SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

February 5, 2014 by Eva Volin

A “What to Read While You’re Waiting for Faith and Rainbow’s Book to Come Out” Reading List

February 5, 2014 by Eva Volin   1 comments

Last Thursday, First Second sent out a press release announcing that Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor and Park, Landline) and Faith Erin Hicks (Friends With Boys, Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong) are teaming up to create a graphic novel together. But, because they are both currently working on other projects, it’ll be quite some time before said book is released.

Both Faith and Rainbow are active participants on Twitter, sharing current obsessions, interacting with fans, and geeking out in general, so I wasn’t surprised when Twitter went wild at the news. I tried to stay out of the congratulatory frenzy, I really did! But when I spotted a text from Faith that said, “To those lovely people saying this will be their first graphic novel, I hope you enjoy our book so much that you’ll keep reading comics!” I knew the Good Comics for Kids group could help.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

“How about we put together a quick “What to Read While You’re Waiting for Faith and Rainbow’s Book to Come Out” list?” I asked. “One that could give Rainbow’s non-comics reading fans an opportunity to get comfortable with the format and introduce Faith’s readers to some really good read-alikes while they wait, and wait, and possibly wait for the new book to be released?”

With the help of Super Librarian Barbara Moon, we have done just that. Below are a list of books that we feel are both great read-alikes for Rainbow and/or Faith’s books and are a good introduction to comics for those readers new to the format. Please feel free to suggest more titles in the comments. We love your feedback!

To read a fun, geek-out filled interview with Rainbow and Faith, visit http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/01-author-on-author-interviews/rainbow-rowell-faith-erin-hicks-qa/

American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang): Danny, a “normal white”, struggles to come of age while facing questions about family vs. stereotype vs. identity. –Barbara Moon

Blankets (Craig Thompson): As snow falls heavy and thick during a cold Wisconsin winter, a young man comes of age as he questions his faith, defines his relationships with his family, and falls in love for the first time. –Eva Volin

Brain Camp (Susan Kim, Lawrence Klaven, and Faith Erin Hicks): Things at this summer camp may be far more creepy than anyone realizes. –Barbara Moon

Breaking Up (Aimee Friedman and  Christine Norrie): “There’s a fine line between a friend and an enemy. One minute there’s all this trust, and laughter, and love. And the next minute . . . there’s hurt. And cruelty. And betrayal.” –Barbara Moon

Friends With Boys (Faith Erin Hicks): It’s one thing to start your freshman year with no friends, no mom at home, and a pack of wild brothers watching your back. It’s another to do all those things while being haunted by a ghost. –Robin Brenner

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I Kill Giants (Joe Kelly and K. M.Ken Niiamura):  Barbara Thorson battles monsters and faces her greatest fear. Easy-follow manga style art which reads from left to right. –Barbara Moon

Mercury (Hope Larson): Two girls separated by 150 years. How can one man change both girls’ lives forever? –Robin Brenner

The old Minx line is accessible to those new to comics. Although the line is no longer in print, most of these books are easy to find at your local library. Titles in the line include Plain Janes (Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg); Good As Lily (Derek Kirk Kim); Re-Gifters (Mike Carey); Emiko Superstar (Mariko Tamaki). –Barbara Moon

Page by Paige (Laura Lee Gulledge): Moving to a new city in the middle of high school and mid-year is a challenge for any teen.  For Paige Turner it’s an opportunity to discover herself. –Esther Keller

Skim (Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki):  Love, crushes, heartache. –Barbara Moon

Translucent, vols 1-3 (Kazuhiro Okamoto): Every middle schooler feels invisible at times, but what do you do when a medical condition slowly turns you translucent? –Esther Keller

Wandering Son, vols 1-6 (Shimura Takako): A sensitive, perceptive story of two transgender children coming to terms with their places in the world. –Eva Volin

War at Ellsmere (Faith Erin Hicks): Unlike most “new girl faces school bully” books, this one rings true on all fronts. The new girl at the boarding school isn’t a milquetoast, the bully isn’t the popular girl, and the twist that comes out of nowhere is so out of this world that it grounds the rest of the story. –Eva Volin

Year of the Beasts (Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell):  Two sisters, one guy, one summer, one nightmare. Told through interwoven comics and prose.–Barbara Moon

****UPDATE****
Plain Janes (Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg) has been reprinted by Vertigo and is very much still available. Woohoo!

Filed under: Book List, Young Adult

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
book listFaith Erin HicksFirst SecondRainbow Rowell

About Eva Volin

Eva Volin is the Supervising Children's Librarian for the Alameda Free Library in California. She has written about graphic novels for such publications as Booklist, Library Journal, ICv2, Graphic Novel Reporter, and Children & Libraries. She has served on several awards committees including the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics. She served on YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee for three years and is currently serving on ALSC's Notable Books for Children committee.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

December 2021

Top Digital Comics of 2021 in the NYC Schools

by Eva Volin

February 2021

Classic Backlist & Readalikes for Kids

by Eva Volin

January 2021

Graphic Medicine for Kids & Teens

by Eva Volin

November 2020

Historical Fact or Fiction?

by Eva Volin

October 2020

You’re Not Alone in Feeling Alone

by Eva Volin

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

U.S. Gov: ‘All Books Must Have Round Corners’

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day – Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories by Jarvis

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Review: Swim Team

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Write What You Know. Read What You Don’t, a guest post by Lauren Thoman

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey Try Something New

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Free Comics, and Resources on COVID-19, in Graphic Form

26 Chapter Books, Middle Grade, and Graphic Novels for Latinx Heritage Month and Beyond

Eight Graphic Works that Offer Fresh Perspectives on the Past | Stellar Panels

First-Person Graphic Memoirs Bring Events to Life for Students

10 Standout Graphic Novels by AAPI Creators

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eva Volin says

    February 6, 2014 at 2:40 pm

    The lovely and talented MK Reed posted a list of cool romance comics and other good YA titles to accompany our list. There’s a bunch of stuff on there that we should have thought of ourselves. Yay! Go take a look: http://mkreed.tumblr.com/post/75813641887/some-good-comics-for-rainbow-rowell-readers-to-start

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023