Tall Water

Tall Water is a coming of age teen graphic novel that follows one girl’s journey to Sri Lanka to reconnect with her long-lost mother during the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. The book won the Asian Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature Honor Award in 2026. It was published in August 2025.

The publisher's summary:

Ever since she turned sixteen, Nimmi has wanted to see her mother. Though she has a loving but overprotective father and a budding relationship, she yearns to travel to Sri Lanka to confront the mother who refused to leave the island during a war, not even for Nimmi’s sake. Her father is going back for the first time as a reporter on assignment, but he refuses to take her, deeming Sri Lanka too dangerous.

But then Nimmi's mother appears to her in a dream, asking her to come find her, and Nimmi knows she must go. Her father is livid when he sees her at baggage claim, but by then it’s too late, and he reluctantly agrees to help Nimmi make contact with her mother. In Sri Lanka, Nimmi tags along with her father and his guide, past checkpoints and armed soldiers and increasing hints of the war that rages there.

However, the day after Christmas, disaster strikes and a tsunami ravages the island. Stranded amid the devastation and destruction, can Nimmi reunite with her mother? Through her journey, Nimmi might just learn that the person she most needed to find was herself.

This story is fantastic. I could not put it down. Although only 245 pages, the plot is extraordinary as are the characters. Nimmi is more mature than her sixteen years would allow and she is fearless. It takes guts to plan a last minute trip to a place she has never been before. She had no qualms over taking a long distance flight by herself nor did she seem to feel any uneasiness about meeting her mother for the first time during the planning phase if the trip. Nimmi’s plan was to meet her father at the airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, unbeknownst to him, even though his flight left South Dakota one day earlier. I didn't understand this but, hey, its fiction. Nimmi took a mature stance on her relationship with her boyfriend Daniel. They were planning on attending colleges in different states. Daniel thought a long distance relationship would work but Nimmi, being practical, knew she would end the relationship. 

Nimmi’s father Andrew was protective of her which is why he told her she couldn't accompany him to Sri Lanka. When he saw her at the Colombo airport he was of course surprised but not too upset. He thought she would be safe under certain circumstances. Nimmi’s mother Renuka was not a sympathetic character in my mind. While she was heroic to care for over ten kids in an orphanage, she didn't connect with Nimmi as I expected. Yes, she was thrilled to see her daughter but I felt Renuka cared more about trying to fix Sri Lanka's problems than getting to know her daughter. There were also several secondary characters who were sympathetic so the story has fantastic characters.

The plot was both thrilling and informative. I knew nothing about the 2004 tsunami before reading the book. With the artwork by Dion MBD the readers sees upfront what life is like in rural Sri Lanka as well as the devastation the tsunami caused. I particularly liked the color pallette, which is how I decide on getting a graphic novel. If the colors aren't pretty I probably won't get the book. Another fact I learned from the book is that the Sri Lankan people are resilient. Almost immediately they began to rebuild the orphanage, having already located a safe place for the kids to stay. Nimmi’s maturity shines here as we see her taking care of the kids and contributing to the cooking without anyone asking her to help out.

The novel has so much more than described here. It's one of the best coming of age stories that I have ever read. 5 out of 5 stars.

This Place Kills Me

This Place Kills Me is a YA fictional graphic novel concerning a private girl's boarding school in Massachusetts. The story is set in the 1980s and is told in comics, letters, diary entries, and news articles. It is a page-turning whodunnit that kept me on the edge of my seat. This novel was published in August 2025.

The publisher's summary:  

At Wilberton Academy, few students are more revered than the members of the elite Wilberton Theatrical Society—a.k.a. the WTS—and no one represents that exclusive club better than Elizabeth Woodward. Breathtakingly beautiful, beloved by all, and a talented thespian, it’s no surprise she’s starring as Juliet in the WTS’s performance of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. But when she’s found dead the morning after opening night, the whole school is thrown into chaos.

Transfer student Abby Kita was one of the last people to see Elizabeth alive, and when local authorities deem the it-girl’s death a suicide, Abby’s not convinced. She’s sure there’s more to Wilburton and the WTS than meets the eye. As she gets tangled in prep school intrigues, Abby quickly realizes that Elizabeth was keeping secrets. Was one of those secrets worth killing for?

Abby is the protagonist of the story. She is totally rejected by her classmates because of her appearance. Abby has old fashioned big glasses and is a sloppy dresser. Even her roommate Claire refuses to speak with her. Because she is an outcast, Abby spends all her time outside of classes listening to her walkman. She is a curious person though. When she sees lights from a flashlight from her window in the middle of the night Abby runs outside to see what's happening. She overhears police officers discussing Elizabeth's death on one occasion and on another she finds a classmate trying to kill herself with drugs.

All of her classmates are mean girls. The author does a good job of showing the usual dialogue between them. The word "like" is repeated by them constantly and, of course, they all are huge gossipers. There are several mysteries to solve in this story. How did Elizabeth die, who is distributing drugs and why has Abby been banished to this school by her parents. 

The artwork is the reason I bought the book. The back cover blurb informed me that the plot was a nice mystery but the color palette was what I found enticing. The illustrator, Nicole Goux, used cool tones of pink and blue with a thick black font for the dialogue. The cover design was appealing too. 

I enjoyed reading this book. In fact I read it twice before writing the review. There are some dark elements that might upset readers such as death, suicide, drugs and LGBTQIA issues. I didn't see them as triggering but I am an old lady. Kids may find them troubling.

5 out of 5 stars.

Total Suplex of the Heart

Total Suplex of the Heart was published in 2024 by Humanoids. This 161 page graphic novel is about a young journalist, Georgie, who goes undercover in the local hardcore wrestling scene, exploring themes of identity, toxic relationships, and self-discovery in a male-dominated world. The story is inspired by author Joanne Starer's own experiences.

The publisher's summary:  

Glowing up isn’t the same as growing up.

Georgie’s always been nerdy: Teased by jocks, spending her lunchtime with a comic in hand, and falling in love with wrestling from Saturday nights on the couch with her dad. But that was then – This is now!

She’s out of school, freelancing as a journalist, and hot as heck. In an effort to prove to her mom that she has a “real job,” she goes undercover in the local hardcore wrestling scene to investigate a piece. She’s quickly swept up in the drama, both in and out of the ring. With new friendships developing and potential romance blossoming, she’s riding the wave of attention that temporarily silences her own insecurities. But as girl fights, casual hook-ups, and creepy older men begin to dominate her days, Georgie has to ask herself who really holds the power in her life, and whether she’s happy with where it’s headed.

This was an enjoyable story. It would be nice if it continued with another release. I cannot remember any past comic concerning the wrestling world so the story is unique. Poor Georgie had to endure alot of sexism but she let it all fall by the wayside. The wrestlers who became her friends were always trying to get her into bed and a few of them got lucky. At one point Georgie thought she was pregnant and didn't know who the father might be. It turned out her menses stopped because of her anorexia. She questioned her relationship with Steve. They were living together but Georgie was doing all of the work in the relationship as well as in their business teaching women how to wrestle. 

Georgie was a sympathetic character, the only one in the comic. Her mental health struggles and the trauma from being raised by an incompetent mother scared her. She accepted poor treatment from her friends because she felt that was all she deserved. You just want to hug her. 

Total Suplex of the Heart is an intriguing story. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

Two Tribes

After a late night yesterday I wanted easy reading this morning. I found this full length graphic novel by Emily Cohen. The story is based upon her own life and dissects her two ethnic nationalities: Native American and Jewish.

The publisher's summary:  

In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the complexity, meaning, and deep love that comes from being part of two vibrant tribes.

Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn’t want to talk about him, but Mia can’t help but feel like she’s missing a part of herself without him in her life.

Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma—without telling her mom—to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side.

I enjoyed reading about the Jewish and Muskogee customs. It was fascinating to see how the author wrote into the story Mia's punishment for running away by having to spend time with a rabbi. The rabbi used a study of the Bible story of Jonah to teach Mia a lesson. Jonah ran away from God after refusing to preach gloom and doom and ended up inside a whale. There was also an element of mystery in the story. While Mia was making strides in making her dream come true, I knew that her deception was going to catch up with her soon. Each chapter ending provided enough action to make me think that Mia was finally about to get caught. When she did get caught, Mia admitted her deception. She owned it. You don't see that every day. 

While this book was written for kids aged 8 to 12, there are lessons for adults as well. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars. This is an educational story for everyone.

Supper Club

This cute comic by Jackie Morrow is entertaining and enjoyable. The characters in Supper Club are high school seniors who want to spend the most amount of time together as possible before they graduate. The girls cannot agree on whether to get involved with sports or a school club so they invent the supper club for themselves only. At each meeting they are supposed to bring one dish to share with everyone else.  Nora has taken the lead for the group but they alternate meeting at each other's homes.

The publisher's summary: 

Nora, Lili, and Iris are seniors at Seaside High. Their differing schedules and mounting extracurriculars inspire the girls to form a secret club where they can hang without sacrificing their future aspirations. Enter Supper Club, the delicious solution to their problems. When life starts to crumble like a cookie under the girls' feet, they rely on comfort food to hold it together. Can Supper Club endure life's most challenging recipes without burning to a crisp? 

 

The characters in this story are believable. They accurately portray how high school seniors behave and the dialogue between them is spot on. Each of them has the usual parental issues to deal with. Some do a better job than others. What the adult reader gets is a trip down memory lane. My own school experiences matched what Nora, Iris and Lili experienced. The comic strip panels were colored with primary colors and I love how the author showed their hair flying in the air when they were frazzled.

I received a free copy of the book by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I am happy to say Supper Club is a fantastic read. 5 out of 5 stars.

Chef's Kiss

Chef's Kiss is a coming-of-age graphic novel about a college graduate who majored in English. Ben Cook could not find a job in his chosen field. He applied for jobs as a copyrighter, journalist and proofreader but because he had no job experience, no one would hire him. One day he passes by a restaurant and sees a help wanted sign. Ben decides to apply. After all, he is a gourmet cook at home. However, the restaurant owner requires a series of tests before hiring Ben permanently. With sous chef Liam's help, Ben begins his culinary journey.

Right off the bat I could tell the dialogue between the characters was true to life. It's what you would look for in a novel and it helped to depict the characters and their relationships. There was alot of small talk between them but it was relevant to character development. I got to know each character by the way they spoke, the words they used. There was no exposition. The back story of the expectation of Ben's parents for him was all told in dialogue. 

Chef's Kiss is filled with humor. The taste tester at the restaurant is the owner's pet pig. The back story on how Chef Davis met the pig was fantastical but made me laugh. Ben's crush on Liam is a major component of the story so if you don't like queer YA stories, you will want to skip this one.

5 out of 5 stars.

Exit Wounds

I have been looking forward to finding another Rutu Modan book ever since I read The Property.

In this fiction story Koby Franco, a Tel Aviv cab driver, is contacted by a female soldier, Numi, who is looking for Koby's father Gabriel whom she believes was killed in a suicide bombing at a bus station cafeteria.  Gabriel was also her lover.  Together they follow clues and interview witnesses to the bombing to see if anyone knows whether Gabriel was in fact at the cafeteria at the time of the bombing.

The artwork consists of simply drawn characters with detailed background drawings of buildings.  I liked the use of bright colors.
This is a coming of age story with Koby trying to come to terms with his relationship with his father.  The mystery plot was well thought out and followed the pattern of a normal mystery novel with the usual 3 problems that a protagonist has to deal with in order to solve the mystery. 

I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

The Oracle Code

Marieke Nijkamp's newest book addresses the physical and psychological issues of newly disabled individuals.  The Oracle Code is a fictionalized account of a young girl, Barbara Gordon, who becomes a paraplegic after a shooting accident. Her father places her in a rehab facility in order to learn how to live with a disability.  Manuel Prietano drew the illustrations.

The publisher's summary:

"After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed below the waist, Barbara Gordon must undergo physical and mental rehabilitation at Arkham Center for Independence.  She must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Strange sounds escape at night while patients go missing.  Is the suspicion simply a result of her trauma? Or does Barbara actually hear voices coming from the center's labyrinthine hallways?  It's up to Barbara to put the pieces together to solve the mysteries behind the walls. In the Oracle Code, universal truths cannot be escaped, and Barbara Gordon must battle the phantoms of her past before they they consume her future."

The plot of the book is not only informative regarding the problems of the disabled, but it is also a mystery novel as our protagonist, teenager Barbara Gordon, has to solve a mystery in the center for independent living (CIL) where she resides.  Using the mystery format makes it easier, and more fun, for non-disabled persons to learn about disability.  The author chose her plot well.   The progression of Barbara's character is a highlight of he book.  She solves crimes from her wheelchair using her computer hacking skills and it is through these skills that she sees that she never really changed after her accident.  The secondary characters are not as strong and they do not progress as individuals.  This is Barbara's story.

The artwork enhances the story.  The colors focus on certain characters in each panel.  Only the characters of interest are in full color while the other characters fade into the background by coloring them all in the same color. Manuel Prietano did the drawings. The coloring was done by Jordie Bellaire and the lettering was done by Clayton Cowles.  Their joint effort was successful in telling this story.  In a Q&A with the Disability Visibility Project the author stated that she sent Prietano photos and videos of wheelchairs and other mobility aids so that he could accurately draw them.

Barbara Gordon, a/k/a Oracle, is an iconic disabled character in the DC Comics world.  The Oracle Code is her origin story.  Her transition from Barbara to Oracle happens here.

5 out of 5 stars.

Almost American Girl

Robin Ha is a new author for me. Almost American Girl is her second graphic novel, behind Cook Korean: a Comic Book with Recipes. It tells the story of her emigration to America when she was 14-years-old.

Chuna Ha and her mother have taken many international vacations while they were living in their native Korea. One day Chuna's mother tells her that they are going to Alabama for a visit with one of her mother's friends. Chuna doesn't think Alabama sounds interesting but packs her bags for the trip. After a month in Huntsville, Alabama, Chuna's mother informs her that they are staying here permanently as she is going to marry their host, Kim Minsik. Chuna is horrified.  She hates Alabama and misses her friends in Seoul. She did not even get the opportunity to say goodbye to them or pack up all of her belongings. While her mother arranges for their belongings to be sent to them in Alabama, China, now Robin, begins her awkward assimilation into American culture.

Almost American Girl is a wonderful coming to America story. It is told with so much emotion that the reader can "feel her pain" as she learns English while simultaneously attending school and trying to get along with her step family who ignore her most of the time.  It is easy for native born Americans to understand the immigrant experience by reading this story.

I loved the colorful drawings.  Ha used a lot of color when she was showing her life in America.  When she looked back on life in Korea the author used sepia tones.  You would think that she would have used the sepia for her life in America since she had such a difficult experience adjusting to life here.  However, she did eventually adjust and I assume she now enjoys living in America.

This is a must read especially for young adults.  5 out of 5 stars.

Catherine's War

Catherine's War is a survival story. It takes place at the Sevres Children's Home outside of Paris. The main character, Rachel Cohen, discovers a passion for photography while staying at Sevres.  She has not heard from her parents in months and does not worry about Hitler's war. With her camera she captures in image everything she loves. When the German Army closes in on Paris, Rachel has to change her name and go into hiding.  As Catherine Colin, Rachel has to say goodbye to all of her friends and leave Sevres for safety elsewhere. With her camera, though, she bears witness to her own journey, including the countless people who helped her and other hidden children during WWII.  The story is based upon the author's mother who was a hidden child during the war.

I loved this book.  While the subject matter is sobering, it is light reading because the story is told through the eyes of a child.  Children have a way of just being kids during tough times.  The seriousness of the times, though, is reflected in dialogue among the adult characters.  I enjoyed reading about Catherine's self education on how to take a great photograph.  The reader learns about photographic methods in the fun, easy style of a graphic novel.  Having read a few photography books in my day, I can honestly say that Catherine's War would have been a better introduction to the craft than some of the beginner books that I read.

The history of the hidden children during WWII is not well known. This book was my first introduction to their story and I am glad that I now know a bit about what they went through.  5 out of 5 stars.