Book one, Be Confident in Who You Are (2011), offers confidence-building tips, positive affirmations, and concluding summaries of the chapter’s topic (“Doing things just to get people to like you can lead to disrespecting yourself”). Real Friends vs. the Other Kind (January 2012), book two, imparts assertions on the nature of friendship, interpersonal relation skills, avoiding pressure, being there for your friends, and an introduction to the dating world.

The comic book–style format may be appealing to the target audience and help the (sometimes didactic) stories go down easier. Though the information might be obvious to more mature preteens, others will benefit from the rehashing of basic socializing techniques. Available for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and various e-readers for $2.99; also available in print.

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Blocky shapes tell Scott’s story, with blue, green, and orange hues guiding the reader through his past and present.

flashback: Scott discusses his impending move with a buddy

Scott’s portrayal as a bit of a fish out of water in Japan is realistic, as he’s never been exposed to Japanese culture — much less sumo wrestling — before; details about sumo customs come from his coach. Scott soon welcomes the routine of his newfound sport (and a blossoming romance with the coach’s daughter). The novel is a short but poignant read about taking risks and getting used to something different.

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In Doug TenNapel’s Cardboard, Cam Howerton’s out-of-work father is so broke, the best he can do for Cam’s birthday is an empty cardboard box purchased from a toy seller with two mysterious rules: return every unused scrap of cardboard and don’t ask for any more. From the box, father and son construct “Boxer Bill” — who comes to life. When the neighborhood bully gets wind of the cardboard man, he steals the scrap materials and begins turning out an evil empire of cardboard monsters. The graphic novel format, with its dynamic panels and fast pacing, is a perfect vehicle for this imaginative, action-packed tale. (Graphix/Scholastic, 11–14 years)

Two stories unfold in alternating threads throughout Kevin C. Pyle’s Take What You Can Carry. One is the wordless story, rendered in sepia tones, of a Japanese American boy’s experiences in an internment camp. The other, washed in two shades of blue, is the more contemporary tale of a wayward teen caught stealing from a store owned by a Japanese American man. The boy’s punishment involves working weekends at the store, where he slowly comes to respect the owner — who is gradually revealed to be the youth of the first narrative strand. The store owner, too, grows to empathize with the thief, creating a rewarding arc of forgiveness and redemption. (Holt, 11–14 years)

Faith Erin Hicks’s Friends with Boys finds Maggie starting her first day of high school after having been homeschooled her entire life, her mother (her only teacher and the only other female in the house) having left the family suddenly the year before. Maggie has to tackle making friends, figuring out cliques, and finding her place among long-established groups on her own. Hicks excels at showing everyday adventures and contemplative moments in expressive, sharp black-and-white ink work and careful pacing. Evocative mysteries involving a broken friendship and a restless ghost add layers to Maggie’s world. Strong characters and excellent art give teens a girl’s slice of life. (First Second/Roaring Brook, 13–16 years)

In this quiet, atmospheric biographical graphic novel, Arne Bellstorf depicts the brief, intense, real-life love affair between Astrid Kirchherr and Stuart Sutcliffe — the man known as “The Fifth Beatle.” Set in Hamburg, Germany, Baby’s in Black: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles (translated from the German by Michael Waaler) tells of talented young photographer Astrid—drawn as a cool, calm beatnik in a black turtleneck—growing close to the band in its early years. Beatles lyrics and lore are incorporated within the narrative, and the panel compositions re-create the spirit of Kirchherr’s own iconographic Beatles photography. Subtle facial expressions, thick black lines, and swirling ribbons of white cigarette smoke create a mood befitting the time. (First Second/Roaring Brook, 13–16 years)

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From the cover, which features a sled dog caught licking itself, it’s clear this book isn’t going to be pretty. Mush! is harsh, blunt, and rather philosophical. The sled dogs know what they love: running. Their problems arise in the interminable space between runs, when they have time to think and to debate their purpose in life. Their vulnerability seeps out in these conversations, my favorites being those with neurotic Fiddler (despite the spelling mistake):

Joe Infurnari’s illustrations emphasize this vulnerability, with prone positions and nearly-visible bellies. The dogs are drawn with unstable lines placed tenuously near one another, joining to create a unified (yet nuanced) whole, much like the team.

Mush! covers a wide swath of themes, including romance, politics, and perpetuating one’s species.  After years of mating, Buddy is still trying to get Venus to fall in love with him; the reader will cringe at his well-meaning if awkward pick-up lines.

Winston fears he may be the last purebred Samoyed in his genealogical line and wants to mate with another purebred, but there are none on his team.

The bleak, melancholy story is backed by an electric undercurrent of joy: What if the dogs never stopped running?  Could they be “high all the time,” like lead dog Dolly hopes?  Perhaps then, they could live without worries or nagging insecurities. Self-doubt would be eradicated by the need to run and survive.  In Fiddler’s words, “the great thing about starving is, it makes you forget your metaphysical pain.”

This graphic novel stayed with me long after I finished reading. I imagine those dogs out in the snowy wilderness, running their hearts out, not a care in the world.

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