Get into the spooky spirit with some great books and graphic novels that you should check out and read on or around Halloween!

We All Fall Down by Natalie D. Richards
We All Fall Down follows two childhood best friends, Theo and Paige, who one night decide to go to a party at the riverbank under the old walking bridge. Theo has always been impulsive but he hasn’t been sure about telling Paige how he feels. He decides the party is the perfect place to tell her.

Paige has had a crush on Theo since they first met but she thinks her feelings are one-sided so she’s decided she’s going to move on and flirt at the party. Except a fight breaks out and when Paige tries to intervene, Theo hits her in the face with his fist. Going forward, all Theo and Paige want to do is forget that night but strange forces keep pulling them back to the bridge. Something or someone is out there determined to make them remember and pay for what they did.

We All Fall Down is a well-written gripping thriller that has well developed characters, an interesting premise, a focus on friendship and great mental health representation. A definite must read for this spooky season.

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
Rules for Vanishing follows Sara, whose sister, Becca went missing a year ago in the woods. In their town, legend has it that once a year a road opens up and the ghost of Lucy Gallows calls travellers onto it. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her friends to play the game and find the ghost of Lucy Gallows, Sara believes this is the only way to find Becca and she and her friends decide to play the game. Together, they have to join forces and try their best to survive and come out alive on the other side of the road. But the road is very unforgiving and many have not survived it.

Marshall weaves a well-written thrilling tale that is told in multimedia format. The thriller is hard to put down and is full of twists and turns. Furthermore, it is full of diversity as it features characters of different races and sexualities in addition to portraying characters with disabilities. Rules for Vanishing is a thrilling unputdownable novel that will keep readers guessing what is really going on until the very end.

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee
Séance Tea Party is a middle grade graphic novel that follows Lara, who after watching her circle of friends fade away as they grow up and suddenly become interested in other things is determined to stay a child forever and have fun on her own when a tea party leads Lora to discover Alexa, a ghost who haunts her house and the two soon become best friends.

Yee tells a beautifully illustrated story that has a unique and interesting plot and teaches many important messages about friendship, growing up, and growing older.

Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang
Paper Girls follows a group of four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls who while out delivering papers on the morning after Halloween, witness their town being invaded by a mysterious force from the future. The girls are unwillingly caught up in the conflict and must band together to figure out what is going on.

The series features a stunning art style, is fast-paced, full of action, has an interesting plot, and a great message about friendship. Furthermore, the series also explores themes of growing up and accepting yourself.

The series is also set to be adapted as a TV show by Amazon Studios.

Sheets by Brenna Thummler
Sheets follows Marjorie Glatt, a 13-year-old girl who runs her family laundry business following the death of her mother and Wendell, a ghost who died young and misses the human world. Their two worlds collide when Wendell appears at the laundromat Marjorie runs and at first neither is happy about it but eventually a friendship forms between them and they must figure out what is going on with Wendell.

Overall, Sheets features a fantastic art style, the characters are authentic, and the plot is interesting.

Delicates by Brenna Thummler
Delicates is the sequel to Sheets and follows Marjorie Glatt, whose life hasn’t been the same ever since she discovered a group of ghosts hiding in her family’s laundromat and became friends with Wendell, a young ghost. When Marjorie finally gets accepted by the popular kids at school, she starts to worry that she’ll be labelled a freak if anyone learns about her secret ghost friends and so decided to keep Wendell’s ghost identity a secret and Wendell begins to feel more invisible than he is.

Eliza Duncan is Marjorie’s classmate who has an interest in finding and photographing ghosts. Due to her interests, Eliza feels as an outsider, invisible and begins to feel like a ghost herself. Marjorie must come to terms with the price she pays to be accepted by the popular kids and must decide whether losing Wendell is worth it and if she is partially to blame for the bullying Eliza endures.

Delicates is a great graphic novel that features beautiful illustrations and also tells a strong story about fitting in, doing what’s right, friendship and mental health. Overall, the graphic novel is a great read with an important message.

On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
On A Sunbeam is a graphic novel that follows Mia, the newest addition to a crew that works in space by rebuilding broken-down buildings and restoring the past. This graphic novel shifts from Mia’s present as an adult to her past at the boarding school she attended as a teen where she fell in love with Grace, only to lose touch after Grace suddenly left the school. Now, as an adult, Mia, with the help of her crewmates tries to find her high school sweetheart.

Walden weaves a compelling multigenerational story full of diverse characters (a non-binary character and a character with disabilities are at the forefront of the story) that accurately portrays lost love, found family, growing up and becoming an adult with beautiful imagery as the background. Overall, On A Sunbeam is a well written story with memorable characters and stunning art that will leave readers wanting more.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
Pumpkinheads is a graphic novel that follows two high school seniors named Deja and Josiah who work at the Pumpkin Patch every fall. This fall is different because they are seniors and it will be their last time working at the Patch. Thus, they set out on an adventurous night.

This graphic novel is the perfect fall and Halloween read as a pumpkin patch is the backdrop of the entire story. The colour palette is vibrant and sets up the perfect Halloween atmosphere whereas the characters and the relationships are well developed. Pumpkinheads is an adorable sweet read that will have readers smiling and wanting more beyond the last page.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu
Mooncakes follows a hard-of-hearing bisexual witch named Nova Huang who works at her grandmas’ bookshop and her non-binary childhood werewolf friend (and crush) Tam Lang as they try to solve a mystery in their town.

Mooncakes is a very diverse story as it features Asian and Jewish characters, a bisexual hard-of-hearing witch, a non-binary werewolf, and two lesbian witches. Furthermore, the plot is enthralling and fast-paced and the background art style is beautiful. It’s the perfect read to get into the spirit of Halloween!

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 9 YA & Middle Grade Books and Graphic Novels To Read On or Around Halloween! appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

If you’re worrying about being behind schedule too, you’re in the right place! Below there are ten graphic novels that can get you out of the reading slump and push your reading challenge. All of them are fun, quick reads and all feature LGBT characters in prominent roles.

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki (writer) & Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (artist)

This is not only a great, engaging young adult graphic novel, it’s also very important. While seemingly being just a romance, it actually tackles issues which often seem to be overlooked in stories for and about teens. The major arc is about Freddy – who mentions multiple times that she’s a lesbian and that alone is groundbreaking – and the titular Laura Dean who breaks up with her, only to try and get back together days after. The book isn’t shy in admitting that it’s a toxic kind of relationship and really, it’s all about Freddy learning that she deserves better.

Apart from the two girls, there’s a whole array of other LGBT characters with enough page-time to become actual people for the readers: an interracial gay couple Freddy is friends with and the lesbians working at the restaurant Freddy works at, just to name a few.

Taproot by Keezy Young

Taproot is one of those slow, calm stories that you fall in love with easily. But it also offers a plot twist that involves an actual death ripper, so really, it’s not just roses and lovely smiles. Hamal, the main character, can see ghosts and his whole life seems to be about chatting with them and tending to plants at the flower shop he works at. And as we learned from every necromancy novel out there, at some point the balance in the world must be restored.

But this is a story for LGBT readers first of all, so there’s no ‘bury your gays’ trope, even if it might look like it for a moment. That softness of the plot also works perfectly well with the art, which is all round edges and pastel colours. Truly the thing to read right about now, when we’re all a little bit more stressed than usually. 

Midnighter and Apollo by Steve Orlando (writer) & Fernando Blanco (artist)

Midnighter and Apollo also deals with death but in a completely different way than Taproot. Some of it comes from this being a superhero comic, some from it being an adult book. There’s a lot of blood and people dying. But in the true superhero fashion, only the bad guys perish.

The plot is actually a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, but a happy one where Orpheus doesn’t turn back and instead gets what he wished for. It’s a great idea on its own, but especially groundbreaking when it’s about two gay superheros.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker (writer) & Wendy Xu (artist)

Mooncakes is a sweet, lovely story with werewolves and witches, and it comes with a message about the importance of nature and how we should all play our part in protecting it. And maybe here the world mainly needs protection from demons and their worshippers, but the lesson still stands that Mother Nature will be kind to us, if we’re kind to her.

The novelty here is that this magical but also pretty normal world is completely void of homophobia. The love interest to Nova is her non-binary childhood friend and both of them are Chinese-American. It’s just an incredibly heartwarming story.

Goldie Vance by Hope Larson (writer), Brittney Williams & Sarah Stern (artists)

Goldie Vance is a super fun middle grade graphic novel, and if you’ll read the first volume, you will definitely want to read all the rest! It perfectly blends the aesthetic of the 50’s with absolutely outrageous mysteries, and gives us a protagonist that’s impossible not to love from the very first page. Goldie lives at a hotel with her dad, who’s the manager, and what she likes to do in her free time is help the private detective hired by the hotel. She also has a burning passion for sports cars. Truly, Sherlock Holmes could learn so much from her… As the story progresses, she also finds a girlfriend with those ‘John Travolta in Grease’ vibes.

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

On a Sunbeam offers a special kind of respite for LGBT readers and one that’s not usually easy to find. Pretty much all the characters, not just the main cast but even the side ones who are only there for a few pages, are sapphic. It’s a revolutionary concept!

The story works in two different timelines: Mia’s journey to find peace & love and flashbacks of Mia at school falling in love for the first time. In the present, Mia works with a team that’s tasked with restoring old places all over the galaxy, and they travel from one to another on fish-like space ships. It’s here among the crew that she found true family and learned how to be herself. Probably one of the most wholesome books you will ever read.

Joyride by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly (writers), Marcus To & Irma Kniivila (artists)

The biggest strength of Joyride are its characters. If you’re a fan of the found family trope, this is definitely a book for you. They’re all very well fleshed out, with their own agendas, and most importantly: they’re allowed to make mistakes and to learn from them. This truly is a story of growth.

Joyride feels very fresh, mainly thanks to the fact that the authors really nailed down teens’ voices. But also the plot itself, with how action-pact it is, while always remembering it’s about teens. Their first stop in the journey through the galaxy is a shopping mall…

The sapphic relationship is only hinted at in the first volume but it grows so much in the next two! It also progresses very naturally and the girls actually depend on each other and face some difficulties together.

Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer

If you want a book that will make you want to smash the patriarchy and eat the rich, this is it. The whole thing is just about women, including trans women, and their love for each other. This is a world where royals give away their daughters to a person whose gladiator will win in battle. Of course, instead of on a Roman arena, the battles take place in space & the gladiators have help of absolutely outrageous technology. But don’t be fooled, this story is not going in the direction that simple premise sounds like – after all, it is a story about women.

Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy by Joamette Gil (editor)

Heartwood being an anthology (of only ownvoices stories!) means that everyone will find something here. The comics all use forest imagery in one way or another, but they’re very different in style and it’s impossible to mix them up. There are cute teenage romances, stories about what it means to be lonely, funny stories, a little bit scary stories… The range that this anthology has!

Bloom by Kevin Panetta (writer) & Savanna Ganucheau (artist)

Bloom is a delicate coming-of-age story of a Greek gay boy. It’s kind of messy, in a way that life is: there are many bumps and detours, many unfortunate accidents and people making mistakes. It leaves the reader with a feeling that all their emotions are valid.

The relationship between Ari and Hector is treated as something precious, something that is worth all the work they both put in. It’s also a catalyst for change and growth for Ari, but it’s never portrayed as just Ari changing for his boyfriend. Rather, the boyfriend is a good, calming influence on him. It’s a very tender (love) story and the art in all shades of blue only amplifies that.

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post LGBT Graphic Novels To Boost Your Reading Challenge appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

One of the best things that has happened in the bookish world over the past couple of years is the boom in diverse fantasy and I am so here for it! As a huge supporter of #weneeddiversebooks, I’m here to shake you hard, call upon you gently, and shove these books in your face in an attempt to make you read these wonderfully diverse YA fantasy novels!

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Set in an alternate 1800s Paris, The Gilded Wolves features a complex magic system and an incredible history! The writing is delectable and readers will be a nervous trainwreck throughout the whirlwind of robberies, heists, and constant danger. Doesn’t that sound fun?

Still unconvinced? Well the book also features a group of disaster children who come together to be an adorable but found family. Bonus point is there is diversity here, there, and everywhere. There is an Indian dancer with a hidden ability, an autistic Jewish prodigy with ambitions of her own, a chaotic bisexual Slytherin, and a Filipino/Spanish bisexual history geek. Can you hear my heart explode with happiness?

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

There are badass females, wonderfully written female friendships, dialogues with 300% sass, and action scenes that will make the reader jump around!

Leigh Bardugo being an absolute queen can write so much diversity into a single book and not have it feel like diversity for the sake of ticking the boxes. The Amazonians themselves are so wonderfully diverse. Then there’s Alia who has a Greek father and an African-American mother, Nim has Indian roots and is bi, and Theo is a nerdy Mediterranean guy who is just so endearing.

As the rule is with any Bardugo book, this book will make you laugh, cry, and all the while root for the lovely band of misfits.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Mooncakes is a perfect mix of magic, witchcraft, casual diversity, warm fuzzy feels, and adorable art. Books with modern witches are the aesthetic the whole of Tumblr is screaming for. The lovely graphic novel delivers all that and more; the cherry on the top being the beautiful art.

The main character Nova is Chinese-American, queer, and lives with her badass and super sweet grandmothers who are a couple. And they’re a family of witches! They run a bookshop that also sells witchcraft books. There are books that bite, archdemons, spell inventing, cute spirits in the forest, and more!

Tam is Nova’s non-binary Chinese-American crush from her childhood and they’re just super adorable and cute. Also Nova has a hearing disability and wears hearing aids and I loved how the book acknowledges the trouble she has with them.

Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Here is another book with modern witches, but one that is a lot darker than Mooncakes. An urban fantasy with Celtic mythology, it mainly follows Dayna who suffers from somatic OCD as a result of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town where her father is the Reverend.

Buying potion ingredients after school, discussing schoolwork while brewing potions, wearing good luck charms to school; the modern witch aesthetic speaks to my soul.

The story deals with a lot of different friendships and relationships; both good and bad and it has multiple morally grey characters making the character dynamics all the more interesting. It is a super diverse and witchy book replete with badass females, found families, and a fair share of mythology.

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Once again we have another witchy novel, this time with brujas, Deadthday celebrations, and magical lands between the dead and the living. Most, if not all, characters are PoC plus we have a bisexual protagonist and a lesbian main character.

There are so many characters in the story and each had their own voice, you could never mistake one for another. The imagery is beautiful and the world building is on point. The world of Labyrinth Lost is so interesting and complex that you’d get sucked in at page one, right off the bat.

It’s a well written wonderfully diverse story with memorable characters who’ll stay with you long after you’ve closed the book. If you love adventures across new realms and enjoy reading about sassy and interesting characters, this book is for you.

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Fun fact – the author, Corinne Duyvis, is the one who first came up with the term and the hashtag #OwnVoices on Twitter!

This book deserves applause for the beautifully diverse characters the author has created. There is so much racial, sexual, and ethnic diversity in this book, but this is not an “issue” book. This is a book with well-written characters who just happen to be wonderfully diverse.

Amara, the female protagonist is mute (due to having her tongue removed as a child). Nolan, the male protagonist, has a prosthetic leg and suffers from ‘seizures’ when he is sucked into Amara’s world. They are uniquely bound to each other despite living in two different worlds. The plot is about how they deal with this connection while also handling their respective problems in their own worlds.

Unique, diverse, and engaging, it’s a standalone that’s not to be missed.

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

This is an urban fantasy about an artist finding out about her family’s magical history and trying to understand her powers. The best part of the book is undoubtedly the magic using which art can be brought to life.

Sierra Santiago finds the street art around her locality fading and moving, making her dig a little deeper into what happened to her grandfather all those years ago before he became almost comatose. There is Caribbean magic, Spanish customs, and all the diversity that comes with being in a cosmopolitan Brooklyn.

The book is fast-paced; like breakneck fast and the plot jumpstarts from literally the first line. It’s a solid first book introducing us to a diverse cast of characters, a wonderful magic system, and leaves readers asking for more.

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A walled city surrounded by the desert of sand and steel, watched by Life and Death. That would be an underrated and simplistic way of describing it. Elysium is the city the two sisters, Life and Death are betting over. They are betting over it’s survival in the harshest conditions trying to tip the scales in their favour by using their wildcard.

Author Kate Pentecost plays with tropes, teases us with the idea of cliche tropes but before we can groan about it, she reinvents the whole trope and gives us something unique. There is Sal, the orphaned main character who is something of an outsider within Elysium. There is Asa, the demon in human form, something of a chosen one, a wildcard who appears pretty much out of nowhere at the Elysium. There is so much chance this could have been “orphan girl meets mysterious stranger boy and goes lovey eyed”. Readers almost expect that to happen but the brilliant story teller that is Pentecost turns it all around and if you want to know exactly what she does; READ. THE. BOOK.

Scavenge The Stars by Tara Sim
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Scavenge The Stars is a genderbent retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo! The protagonist Amaya is Indian and has been sold into servitude on a debtor ship but, when she accidentally rescues a stranger, she becomes entangled in a dark mystery; one that might just help her exact revenge for the way her family was wronged. The other protagonist, our hot mess Cayo is East Asian and as the author mentions in her mood board on Twitter; a chaotic bisexual.

Tara Sim takes a classic story and turns it into something altogether new. Scavenge the Stars may be a story of revenge, but it deals with so much more. If you love diverse characters, flawed protagonists, endearing secondary characters, and a dash of political intrigue, this is the book for you.

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A retelling of both the age old fairytale Red Shoes and the very real historical epidemic of 1518’s dancing plague, this is a super unique and utterly enchanting story of prejudice, knowing your roots, and friendships.

The story switches between Strasbourg in 1518 and the current day, exactly five centuries later. In 1518, Lavinia and her little family fall under the suspicion of having caused the dancing plague and in the current day Rosella Oliva is stuck with red shoes that make her dance and won’t come off her feet.

As with all of Anna-Marie McLemore’s books, this too is beautifully diverse in every which way. Rosella and Emil in current day are dealing with their family histories and Romani culture in their own way while Lavinia and Alifair and dealing with being Romani and queer in 1518. The story deals with a lot – racism, oppression, and seclusion of those whom the society deems as “other”, but it also deals with staying true to who you are and standing up against a society that tries to erase you.

Have you read any of these books? Any diverse fantasy reads you would recommend? Tell us in the comments below!

The post 10 Diverse YA Fantasy Books That You Should Read appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

At first glance, when you look at Mooncakes you think “a book about a witch and a werewolf, baking, and…magic?” Well, you’re not wrong, but it’s so much more than that.

Mooncakes is an own-voices graphic novel following Nova and Tam who are both Chinese American, queer, and from unconventional families. Tam is non-binary and goes by they/them, while Nova is hard-of-hearing and an orphan who is being raised by her grandmas.

It’s a story about these two teens who are trying to figure out who they are, and about dealing with two different (but equally painful) traumatic events in their lives. Nova and Tam are there for each other. They’re so supportive and loving and it’s beautiful. Reading about that made my heart flutter and put the biggest smile on my face.

This sweet, wholesome graphic novel is not only chock full of representation, it also has some action! The main plot of the book is that there is a demon trying to capture Tam, a werewolf, to do werewolf magic…for a cult. Yup, a cult. Tam runs away and to their childhood town where they see their childhood friend, Nova who is a witch. As Nova tries to help Tam defeat the demon-cult, old feelings start to arise and they begin wondering if they should be more than just friends.

No matter what, but I can’t seem to get over how insanely adorable this story is! Accompanied by Wendy Xu’s art, it is a recipe for a stunning graphic novel.

If I haven’t already sold you, it’s a queer, magical, paranormal, and a smiling-so-hard, get-you-through-a-bad-day kind of graphic novel…what more could you want?!

Mooncakes is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of October 15th 2019.

Will you be picking up Mooncakes? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

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