I’m on a graphic novel kick, since it’s a genre I don’t tend to read much. This autobiographical graphic novel is on the Banned Books List every year, as it shares a young girl’s view of life under the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Although she is descended from the last emperor of Iran and her family is wealthy, when the fundamentalists take over, things become dark and scary.

Because of the Iran-Iraq war, her friends’ homes are bombed, relatives and loved ones are imprisoned and executed (or “on a trip”); and the traditional clothing becomes commonplace. At 14, her family sends her to Austria to live with relatives, attend school and have a chance at a better life.

This was a fun, summer beach read about Eleanor Flood, who is having a really bad day, even though she thought today would be different. When she work up, she planned to work on the little things, but life had so much more in store for her. She ends up spending the day with her son, learning some unexpected things about her husband, and finally comes to grip with her past.

This was a fascinating story about what it’s like to live and die nearly 10,000 times. Milo has had 9,995 times to get it right and “achieve wisdom and become One with Everything.” But he just can’t get it right because he’s in love with Death, or as he calls her, Suzie.

This is more than just a love story, it’s a story about the spirituality and obsession told through Milo’s journey through historical, sci-fi and fantastic worlds. In one chapter he’s Buddha, in another he’s an insect, in yet another he’s in a futuristic world where he’s wrongly imprisoned and tortured. It’s a wildly creative and unusual story that’s sure to be enjoyed by Neil Gaiman fans.

My brother-in-law is marrying an Indian woman so I have been trying to learn more about Indian culture so I was excited to find this book on many “must-read” lists. This is a story of the Jha family, who for 30 years have lived in a cramped housing complex in East Dehli until a website Mr. Jha created is sold for an incredible amount of money – a windfall of money comes their way and the Jhas struggle with their new identities as wealthy.

Meanwhile, their son is failing out of college in New York, and their move to an upper-class subdivision complex comes with complications. At the heart of it all is family and one family’s struggle to fit in and belong to a community.

Montoursville author Carrie Anne Noble has a solid follow-up to her debut book, “The Mermaid’s Sister.” This time, the story takes place in the fantastic world of leprechauns and focuses on 16-year-old Tommin’s curse for gold that has afflicted him since birth. Full-fledged leprechaun Lorcan Reilly arrives in town with his niece Eve and offers to help rid Tommin of his curse, but first Tommin has to go to the underground realm of the leprechauns and prepare to become one. As it turns out, Lorcan’s plans for his “gold-children” are not what they seem and time is running out for Tommin and Eve to break the curse before they become leprechauns forever.

The book is set in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a planned community of upper middle-class residents. Elena Richardson’s family is torn apart after Mia Warren and her teenage daughter, Pearl, move into a rental home owned by Elena. Mia has a mysterious past and doesn’t fit in with the Stepford-like families in Shaker Heights.

Soon, little fires start appearing everywhere – literally and figuratively as the Richardson’s home goes up in flames. The town just assumed it was Izzy Richardson, the black sheep of the family, who set the fire. But the Richardson house fire wasn’t the only one burning in town that summer.

Family secrets are at the heart of Ng’s novels, and the mothering styles of both Elena and Mia can be criticized. Issues of social class, identity and pride are brought to the forefront as the town struggles to decide the fate of little May Ling/Mirabelle McCullough.

This is a solid follow-up to Ng’s debut and is sure to keep her on many “must read” lists this fall, after her book is published on Sept. 12.

Omgosh this book gave me all the feels. I was bawling in the middle and sobbing at the end. Highly recommend and can't wait to read "Goodbye Days" next.

Jeff Zentner’s debut novel, “The Serpent King,” focuses on three teen friends in Forrestville, Tennessee – a town named after the founder of the KKK and full of small-minded people. Dillard “Dill” Early Jr. is struggling to fit in after the arrest of his snake-handling preacher father who was caught with child porn. Dill is friends with Lydia, a rich girl with a popular lifestyle blog who dreams of making it in New York City. Rounding out the trio of friends is Travis, who treats life as if it is a role-playing convention for the fantasy book with which he’s obsessed.

The three seem unlikely friends, but Zentner’s prose makes it work. The story takes place during their senior year as they deal with fitting in, abusive parents and extreme poverty. More than just a “coming of age” book, this is a book about love, resiliency and survival.

Interestingly, Zentner wrote this book on his iPhone while commuting to and from work in downtown Nashville.

This book grabbed me from the opening and I couldn’t stop until I finished it in one sitting! This is a literary thriller with an unusual twist at the end. I can’t stay too much without spoiling it, but it’s no wonder this was an NPR Best Book of the Year in 2016. The book follows the unnamed female narrator as she is on a road trip with her boyfriend to meet his family, when along the way she realizes that she should end things. At least, that’s what you think the book is about!

This is a timely and relevant novel about coping after a tragedy. Ten-year-old Caitlin must understand her grief after the death of her older brother, Devon, who was killed in a school shooting. Caitlin and her father struggle with finding closure after such a tragic loss, which is compounded for Caitlin, who has Asperger’s and struggles to fit in.

With the help of her school counselor and some unlikely friends, she learns about empathy on her path to closure, and her new friends learn about kindness and compassion.

A wonderful middle-grade book for readers age 8-12, this book would make a great school or family read as it deals with issues of grief, depression, bullying and friendship. Erskine makes a passionate plea with her epigraph for the book: “In hopes that we may all understand each other better.” It also won the 2010 U.S. National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Three stories converge into one in this graphic novel about high-school student Jin Wang, the Monkey King parable, and Chin-Kee, the Chinese stereotype.

This graphic novel explores issues of not fitting in, as well as being judged by others. For the Monkey King, a lesson in happiness is found by embracing who you are, your culture and your heritage.

This book also reminded me that I need to incorporate more graphic novels into my to-read pile!