I’m slowly working my way through my personal challenge of reading Cybils finalists in the categories I like but am not a panelist for. Here are short takes from me on three great choices from the 2022 YA Graphic Finalist list.

Messy Roots by Laura Gao. Balzer + Bray, 2022. ISBN 978-0063067776. Read from a library copy. Ebook available through Libby.

In this warm and intimate memoir, the author shares her life spending the first several years of her life growing up with her grandparents and cousins in Wuhan before joining her unknown parents in Texas.  Laura works hard to fit in, choosing an American name and hiding her Chinese roots as much as possible in her mostly white classes.  But later moves help her grow in regards to her identity – and visits back to Wuhan expose how much she’s changed.  All of this comes to a head in 2020, when Wuhan and everyone from there are blamed for Covid-19.  There’s also a sweet, queer coming out.  Thick, expressive lines with no panel lines add to the coziness and humor of the book, which I very much enjoyed, as did my daughter (age 13). She reluctantly allowed me to return the book, but told me that we would probably need to buy it, as well as some of the White Rabbit candies that feature prominently throughout the book.  

Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti. Random House Graphic, 2022 ISBN 9780593124130 Read from a purchased copy. Ebook available through Libby.

It’s queer friendship – in space!!  Lu is growing up in a peaceful society that travels around doing scientific research on planets unaffected by the ongoing war between the Ever-Blossoming Empire and the Fireback Resistance.  They’re out in the field when a Fireback ship crashes – the only survivor is a young person their own age named Fassen.  Before sending Fassen on his way, Lu sets up a com so that they can talk to each other, no matter where in the galaxy they are.  This friendship anchors them for years, as they grow up in very different cultures – one extremely hierarchical, one radically egalitarian.  Meanwhile, the war expands, leading Fassen to Lu once again.  Can they find a way to keep it from swallowing them both?  I bought this without having read it, knowing that just the premise would be enough for my daughter, who has indeed read it multiple times. This is a warm and joyous look at a kinder world, and a case where if the cover looks appealing to you, you’ll enjoy the book as well.  

Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy. Dial Books, 2021. ISBN 9780593324318.  Read from a library copy. Ebook available through Libby.

In this brief mostly-autobiographical story, the author talks about the identity crisis she had in high school as she went from being the only Muslim girl at school besides her sisters to being at a majority-Muslim school in Dearborn, Michigan.  Now she needs to try to make actual friends, which means figuring out who she is apart from being Muslim.  I really identified with her struggles, and stung with the injustice she feels when her prejudiced teacher gives her her first bad grades, because Huda’s thoughts don’t match with what the teacher thinks she should be feeling as a Muslim.  Huda’s resulting depression causes her mother to panic, which doesn’t help Huda at all. Still, as you can guess from the title, all of this angst is relayed with a light touch and a good deal of humor.  I was able to finish the whole book in half an hour, but the ideas are still resonating with me.  It also reminds me that I’ve been meaning to read her previous memoir, That Can Be Arranged: a Muslim Love Story.