Hot Summer Reads

The heat wave that’s been gripping most of our country has technically broken, or at least The Weather Channel isn’t currently predicting any highs in the 90s in Pittsburgh’s near future.  That’s fantastic news to me because I really don’t function well at those temperatures.  I get irritable and restless, but I can’t do anything but lay on the couch, and my attention span is completely shot.  I basically just try to keep myself as distracted as I can and hope the worst of the weather passes quickly.

But of course, this heat wave was in no hurry to move on, and I’m afraid my brain has literally melted and run out of my ears.  Since there’s no way I can focus on an entire full-length book right now, I’ve been reading a lot of graphic novels.  (In fact, I’ve mentioned how perfect they are for just such an occasion before.)  Here are a few of my recent favorites -

Luz Sees the Light by Claudia Davila

Luz lives in a world where power outages are occurring more and more often, and gas prices are soaring.  As she begins to understand why these things are happening, she decides she wants to do something about it – start a community garden in an abandoned lot.  But can she convince the neighborhood to help her?

The Littlest Pirate King by Jason B.

A ghost ship full of long-dead pirates has been roaming the seas for years, looking for a way to end their miserable existence and move on to the next.  But in the meantime, they maintain the traditional pirate lifestyle of killing and plundering other ships.  When they discover a living baby has survived one of their raids, they decide to keep him.  Of course, it’s only a matter of time until the boy grows up…

Nursery Rhyme Comics, edited by Chris Duffy

Each of the 50 nursery rhymes in this collection is illustrated by a famous cartoonist.  I was really impressed by several of the stories, but my favorite was probably Lucy Knisley’s take on “The Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe.”

Freshman: Tales of 9th Grade Obsessions, Revelations, and Other Nonsense by Corinne Mucha

Annie’s just started high school, and it’s already not going well.  Her old best friend has gotten weird and isn’t speaking to her, and she’s not completely comfortable with her new friends yet either.  Her brother convinces her that freshman year sets the course for the rest of your future, but she can’t even figure out what she’s good at.  She’s terrible at sports, and she’s not sure about acting either.  Even her love life seems hopelessly doomed.  Can Annie get it together before it’s too late?

Have you read any good graphic novels (or anything else) lately?  Make sure you sign up for Teen Summer Reading and log them, so you can be eligible for fabulous prizes!

-Denise