Thursday, December 13, 2012

YALSA 2012 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Every year since 2007 Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) section of the American Library Association (ALA) has created both a long list and a top ten list of "great graphic novels for teens". You can see all the lists here. Previously they had included some graphic novels on their "best books for young adults" lists.

I was recently invited to give a guest lecture on the history of comics and graphic novels for children and young adults, and upon looking at these lists realized that I had read less than half of the book on the top ten lists (and hadn't even heard of others!). As a so called "expert" on graphic novels in libraries I didn't really think that this was appropriate, and decided to read as many of the volumes that I hadn't read as possible.

I'll be reviewing them as I read (or reread) them, and this page will eventually contain links to all the books from 2012. Here's the full list of nominations from 2012, and the top ten list. They occasionally have weird formatting or credits.

Zahra’s Paradise by Amir and Khalil.

Scarlet by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgal.

The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld.

Thor: The Mighty Avenger (Volumes 1-2) by Roger Langridge, Chris Samnee, and others.

Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod.

A Bride’s Story (Volume 1) by Kaoru Mori.

Axe Cop (Volume 1) by Malachai Nicolle and Ethan Nicolle.

Daybreak by Brian Ralph.

Wandering Son (Volume 1) by Takako Shimura.