We continue our Best of 2014 staff picked list today with two very popular categories that people of all ages enjoy: young adult books and graphic novels.
Young Adult Fiction
Blue Lily, Lily Blue | Maggie Stiefvater
Blue and her Raven Boy cohorts, continue to search for the Welsh king Glendower — but now they are also looking for Blue’s mother who has gone missing, leaving only a note saying she’s underground.
Stiefvater is a multitalented writer, artist and musician. Listen to the Raven Cycle series on audio to hear some of her music between chapters. -Elizabeth
The Girl from the Well | Rin Chupeco
A teen boy haunted by a malevolent spirit, a 300 year old ghost who tracks down and kills murderers of children, a seemingly evil mother, and a trip to Japan for an exorcism – all make for a story infused with an eerie atmosphere and writing style.
This is my kind of horror: not too horrifying. Instead of grisly details, there is mood aplenty – somber, dark, and foreboding – and the bit of background on Japanese ghost stories made me want to seek out other related material. -Elizabeth
In a Handful of Dust | Mindy McGinnis
Lynn and Lucy have fought hard to survive in a world with very little water, when a deadly polio strain sweeps into the camp. Lucy is forced to flee with Lynn and her journey to find a safe place is fraught with danger.
Simply written yet always building momentum and tension, these books are quick reads that are hard to put down. I appreciated the tough, resourceful female characters in the first book, and the second further illustrates their powerful will to survive. -Elizabeth
Young Adult Graphic Novels
Through the Woods | Emily Carrol
Canadian artist Emily Carrol presents five gorgeously illustrated and deliciously creepy ghost stories; each will chill your bones.
Not only are Carrol’s full color drawings exceptionally well designed and saturated with mood and movement, but her storytelling is perfectly paced to build the horror through each story and as the book progresses. -Elizabeth
Tomboy | Liz Prince
From the age of two, Liz hates anything ‘girly’. As she grows up she is teased, bullied, ridiculed and even beaten up, all the while scorning the typical roles for girls and women.
As a tomboy of sorts myself, I really enjoyed Liz’s story. She describes so perfectly the complete awkwardness and emotional turmoil of middle school years, yet she has always remained true to her own convictions about who she is. -Elizabeth
Graphic Novels &Memoirs
Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? | Roz Chast
In her first memoir, Roz Chast brings her signature wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos, and documents, it delivers comfort and comic relief.
It’s touching, well-wrought, and really conveys what it’s like to care for aging parents in a very different way. -Alan
Ms. Marvel Volume 1, No Normal | G. Willow Wilson
Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City – until she’s suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm!
This was my gateway into the Marvel Universe. This year I’ve finally gotten on the comic/graphic novel bandwagon and this has everything: action, adventure, sci-fi, and a kick-butt heroine! If you love strong female characters you NEED this book! -Carol
The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances | Matthew Inman
Matthew Inman, author of the incredibly popular webcomic “The Oatmeal,” gives us a compilation of comics, focused on his love/hate relationship with running.
I’m a long-time fan of “The Oatmeal,” and I’m drawn to Inman’s quirky, snarky, sense of humor. -Zac
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
