YALSA Announces Great Graphic Novels for Teens
While the awards are announced at ALA Midwinter, often the Best of Lists are quietly released, though the announcements might be missed.
Among the many “Best of” selection lists is YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens.
Of 108 nominated titles, only 78 made it to the final list, which is geared for teens ages 12-18-years-old. This year, the nonfiction side of the list was quite long, including a few notable memoirs, such as Raina Telgemeir’s Sisters, Cece Belle’s El Deafo, which also is a Newbery honor, and Liz Prince’s Tomboy.
5 of the titles that made it on the list coincided with the Good Comics for Kids’ picks for the Top 10 Graphic Novels of the year.
In addition, the committee chooses a Top 10 from their final list.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
- Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale. By Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Illus. by Francesco Francavilla.
- Bad Machinery V.3: The Case of the Simple Soul. By John Allison. Illus. by the author.
- 47 Ronin. By Mike Richardson. Illus. by Stan Sakai.
- In Real Life. By Cory Doctorow, illus.by Jen Wang.
- Ms. Marvel: V.1. No Normal. By G. Willow Wison. Illus. by Adrian Alphona.
- Seconds: a Graphic Novel. By Bryan Lee O’Malley. illus. by the author.
- The Shadow Hero. By Gene Luen Yang. Illus. by Sonny Liew.
- Through The Woods. By Emily Carroll. Illus. by the author.
- Trillium. By Jeff Lemire.
- Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki. By Mamoru Hosoda. Illus. by Yu.
You can see the entire list here.
Filed under: Graphic Novels, News

About Esther Keller
Esther Keller is the librarian at JHS 278, Marine Park in Brooklyn, NY. There she started the library's first graphic novel collection and strongly advocated for using comics in the classroom. She also curates the Graphic Novel collection for the NYC DOE Citywide Digital Library. She started her career at the Brooklyn Public Library and later jumped ship to the school system so she could have summer vacation and a job that would align with a growing family's schedule. On the side, she is a mother of 4 and regularly reviews for SLJ and School Library Connection (formerly LMC). In her past life, she served on the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee where she solidified her love and dedication to comics.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
A JUST ONE FLAKE Preorder Secret
Apply for the Bechtel Fellowship, You Clever Librarians Out There!
Superman vs. Meshi | Review
Grief, Hope, and Bittersweet Endings, a guest post by Victoria Wlosok
The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving
ADVERTISEMENT