waiting for him to come back…or for Ash to find it? To Ash, that cabin is starting to feel like the perfect place for a fresh start and an escape from the miserable feeling of alienation that haunts her daily life.  But making the wilds your home isn’t easy. And as much as Ash wants to be alone…can she really be happy alone?  

 

The publisher's website states that this graphic novel tackles the topic of gender identity. I was not aware of this until the ending and I looked up the book. A classmate places her hand on Ash's hand and Ash's face lights up. I feel a little stupid for not picking up on the new masculine name but in my defense let me say the reader doesn't know what Ash's name originally was. In fact, in the first chapter I thought Ash was male. Her desire to learn survival skills didn't cause me to suspect anything either. It just sounded like a great adventure. Her withdrawal from her high school classmates didn't make me suspicious either. Half the kids in school are withdrawn. My only clue that she was gay was that hand.

I would not categorize the book as LGBTQ fiction. It's about Ash's six month long plan to camp in the wilderness and then her execution of the plan. She takes her beloved dog Chase with her and, as an animal lover, I enjoyed their exploits. She was only supposed to be gone two weeks but Ash lasted 42 days in the wilderness. After Chase became injured Ash should have taken him home. She didn't and that upset me some.

All things considered, Ash's Cabin was a fun read. 5 out of 5 stars.