70 Books Like Lumberjanes Original Graphic Novel

The City of Lucille has gotten rid of all its monsters.

That’s what Jam, a teenage trans girl, believed until the demonic-looking Pet emerged from one of her mother’s paintings. But despite their monstrous appearance, Pet isn’t the monster, but came forth to hunt a monster already living among the people of Lucille undetected. 

Pet contains vivid imagery, powerful themes, and a sensitive and brave protagonist. Be bold. Be vigilant. Monsters never entirely go away because we are the monsters.

I will never get sick of hearing people’s roller derby names. I absolutely flew through this book. I mean, as sports go, roller derby has gotta be one of the coolest! The first in this series follows Dynamic Duo Kenzie (aka Kenzilla) and Shelly (aka Bomb Shell) as they round out their derby team. They both have big expectations for how everything will come together, but, of course, getting more girls involved in a duo leads to new, thorny dynamics.

I particularly love the ensemble cast of this book as it builds for the series to follow. Derby Daredevils also comes with a lot of great interior illustrations throughout the story—it’s not quite a graphic novel, but it scratches that itch. 

Hazel Hill thinks she’s the only girl in the 7th grade who likes girls that way, until Tyler tells her that Ella Quinn told him she likes Hazel.

But Ella Quinn is pretty and popular, and she’s Hazel’s biggest rival in the upcoming speech contest. They talk. Ella confesses she only told Tyler that to stop his sexual harassment. It turns out, Tyler has been harassing a lot of girls.

They tell the school, but the teachers won’t do anything about it, even blaming the girls and punishing them. It is not a coincidence that Tyler’s mom is the superintendent of schools. Determined not to let Tyler get away with it, Hazel comes up with a plan. 

A book we need right now, something to balance out, in a small way, the awful anti-drag legislation being enacted all over the US.

Twelve-year-old Mikey is an aspiring businessman. Thirteen-year-old Julian hires him as a talent agent. Julian’s talent? Performing drag as Coco Caliente. Mikey knows the perfect place for her debut – the school talent show.

The book is wonderful fun, like a drag show, but pulls no punches regarding the bigotry and bullying gay kids so often experience. The ending was well done. I got a little misty. High recommendation!

This book had everything I could ever desire in an escape—monsters, magic, and mayhem. Brine Seaborne, a very precocious girl, gets wrapped up in the adventures of pirates as they head out on a quest to find the Magical North. Intertwined with the creative, beguiling magic are conversations that resonated deeply for me, ones about what makes a person a monster and who gets to hold positions of power (I actually stopped and jotted down a couple quotes while reading! Those notes are still in my phone today!). Voyage to the Magical North sits on my “favorites” shelf because of the thoughtful questions that are buried just beneath the surface of the quest Brine and her companions embark on.

I couldn’t resist adding a Tintin graphic novel to my list since Herge’s adventure series is widely beloved — and this one is a particular favorite. The story opens when the miserly millionaire, Laszlo Carreidas, "the millionaire who never laughs," invites Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus to accompany him on his private jet to Sydney instead of taking commercial Flight 714. It all seems rather jolly — until the millionaire’s jet is hijacked and diverted to a volcanic island in Java. As always, Herge nails the geographical details, plot twists, cheeky humor — and the idiosyncrasies of human nature, like grizzled Captain Haddock’s constant frustration with absentminded Professor Calculus. As a kid, these books opened entire worlds to me — I couldn’t wait to grow up and embark on my own adventures!

I’m a sucker for good dialogue and this is about as good as it gets. This book nails sarcasm, wit, and humor. You can hear every quip and see every facial expression as you spend the entire book wishing you could have a seat in that spaceship—even if they are facing certain doom. I basically wanted to be best friends with every character… and the authors. (So umm *clears throat* if anyone has Amie or Jay’s number…hook a girl up.)

I once pitched this to a friend as “Percy Jackson but with fairy tales.” I stand by that.

It occurs to me that most of my picks for my list have been middle grade titles, and this book gets to the heart of why. It has all the magic and wonder of the school experience I wished on a star for as a child. The combination of princesses and magical engineers, political intrigue and romance—I fell in love with it and found myself swept away.

If I could go back in time and go to Bach’s school instead of my middle school—I don’t have to tell you it would be a no-brainer.

This book is different from the rest on the list in a few ways. It doesn’t transport the characters to new, magical realms. There are no whimsical beasts or mystical creatures. And, perhaps most significantly, I read this one as a “grown-up.” I had the honor of reading this book aloud to my children, along with its sequels, over the course of several months. My kids were delighted by these bright, young protagonists who, using their wits, imagination, and moral compass, save their loved ones from a devious villain intent on obliterating individuality. I fell in love with these characters, just as my children did. And when we read the final page of the final chapter of the final book, my daughter burst into tears. Not because the story was sad, but because spending time with these imaginary people had been a real experience. 

Good stories take us to other… show more.

I followed Nick’s adventures from a young age, and he’s partially responsible for my wanderlust. I learned I didn’t have to conform to society’s expectations, that is was OK to follow my dreams, and to pursue what I wanted from life, not what others wanted for me. Nick’s book takes him on an epic hike across Europe, including walking through winter. He is a master storyteller.