MMGM and #IMWAYR: Other Ever Afters, Squished, Sylvie, and more!

Hey everyone! It's looking like I need to stop promising that I'm going to return to blogging consistently—I think I'll plan instead on being hopelessly flaky and showing up every few weeks with some books to share. I'm doing all right—life is just hectic, and there's never enough time to read!

But I have been on a little bit of a reading kick in the last week, and I've got a few books to share with y'all this week—let's dive in!

Finished recently:

Other Ever Afters

New Queer Fairy Tales

Written and illustrated by Melanie Gillman

Young adult (but appropriate for most ages) · Graphic novel · 2022

Add it on Goodreads · Preview the illustrations

· · · The publisher says: · · ·

Once upon a time . . . happily ever after turned out differently than expected. In this new, feminist, queer fairy-tale collection, you’ll find the princesses, mermaids, knights, barmaids, children, and wise old women who have been forced to sit on the sidelines in classic stories taking center stage. A gorgeous all-new collection in graphic novel format from a Stonewall Honor-winning author and artist.

What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom?

Award-winning author Melanie Gillman’s phenomenal colored-pencil art creates another "ever after" for the characters who are most worthy of it.

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As a massive fan of The Magic Fish, I couldn't pass up another graphic novel of fairy tales—and this collection did not disappoint! I raced through the whole thing in a night.

Melanie Gillman has given us 7 warm, atmospheric stories to get lost in, all with truly gorgeous art and a balance between childlike wonder and mature wisdom.

My favorite stories were "The Goose Girl," which tackles class differences and people's true motives when acting altruism, all in the context of potential romance; "New Name," which lends a sense of community and magic to a narrative of a young person selecting a new name for themself; and "Hsthete," a brilliant tale of a woman seeking help with her fiancé from a goddess of mishaps—and perhaps getting more help than she ever imagined.

I saw some comments on Goodreads saying the stories are a bit uneven, and that is true, but I'd say about 5 of the 7 stories range from really good to really, really good—a good track record, in my opinion.

Squished

Written by Megan Wagner Lloyd and illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter

Recommended by Lisa Maucione

Middle grade · Graphic novel · 2023

Add it on Goodreads · Preview the illustrations

· · · The publisher says: · · ·

From the Eisner-nominated duo behind the instant bestseller Allergic comes a fun new graphic novel about finding your own space… especially when you're in a family of nine!

Eleven-year-old Avery Lee loves living in Hickory Valley, Maryland. She loves her neighborhood, school, and the end-of-summer fair she always goes to with her two best friends. But she's tired of feeling squished by her six siblings! They're noisy and chaotic and the younger kids love her a little too much. All Avery wants is her own room -- her own space to be alone and make art. So she's furious when Theo, her grumpy older brother, gets his own room instead, and her wild baby brother, Max, moves into the room she already shares with her clinging sister Pearl! Avery hatches a plan to finally get her own room, all while trying to get Max to sleep at night, navigating changes in her friendships, and working on an art entry for the fair. And when Avery finds out that her family might move across the country, things get even more complicated.

Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter have once again teamed up to tell a funny, heartfelt, and charming story of family, friendship, and growing up.

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Well, Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter are now a duo I'll be watching closely! I was blown away by their last graphic novel together, Allergic, and they've sold two more to be published in 2025 and 2027, which I'll be anxiously waiting for!

Lloyd is skillful at writing compelling protagonists and respecting the kinds of issues kids regularly experience. And Nutter's art effortlessly switches from achingly gorgeous to delightfully fun and expressive, bringing this narrative to life.

Just like in Allergic, this duo brings their attention to family experiences in Squished—specifically, the combination of overflowing love and slightly-overflowing chaos that comes with being one of seven siblings. I love seeing representation of a Korean-American family and of a big family—Avery's mother's explanation of why she wanted to have so many kids is truly insightful and thought-provoking.

Overall, this book captures the kind of almost effortless, yet immensely meaningful love that a child, even one as squished as Avery, can feel for her family—this warmth makes this book easy to recommend.

Sylvie

Written and illustrated by Sylvie Kantorovitz

Middle grade · Graphic novel · 2021

Add it on Goodreads · Preview the illustrations

· · · The publisher says: · · ·

In a wise and witty graphic memoir, a young artist finds her path apart from the expectations of those around her.

Sylvie lives in a school in France. Her father is the principal, and her home is an apartment at the end of a hallway of classrooms. As a young child, Sylvie and her brother explore this most unusual kingdom, full of small mysteries and quirky surprises. But in middle and high school, life grows more complicated. Sylvie becomes aware of her parents’ conflicts, the complexities of shifting friendships, and what it means to be the only Jewish family in town. She also begins to sense that her perceived “success” relies on the pursuit of math and science—even though she loves art. In a funny and perceptive graphic memoir, author-illustrator Sylvie Kantorovitz traces her first steps as an artist and teacher. The text captures her poignant questioning and her blossoming confidence, while the droll illustrations depict her making art as both a means of solace and self-expression. An affecting portrait of a unique childhood, Sylvie connects the ordinary moments of growing up to a life rich in hope and purpose.

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I feel like I read this book too fast, and with too much time in between sessions, to truly absorb its brilliance—so perhaps I'll hang onto my copy and come back to it at some point to absorb more.

What I did notice even in my slightly rushed read-through is that Sylvie tells a story of childhood with aching specificity—Kantorovitz knows the details that mattered to her when she was growing up, however small, and draws our attention to them.

There's a lot of insight packed in here about growing up and navigating pathological parents, budding romances, and the confusion about whether or not to pursue art in a world where STEM disciplines seem to be the only real path to a paying career.

But even beyond all the wisdom, there is a sense of childlike wonder that pervades this whole story—in part due to Kantorovitz's delightfully whimsical art style, which changes color scheme with each chapter (as a lover of color-coding in graphic novels, I approve).

Cybils!

So...I wish I hadn't vanished out of existence right as the Cybils winners were announced! I had such a wonderful experience judging for the three nonfiction categories this year, and I wanted to highlight three spectacular books from the winners/finalists list. They are:

• Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, written by Angela Joy and illustrated by Janelle Washington
• MG Winner
• This might be one of the best picture books I've ever read—it is a must-read, y'all. The gorgeous art, the essential history, the brilliant framing from the perspective of Emmett Till's mother—this whole book is genius, start to finish.

• Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
• HS Finalist
• I learned so much about the Black Panther Party's history from this book—and unlearned so much absurd rhetoric that painted them as violent extremists, ignoring their emphasis on self-defense, the incredible network of grassroots social services they built, and more.

• The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life by Amy Butler Greenfield
• HS Winner
• I was worried I would find the HS Nonfiction finalists dense and not gripping—and then I basically couldn't peel my eyes away from this story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a woman who made a name for herself as a leader in the field of cryptanalysis (code-breaking).

Bookish thoughts:

I went on a trip to Austin, Texas recently, and I had a chance to visit BookPeople, which is an independent bookstore and THE MOST INCREDIBLE PLACE I'VE EVER BEEN!!!!! I spent 2 hours and untold amounts of money in that store (buying books like Other Ever Afters above). Some things I loved about it:

1. There is basically a shelf on every single bookcase with staff picks, each with their own little placard explaining what the staff member thought of the book. So you're getting all kinds of curated picks in literally every single section!
2. The sections themselves are so logically laid out, and so numerous—there is an MG graphic novels section, a YA graphic novels section, and an adult comics section. I was in heaven.
3. There are a bajillion cool endcaps and mini-sections—there is an endcap dedicated solely to Sandra Boynton books.
4. There are so many cool programs I didn't participate in but that sound epically cool—they have a bunch of book clubs, they have shelves called "Blind Date with a Book" where you can buy a mystery book with a description written on the wrapping, and they even have a program where local teens sign up to recommend books and work closely with the bookstore.
5. It's so huge, and the atmosphere is so warm and welcoming—and I went around 7 PM (they close at 9 PM), so I got to wander around with not too many people present and just get totally lost among the books!
6. Even their website has really cool recommendations, if you're not able to go in-person!
7. Oh, and did I mention I found placards recommending Goodbye Stranger AND The Magic Fish?! So they have good taste. 😄

I'm not saying to schedule a trip to Austin just to visit BookPeople—but I'm also not not saying it, y'all. I wish I lived in Austin so I could visit more often...

That's all for now! Thanks for visiting! ✨✨