20 Award-Winning Graphic Novels for Your TBR

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When I deliberation of award-winning graphic novels, 2 instantly travel to mind. They are Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series. Although I’m not arsenic well-read successful graphic novels arsenic some, I’ve work some of those. I perfectly adored them for precise antithetic reasons. People urge Bechdel’s memoir truthful often and truthful I ideate you whitethorn person tally crossed it before. If you haven’t work it yet, conscionable present that it mentions suicide. Oseman’s bid besides has an emotionally abusive narration and mentions past experiences of homophobia and bullying. Both are superb reads that I highly promote each scholar to prime up.

For me, I look to spell done phases. For a portion I won’t work galore graphic novels and past abruptly I’m speechmaking a ton. And past thing changes again, and I’m backmost to speechmaking things without galore pictures. It’s odd. However, I find that graphic novels are ever a bully summation to my speechmaking rotation. So that leads maine to my list: you ne'er cognize erstwhile an award-winning graphic caller mightiness beryllium conscionable the happening for your speechmaking life. I person immoderate fantastic ones to urge beneath if you request ideas of wherever to start.

There are besides a assortment of awards successful this list. I tried to take some the champion known ones and immoderate much obscure awards to support you guess– I mean reading. Definitely reading.

Let’s dive into 20 must-read award-winning graphic novels with thing for each benignant of reader.

Cover of Ducks Two Years successful  the Oil Sands

Ducks: Two Years successful the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (Winner of Canada Reads 2023)

As I work this, I had a consciousness of foreboding that things were going to get precise acheronian precise quickly. They did. However, this is inactive a fascinating memoir astir Beaton’s 2 years moving successful the Canadian lipid sands aft graduating from college. In the archetypal fewer pages, she starkly outlines the trouble of staying successful a assemblage that offers fewer viable economical opportunities for young people. She summarizes it truthful succinctly: “It is clip for different bare seat astir the table. It is clip to go.” This was besides 1 of erstwhile President Barack Obama’s favourite books of 2022. Bear successful caput that it discusses intersexual battle and its aftermath, arsenic good arsenic cause usage and addiction.

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Cover of Banned Book Club

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada (Commended Book by the Freeman Book Awards for East and Southeast Asian titles for Children and Young Adults)

This is the communicative of the author’s archetypal twelvemonth astatine assemblage successful South Korea and however she accidentally joined a banned publication nine astatine her caller institution. At turns comic and highly moving, this follows her ain governmental awakening and her gradual realization that it is imaginable to combat against and amended the societal strategy she was calved into. In presumption of content, determination is astatine slightest a notation of intersexual battle (although nary depiction of imaginable circumstances) and besides students were beaten connected the leafage successful a fewer instances.

Cover of They Called Us Enemy

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steve Scott, and Harmony Becker (Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work 2020)

This is astir George Takei’s idiosyncratic acquisition arsenic a kid caught up successful the U.S. government’s detainment and incarceration of Japanese Americans aft Japan attacked Pearl Harbor successful 1941. I urge this publication each the clip and anticipation arsenic galore radical arsenic imaginable volition work it. If you privation to larn much astir this portion of U.S. history, I suggest starting with this publication and astatine the Densho website.

Cover of El Deafo by Cece Bell

El Deafo by Cece Bell (Judy Lopez Memorial Award 2015)

Cece Bell’s beauteous autobiographical publication is truthful fantabulous that I urge it to each ages of readers. Bell follows her puerility and her illness-acquired deafness successful a mode that adjacent precise young readers tin grasp and prosecute with. If you’re looking for much deaf characters, effort these 9 titles with deaf characters oregon these books astir proceeding loss. I besides precise overmuch enjoyed My Life of Language, a memoir from prof of Deaf Studies Paul Ogden.

Cover of The Arrival

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Best Book for Young Adults, American Library Association 2008)

Wordless and captivating, Tan’s publication volition permission you wondering however radical ever negociate to determination from state to state without losing important parts of themselves and their loved ones. Intricate illustrations volition usher readers done a communicative that appears astatine erstwhile profoundly unsocial and inactive hauntingly familiar. Tan is 1 of those authors I support coming backmost to and whose enactment I urge to different readers connected a regular basis.

Cover of Kimiko Does Cancer

Kimiko Does Cancer by Kimiko Tobimatsu and Keet Geniza (Joe Shuster Award for Best Writer 2022)

Young, queer, and of mixed descent, Tobimatsu tells the communicative of her diagnosis and navigation of the aesculapian strategy arsenic a bosom crab diligent astatine 25. She has immoderate truly thought-provoking encounters with aesculapian attraction professionals and their assumptions astir her arsenic a person. A fascinating read, I’m gladsome she survived to archer readers what it was similar trying to unrecorded a semi-normal beingness portion dealing with the genuinely atrocious effects of crab treatment. It is an fantabulous rubric from a Canadian writer and a Filipine-Canadian illustrator.

Cover of Pemmican Wars A Girl Called Echo

Pemmican Wars (A Girl Called Echo vol. 1) by Katherena Vermette, Scott B. Henderson, and Donovan Yaciuk (Prix Aurora-Boréal, Meilleure bande dessinée 2022)

Katherena Vermette is Métis and makes Echo Desjardins the Métis main quality of her graphic caller bid acceptable successful Winnipeg, Manitoba. Echo is simply a precise isolated and withdrawn teen who is intelligibly dealing with immoderate things arsenic she navigates her schoolhouse and location life. As idiosyncratic who grew up acold distant from this character’s experiences, I enjoyed this some for the depiction of her day-to-day beingness and besides for the humanities dreams she has that astir consciousness similar flashbacks.

Cover of My Brother's Husband

My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame (Excellence Prize astatine the 19th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2015)

This rubric has a precise antithetic look and consciousness compared to the others connected this list. The creation benignant strikes maine arsenic much manga than immoderate others present and the muscular antheral characters mostly instrumentality halfway stage. The communicative revolves astir Yaichi Origuchi, a stay-at-home begetter of a small girl, and his deceased brother’s husband, Mike Flanagan. Yaichi has somewhat mixed feelings astir gathering his Canadian brother-in-law and learning much astir his brother’s life.

Cover of The Best We Could Do

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui (American Book Award 2018)

This is different graphic caller that is some humanities and autobiographical. Bui archetypal acceptable retired to chronicle immoderate of her household past and the publication is the effect of those elemental beginnings and what indispensable person seemed alternatively humble efforts astatine the time. I perfectly cannot judge that Bui had ne'er illustrated a comic successful her beingness earlier penning this. It is astonishing and besides shows that determination is inactive anticipation for anyone who has not tried thing similar this before. It boggles the caput that Bui could go truthful adept astatine it and nutrient thing truthful beautiful. This publication was besides chosen arsenic 1 of the U.S. National Endowment for the Art’s “Big Reads” titles and if you similar it, you mightiness look astatine the different books connected the NEA’s archive list oregon the active titles list arsenic determination are immoderate phenomenal choices connected both.

Cover of Himawari House

Himawari House by Harmony Becker (Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature 2022)

Becker illustrated They Called Us Enemy above, utilizing her precise expressive style. Himawari House besides introduces a quality who has ties to Japan, but nether precise antithetic circumstances from those of George Takei’s. The 3 main characters of this caller link successful Japan wherever they survey the connection and culture, portion trying to find themselves and devour tons of delicious Japanese food.

Cover of When Stars are Scattered

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed (Walter Dean Myers Award 2021)

Based connected Omar Mohamed’s acquisition increasing up successful a exile campy successful Kenya, the authors amusement the humanity, utmost poverty, and the inherent difficulties of increasing up nether these circumstances. I find myself recommending this rubric implicit and implicit again. As acold arsenic I know, this is simply a standalone rubric and I truly privation determination were a 2nd portion to it. While I emotion that Mohamed was yet capable to permission his circumstances, I support wondering however pugnacious it indispensable person been to set to beingness successful the U.S. and the afterword wasn’t capable to fulfill my curiosity. I consciousness similar determination is different publication to beryllium written here, but for now, I volition person to fulfill myself by recommending this 1 to whoever volition listen.

Cover of New Kid by Jerry Craft

New Kid by Jerry Craft (John Newbery Medal 2020)

This publication gets recommended a batch and for bully reason. Written from the position of 7th grader Jordan Banks, Craft explores the beingness a non-white kid astatine a predominantly Caucasian backstage school. The main character’s loving parents enroll him successful a prestigious backstage school, Banks begins to consciousness arsenic if helium has to larn to navigate 2 worlds, neither of which does helium acceptable into each that well. This is simply a large rubric for kids and adults. I americium looking guardant to speechmaking the 3rd publication successful the bid School Trip which is present disposable (so hurry up and work books 1 and 2 if you haven’t already!).

Cover of American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese by Gene Yuen Lang (Michael L Printz Award 2007)

I recovered this astatine turns comic and besides precise thought-provoking. I’m inactive not definite astir the Monkey King quality storyline, but it decidedly gave maine parts to chew connected arsenic I tore done and recovered I enjoyed this publication immensely. It is different rubric that I find myself wanting to revisit and urge to others, truthful if you haven’t work it, present is your chance!

Cover of Isla to Island

Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos (School Library Journal Best Book of the Year)

This humanities graphic caller is not precisely wordless; alternatively I would telephone it precise constricted successful the substance it employs to convey its story. The communicative is simply a overmuch needed 1 astir a miss named Marisol whose parents nonstop her distant from post-revolutionary Cuba to a caller location with successful New York City. If you bask this, you mightiness besides effort The Flamingo by Guojing, different graphic caller with precise small substance and a captivating story.

Cover of Swim Team

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas (Longlist, National Book Awards 2022 for Young People’s Literature)

The main character, Bree, has to marque immoderate large adjustments aft moving to a caller school, city, and state. I liked this peculiarly due to the fact that it seemed to tread the important enactment betwixt focusing connected idiosyncratic characters and weaving successful the assemblage truthful well. This is 1 of those titles that I deliberation some grownups and younger readers tin and should read.

Cover of Garlic and the Vampire

Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen (New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids 2021)

If you’re looking for adorable talking vegetables and fruits, and an encouraging depiction of anxiousness that whitethorn assistance immoderate readers spot themselves successful the pages of a book, past look nary further. Although Garlic is simply a chosen to spell connected what she thinks is simply a ngo to face the vampire successful this tales, she gets overmuch much than she bargained for erstwhile she really finds him. This was besides nominated for a 2023 Maine Student Book Award, an grant that is wholly voted connected by students who emotion to read.

Cover of Stone Fruit

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai (Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize 2022)

As soon arsenic I started speechmaking Australian-born Lai’s debut, I was gripped by this consciousness of foreboding. Was it the artwork? Was it the often pained expressions connected the main characters’ Bron and Ray’s faces? I’m not definite but it decidedly struck maine that their narration was either fading oregon wholly moribund. And that determination was a profound nonaccomplishment that would simply person to beryllium dealt with. While determination is nary neat ending, I felt arsenic if I benefited from immersing myself successful their satellite and I connection you the accidental to sojourn it too.

Cover of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant A Memoir

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant: A Memoir by Roz Chast (National Book Critics Circle Award 2015)

This is simply a graphic memoir astir Chast’s past 10 years oregon truthful with her parents arsenic their wellness declined. It is besides astir however she struggled to woody with the world of this declining wellness arsenic their 1 and lone offspring and however surreal she recovered it to beryllium moving done this last reality. Sometimes funny, this is besides a profoundly moving enactment that anyone with aging parents could work and astir apt subordinate to.

Cover of Tangles A Story of Alzheimer's My Mother and Me

Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me by Sarah Leavitt (CBC Bookie Awards for Best Comic oregon Graphic Novel 2011)

This is different award-winning graphic caller that deals with an aging genitor and their declining health. This is besides different fantabulous prime from a Canadian author. What is it with these radical and their insightful and self-reflective selves? Is determination thing successful the h2o up determination successful Canadia land? That is what’s called, right? Just kidding, arsenic idiosyncratic who grew up southbound of that border, I bash not deliberation the h2o is each that antithetic there. However, I bash sometimes wonderment if the literate output of our bluish neighbors whitethorn beryllium overlooked successful examination to American authors, truthful I americium gladsome to bash my portion to item immoderate of these absorbing titles that are connected to what is contiguous Canada.

Cover of Miss Quinces A Graphic Novel

Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo (Pura Belpré Award Winner 2022)

Fajardo does specified a large occupation of making readers emotion the main character, Sue, and perfectly broadside with her adjacent though her loving household conscionable wants to assistance her observe her quinceañera. I mean she conscionable wants to gully comics and work each summer. Is that excessively overmuch to inquire for successful life? I deliberation not! This was besides published astatine the aforesaid clip successful Spanish arsenic Srta. Quinces and it is simply a large work immoderate mode you portion it.


And that is it for my list! If you inactive privation more, you could effort the best graphic novels for beginners (which has a small overlap with my database above) oregon these genre-bending graphic novels. The second of these 2 besides has Taproot: A Story About a Gardener and a Ghost, which I perfectly adored. I indispensable admit that I recovered it a tiny spot scary, but I besides recovered it (mostly) comforting and lovely.

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