Bookmarks

The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln

, , , ,
The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

What if the characters in your books wanted out? Especially the characters in those prized collections that had been cooped up for far too long? I loved seeing these books comes to life as twins Page and Turner try to get back their father’s prized Dracula first edition that gets lose in the NY Public library. Loved the focus on family relationships.

The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln, (List Price: $13.99, Dial Books, 9780593617663, July 2024)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln Read More »

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

, , ,
Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

This is a great summer romance full of coffee, sunsets, and ghosts! Cassie is starting over in a small Florida town, independent of those she’d clung to in Orlando, and ready to make a new life for herself. What she was not prepared for was sharing her newly purchased home with a ghost. This book is full of different kinds of love and loss and I found it an oddly therapeutic read as much as a fun romance!

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca, (List Price: $19, Berkley, 9780593641217, August 2024)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca Read More »

Unico: Awakening (Volume 1): An Original Manga by Osamu Tezuka

, ,
Unico: Awakening (Volume 1): An Original Manga by Osamu Tezuka
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

This was such an empowering story about friendship and redemption. It has strong Ghibli vibes with its “cozy granny,” talking cats that get up to mischief — throw in time travel and morally gray characters! You find yourself rooting for Unico from the get-go, can he figure out the mystery of who he is and help those around him?

Unico: Awakening (Volume 1): An Original Manga by Osamu Tezuka, (List Price: $12.99, Graphix, 9781339036335, August 2024)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Unico: Awakening (Volume 1): An Original Manga by Osamu Tezuka Read More »

We Are Big Time by Hena Khan

, ,
We Are Big Time by Hena Khan
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I love this new middle-grade graphic novel about a girls’ basketball team. The story could easily be that it is a team from an all-Muslim school, but there’s more to it than that. I love how the author has based this on a true story and helped guide the reader through the prejudice and media hype that would surround this story still. It’s nuanced and delicately handled, and I think will resonate with every reader.

We Are Big Time by Hena Khan, (List Price: $13.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9780593430477, August 2024)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

We Are Big Time by Hena Khan Read More »

Youth Group by Jordan Morris

, ,
Youth Group by Jordan Morris
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I really enjoyed this slightly bonkers graphic novel, and it made me laugh out loud! I loved the concept of an evangelical church youth group that secretly fights demons — seriously a perfect concept for a book. The author and artist captured the 1990s youth group scene so accurately!

Youth Group by Jordan Morris, (List Price: $17.99, First Second, 9781250789235, July 2024)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Youth Group by Jordan Morris Read More »

The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson

, ,
The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I am truly obsessed! This story takes place in a world where humans and orcs are enemies, but when a long-forgotten entity known as the Vangol returns from across the seas, humankind and orc-kind must form alliances if they hope to survive what’s ahead. Can humans and orcs see past their painful histories and prejudices? I CANNOT WAIT TO FIND OUT!

The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson, (List Price: $21.99, IDW Publishing, 9798887240824, June 2024)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Hunger and the Dusk, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson Read More »

First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce

,
First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Pierce’s series is beloved for a reason, and I am SO happy it’s becoming a graphic novel series. A strong female heroine trying to prove herself in a society where women are not welcome in the community of knights. Uplifting, hopeful. Small acts of bravery and bold friendship!

First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce, (List Price: $17.99, Random House Graphic, 9780307931573, July 2024)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce Read More »

Ruby’s Tools for Making Friends by Apryl Stott

, ,
Ruby's Tools for Making Friends by Apryl Stott
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

My favorite kind of picture book is one set in a classroom of both humans and anthropomorphic animals. This book is adorable as it tells the story of Ruby the fox starting a new school and trying to use her skills to make new friends. Turns out friends don’t like you just for your skills — they like you for you!

Ruby’s Tools for Making Friends by Apryl Stott, (List Price: $18.99, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 9781665921640, June 2024)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Ruby’s Tools for Making Friends by Apryl Stott Read More »

Ready or Not by Andi Porretta

, ,
Ready or Not by Andi Porretta
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

This is one of those graphic novels that I think everyone can relate to! Ready or Not follows a group of high school graduates as they are trying to spend one last summer together before their next journey’s begin whether it’s together or apart. It also touches on intense anxiety about the future and the pressures that young adults face with deciding what to do after they graduate school.

Ready or Not by Andi Porretta, (List Price: $14.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781665907026, July 2024)

Reviewed by Juliana Reyes, Bookmarks in Savannah, North Carolina

Ready or Not by Andi Porretta Read More »

Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley

,
Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

I always loved Lucy Knisley’s cat comics — although not a cat owner myself, I did share my life with a very cat-like chihuahua for a decade, and Lucy’s Linney and my Jack had quite a lot in common. Collected for the first time in one volume, these comics are perfect to give a cat lover (or just a lover of any grumpy, particular animals we choose to pamper and adore).

Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley, (List Price: $16.99, Random House Graphic, 9780593177631, July 2024)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley Read More »

The New Girl by Cassandra Calin

, , ,
The New Girl by Cassandra Calin
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

The New Girl is a delightfully funny story about change, perseverance, and embracing those who are different than us. I absolutely fell in love with the adorable pictures and loveable characters. This was so much fun to read, and I highly recommend diving into it!

The New Girl by Cassandra Calin, (List Price: $12.99, Graphix, 9781338762457, June 2024)

Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The New Girl by Cassandra Calin Read More »

This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed

, , , ,
This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

An incredibly timely read! Noor Khan has moved to a new town and is dismayed to discover that many of her new school’s library books have been pulled from the shelf. As she mobilizes her new classmates to fight back, she realizes she might actually be in danger. I loved the way Samira Ahmed cites real books that have been banned over the past few years throughout the book. Perfect for teens to read alongside Fahrenheit 451!

This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed, (List Price: $18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316547840, May 2024)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed Read More »

I Heard by Jaha Nailah Avery

, ,
I Heard by Jaha Nailah Avery
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

So many stories. It reminds me of The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, and the rhymes and cadence of I Heard make it a wonderful pick for a read-aloud. One of our storyteller friends says some picture books are meant to be read with the people sitting right next to you, and others translate up from that to be told to a big crowd of listeners. This one, with its sonorous title, is meant to be proclaimed, and the detail in the illustrations by Walthall begs another go-through to see all the faces.

I Heard by Jaha Nailah Avery, (List Price: $17.99, Charlesbridge, 9781623543822, April 2024)

Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

I Heard by Jaha Nailah Avery Read More »

Built to Last by Minh Lê

, , ,
Built to Last by Minh Lê
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

A delightful story about friendship and the power of imagination! I love that even after their grand plans fail again and again, the two protagonists rely on each other and trust in their friendship. This book is so beautifully illustrated, like all books Dan Santat illustrates!

Built to Last by Minh Lê, (List Price: $18.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9780593569177, April 2024)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Built to Last by Minh Lê Read More »

Would You Dare Put a Diaper on a Bear? by Kinsman-Chauvet, Lillias

, , ,
Would You Dare Put a Diaper on a Bear? by Lillias Kinsman-Chauvet
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.

This silly sing-songy book will have your child bubbling over with laughter. The pictures are funny colorful animals outfitted in diapers and are sure to make your little one cover their mouths trying to keep from giggling. It is the perfect book to help encourage potty training.

Would You Dare Put a Diaper on a Bear? by Lillias Kinsman-Chauvet, (List Price: $18.99, Boxer Books, 9781915801654, April 2024)

Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Would You Dare Put a Diaper on a Bear? by Kinsman-Chauvet, Lillias Read More »

Scroll to Top