Isn’t this the best time of year for reading? We think so! I love to include graphic novels in my Fall and Halloween reading lists. There are so many that are perfect reads for this time of year. Here are a few of my favorites:
Garlic & the Vampire, Bree Paulsen
This is seriously the cutest little story. There’s a follow up to this titled, Garlic & the Witch. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet but it also looks absolutely adorable!
Garlic feels as though she’s always doing something wrong. At least with her friend Carrot by her side and the kindly Witch Agnes encouraging her, Garlic is happy to just tend her garden, where it’s nice and safe. But when her village of vegetable folk learns that a bloodthirsty vampire has moved into the nearby castle, they all agree that, in spite of her fear and self-doubt, Garlic is the obvious choice to confront him.
Pumpkin Heads, Rainbow Rowell
This book takes place on a pumpkin patch! Throughout the book we follow best work friends, and employees of the patch, Deja and Josiah. I absolutely loved following the shenanigans’ of these two all night long. This is such a fun one and the illustrations are fantastic.
Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang?
The Okay Witch, Emma Steinkellner
This is such a sweet coming of age story about finding yourself even when those around you are determined to make it difficult. Moth, our protagonist, is such a good example of standing up for yourself and building confidence. I loved a good witchy tale and this one was perfect!
Thirteen-year-old Moth Hush loves all things witchy. But she’s about to discover that witches aren’t just the stuff of movies, books, and spooky stories. When some eighth-grade bullies try to ruin her Halloween, something really strange happens. It turns out that Founder’s Bluff, Massachusetts, has a centuries-old history of witch drama. And, surprise: Moth’s family is at the center of it all!
Mooncakes, Suzanne Walker, Wendy Xu, Joamette Gil
Another witchy graphic novel with LGBTQ+ rep. Can a witch and a werewolf rekindle their friendship and work together to defeat a demon? I really loved this one despite a couple of plot holes in the beginning that I feel could have been fleshed out a bit better.
Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods.
Through The Woods, Emily Carroll
If you want to up the creepy factor, this is the graphic novel for you. This one was truly haunting and eerie. Some of the stories border on disturbing so if you have a wild imagination, consider yourself warned!
Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss. These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll. Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there…
Locke & Key, Joe Hill
Have you seen the television adaptation of these? Well, they don’t do the graphic novels justice. They’re quite mild compared to the books. Joe Hill’s horror writing translates to graphic novel with frightening and fantastic results.
Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. Home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all…
Coraline, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell
Well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Coraline in graphic novel format. Boy is it hauntingly gorgeous! A must read.
When Coraline steps through a door in her family’s new house, she finds another house, strangely similar to her own (only better). At first, things seem marvelous. But there’s another mother there and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and all the tools she can find if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.
The Witch Boy, Molly Ostertag
Yep- another book about witches! This one was reminiscent of The Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas. Which, btw, if you haven’t read that yet- please do! It’s fantastic. And so is The Witch Boy!
In thirteen-year-old Aster’s family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn’t shifted . . . and he’s still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help — as a witch.
What are your favorite fall reads?
