Recommendations
On this page you will find lists of recommended graphic novels for teens. Recommendations are from the Young Adult Library Association and San Jose State University’s Professor Pershing. The Young Adult Library Association list includes notable 2015 graphic novels. Professor Pershing’s list includes books she believes should be a part of every library and student's core collection. You can click on any of these titles to read more about them on Goodreads.com.
If we don’t have the book in the library, please visit the resource page to find out where you can find the book. You can also visit the contact page to suggest a graphic novel for the library. We hope to have all of these titles in the library soon!
Non-Fiction
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Above the Dreamless Dead: World War I in Poetry and Comics, Chris Duffy
Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, Box Brown
The Boxer: The True Story of Holocaust Survivor Harry Haft, Reinhard Kleist
The Dumbest Idea Ever!, Jimmy Gownley
El Deafo, By Cece Bell
The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, Vivek J. Tiwary
Gandhi: My Life is My Message, Jason Quinn
The Great American Dust Bowl, Don Brown
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood: A World War I Tale, Nathan Hale
I Remember Beirut, Zeinia Abirached
Shackleton, Nick Bertozzi
Sisters, Raina Telgemeier
Strange Fruit – Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History, Joel Gill
Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir, Liz Prince
Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story, Peter Bagge
Fiction
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Adventure Time, Ryan North
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake, Natasha Allegri
Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Alex + Ada vol 1, Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn
All Star, Jesse Lonergan
All You Need Is Kill, Ryosuke Takeuchi
Bad Machinery, John Allison
Baltimore vol 3: A Passing Stranger and Other Stories, Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Barbarian Lord, Matt Smith
Batman: Black and White. Vol 4, Various authors
Batman ’66. Vol. 1, Jeff Parker
Beautiful Darkness, Fabien Vehlmann
Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread, Nathan Edmondson
Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem, Steve Niles
Brilliant, vol. 1, Brian Michael Bendis
Buzz, Ananth Panagariya
Cast Away on the Letter A, Fred
Cleopatra in Space. Book One: Target Practice, Mike Maihack
Down Set Fight!, Chad Bowers and Chris Sims
47 Ronin, Mike Richardson
The Gigantic Beard that was Evil, Stephen Collins
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
In Real Life, Cory Doctorow
Les Miserables, Victor Hugo and Crystal Silvermoon
Mara, Brian Wood
Moonhead and the Music Machine, Andrew Rae
Ms. Marvel: V.1. No Normal, G. Willow Wilson
My Little Monster, Robico
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Volume 5, Katie Cook
My Love Story!: Vol.1, Kazune Kawahara
Red Sonja.Vol 2:The Art of Blood and Fire, Gail Simone
The Return of Zita the Spacegirl, Ben Hatke
Rust vol 3:Death of the Rocket Boy, Royden Lepp
Sally Heathcote: Suffragette, Mary M. Talbot
Seconds: a Graphic Novel, Bryan Lee O’Malley
The Secret Service: Kingsman, Mark Millar
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Takaya Kagami
The Shadow Hero, Gene Luen Yang
Silver Surfer. Vol. 1: New Dawn, Dan Slott
Sing No Evil, JP Ahonen
Summer Wars, By Mamoru Hosoda
This One Summer, Mariko Tamaki
Three Thieves, Scott Chantler
Through The Woods, Emily Carroll
Trillium, Jeff Lemire
The Undertaking of Lily Chen, Danica Novgorodoff
Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki, Mamoru Hosoda
The Woods. V.1: The Arrow, James Tynion IV
World Trigger, Daisuke Ashihara
X-Men: Battle of the Atom, Brian Michael Bendis and others
Classics/Gamechangers
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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller
A Contract with God, Will Eisner
Watchmen, Alan Moore
American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman
Y: The Last Man Volume 1, Brian K. Vaughan
Ghost World, Daniel Clowes
Fables: Legends in Exile Volume 1, Bill Willingham
Building Stories, Chris Ware
Memoir/Personal Stories
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Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast
My Friend Dahmer, Derf Backderf
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Marjane Satrapi
Stitches, David Small
Blankets, Craig Thompson
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Alison Bechdel
Maus 1, Art Spiegelman
Ethel and Ernest, Raymond Briggs
Our Cancer Year, Harvey Pekar
Rosalie Lightning, Tom Hart
History/Non-Fiction
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March: Book One, John Lewis
Boxers & Saints, Gene Luen Yang (This is two books, but you really have to read them both)
Warren Commission Report, Dan Mishkin
The Influencing Machine, Brook Gladstone
Safe Area Gorazde, Joe Sacco
Race to Incarcerate, Marc Mauer
Pyongyang, Guy DeLisle
Green River Killer, Jeff Jensen
Palestine, Joe Sacco
Out on the Wire, Jessica Abel
Professor Pershing's Favorites
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Saga Volume 1, Brian K. Vaughan
The Arrival, Shaun Tan
Asterios Polyp, David Mazzucchelli
The Property, Rutu Modan
Pretty Deadly Volume 1, Kelly Sue Deconnick
Shortcomings, Adrian Tomine
This One Summer, Mariko & Jillian Tamaki
Lazarus Volume 1, Greg Rucka
Mind the Gap Volume 1, Jim McCann
The Sculptor, Scott McCloud
Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy, Noelle Stevenson
Kill My Mother, Jules Feiffer
Marvel & DC
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Batman: The Long Halloween, Jeph Loeb
Superman for All Seasons. Jeph Loeb
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man Volume 1, Brian Michael Bendis
Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal, G. Willow Wilson
Hawkeye Volume 1, Matt Fraction
Daredevil: Born Again, Frank Miller
All Star Superman, Grant Morrison
Astonishing X-Men,Joss Whedon
Batwoman Volume 1: Hydrology, J.H.Williams III
Marvel 1602 Volume 1, Neil Gaiman
Batman ‘66 Volume 1, Jeff Parker
Runaways Volume 1, Brian K. Vaughan