Interview, PM Press Blog

My Mom Had an Abortion— A YALSA 2023 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

By YALSA

Members of the 2023 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Blogging Team are:

Kelley Blue, (Coordinator) Director of Youth Services, Portland Public Library; Catherine Outten, California State University; Dakota Hall; Denise Farley; Jacqueline Bush, Stratford Library Association; Jayna Ramsey, Belmar Library; Jean Boughton, Vancouver Public Library; Kaileigh Oldham, Danville Public Library; Mariela Siegert, Downers Grove North High School Library; Ness Shortley; Rachel Johannigmeier; Shaira Rock; Kim Keown Farnsworth (Administrative Assistant)  ; Ninah Moore, Program Officer – Continuing Education, RUSA, American Library Association.   

Nonfiction

*Denotes a Top Ten Title

*Free Speech Handbook: A Practical Framework for Understanding Our Free Speech Protections. By Ian Rosenberg. Art by Mike Cavallaro. 2021. 266p. First Second, hardcover, $28.99 (9781250619754). General Adult. 323.4430853.

A nonfiction graphic covering 10 historical cases and their impact on modern-day questions about free speech in the United States.

The High Desert. Black. Punk. Nowhere. By James Spooner. Art by the author. 2022. 384p. HarperCollins, hardcover, $26.99 (9780358659112). General Adult. B.

Activist, artist, and punk enthusiast James Spooner recounts his teens years growing up biracial in the Mojave Desert.

Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American. By Laura Gao. Art by the author. 2022. 269p. Balzer & Bray, paper, $14.99 (9780063067769). Gr. 10-12. B/973.

Laura Gao’s memoir starts with her immigration from Wuhan at age 3 and follows her up to the current rise of anti-Asian sentiment in the United States.

My Mom Had an Abortion: A Shout Your Abortion Project. By Beezus B. Murphy. Art by Tatiana Gill. 2021. 64p. PM Press, paper, $13.95 (9781629639130). Gr. 7-9. 362.19888.

Teen author Beezus B. Murphy chronicles her evolving understanding of menstruation, reproduction, and abortion with heart and humor.

Other Boys. By Damien Alexander. Art by the author. 2021. 201p. First Second, paper, $14.99 (9781250222817). Gr. 4-6. B/373.1826.

Damien Alexander’s moving graphic memoir covers PTSD, loss of a parent, gender expectations, and bullying from elementary to middle school.

A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality. By Molly Muldoon. Art by Will Hernandez. 2022. 71p. Limerence Press, paper, $7.99 (9781620108598). General Adult. 306.76.

Addresses myths, misconceptions and tropes about asexuality while reminding readers that they aren’t broken if they don’t experience sexual attraction.

Radium Girls. By Cy. Art by the author. 2022. 134p. Iron Circus Comics, paper, $15.00 (9781945820991). General Adult. 363.1799.

In the Roaring Twenties, “ghost girls” working in a watch factory are unknowingly exposed to radium-infused paint.

So Much for Love: How I Survived a Toxic Relationship. By Sophie Lambda. Art by the author. 2022. 297p. First Second, hardcover, $24.99 (9781250785992). General Adult. B/741.5944.

The artist’s memoir of a relationship that started as loving and supportive but turned to violence, anger, and gaslighting.

*Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure. By Lewis Hancox. Art by the author. 2022. 304p. Graphix, paper, $14.99 (9781338824438). Gr.7-9. B/306.76.

A biographical walk through a trans teen’s high school years at the aptly named St. Hell.

When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers. By Ken Krimstein. Art by the author. 2021. 232p. Bloomsbury Publishing, hardcover, $28.00 (9781635573701). General Adult. 920.0092.

This nonfiction collection illustrates the anonymous memoirs of six Jewish teens living in Lithuania on the eve of World War II.

You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things. By Cory Silverberg. Art by Fiona Smyth. 2022. 432p. Triangle Square, paper, $29.95 (9781644210802). Gr. 4-6. 372.372044.

This frank, honest and gentle sex education book is narrated by four middle school students and addresses a wide spectrum of relevant topics with an open heart and mind.