Were you born in the late 70s or early 80s? Are you female? Are these books familiar to you?
Ringing any bells? If this sums up your reading life in the early to mid 90s then you should read Gabrielle Moss’s love letter to a lost genre.
Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss
This book brings back lots of memories, reminding us of how gender-specific junior fiction once was. Sadly, bar a few stalwards, none of the books live on in bookshops or libraries but can still be found, pre-loved, on the internet. I am tempted to splurge on some of my old favourites. I already have a few by Paula Danziger and occasionally settle down for a good old comfort read.
If you think graphic novels are only about superheroes I’m here to tell you that you are wrong. Graphic novels come in all shapes and sizes and are written for every age group. I’m pretty sure there is a graphic novel for everyone. Here are a few I have enjoyed recently.
Bunny Vs Monkey
This series (currently on book 5) is aimed at young readers. This is one of many fantastic graphic novels published by The Phoenix Presents. They also publish a weekly comic for 6-12 year olds. More info can be found on their website.
Bunny Vs Monkey by Jamie Smart.
El Deafo
Ok, so this is about a superhero but one created by a young girl who is
dealing with hearing loss and the way this makes her different. One to
make you consider how you treat those with hearing impairments.
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Lumberjanes
A set of books about a group of girls at a very unusual summer camp, Lumberjanes is currently up to volume 11. Devoid of bad language, this is aimed at teenagers and adults.
Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters and Brooke Allen
Paper Girls
This ongoing series revolving around time travel is aimed at older teens and adults.
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang
Fables
This set of 26 books centres on the characters of our favourite fairy
tales, who have fled the homelands and are living secretly in New York,
governing themselves and trying to stop the mundies (humans) from
finding out about them. Aimed squarely at adults due to content.
Fables by Bill Willingham
Rivers of London
Rivers of London is a popular series of novels written by Ben Aaronovitch. Instead of adapting the books already written into graphic novels, Aaronovitch has written original stories that run alongside the novels, with both formats referencing each other while not forcing the fans of the books to read the graphic novels or vise versa.
Rivers of London: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan and Luis Guerrero
![Rivers of London Vol. 1: Body Work by [Aaronovitch, Ben, Cartmel, Andrew]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51sFEs62AnL._SY346_.jpg)
She Eats Books 