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Gender Studies: The Confessions of an Accidental Outlaw
by Ajuan Mance
When you're the only Black kid in the honors program or (any program) at your mostly white high school, or one of a handful of Black graduate students in your PhD program, or one of two African American women on the faculty at your Pac-10 employer, it's not your gender non-conformity that sets you apart from your peers. In those environments, your Blackness is the first thing people notice about you. Still, there are other ways of being different--and feeling different--that can't be attributed to race, especially if you're one of the people whose awareness of the unwritten rules of what it means to be a boy or a girl (or a man or a woman) is tempered by the fact that most of those rules don't feel quite right. In Gender Studies: True Confessions of an Accidental Outlaw, Ajuan Mance gives comic treatment to the challenges, complexities, and occasional absurdity of life at the crossroads of race, gender, and geekiness. This graphic memoir answers important questions like: How many preschoolers have to mistake you for your dad before you actually start to forget your own name; if a Black girl is awful at double-dutch jump rope is it a reflection on her gender identity, racial identity, or both; and is viola player a gender or just a sexual orientation? Ajuan Mance's comic Gender Confessions take up each of these questions and more, as it invites to share in those moments that mark the path of a gender explorer.
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Bride of the Barrier Master 1
by Kureha
Hana Ichise is from a branch family to one of five barrier-weaving magical clans who protect and support Japan. But in the eyes of her mother and father, she's an afterthought compared to her talented older twin sister. When Hana's true potential awakens at age fifteen, she decides to keep her newfound abilities a secret--including from her parents--so she can have a quiet life. But the powerful new head of the elite Ichinomiya clan, Saku Ichinomiya, is looking for a bride...and he has his eyes on Hana!
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Return to Eden
by Paco Roca
The celebrated Spanish cartoonist's most ambitious work yet is a touching homage to his mother and a bittersweet depiction of life in post-war Spain. It all starts with a photograph: an ordinary scene of a young woman and her family picnicking at a Valencian beach in 1947. Now in her twilight years, Antonia cherishes this photo dearly; it holds the memories of her upbringing, her family --the key to her Eden. Taking off from this routine family outing, cartoonist Paco Roca paints a heartfelt portrait of his mother's formative years. This delicate portrayal of a humble family is at once an intimate biographical story and a broader reflection of the hardscrabble existence many faced in post-war Spain. Antonia and her family soldier through constant hunger, the shady dealings of the black market, traumas of war and parental abuse, and the oppressive atmosphere wrought by the Catholic church and Franco's authoritarian regime --and yet, they find oases of joy and wonder in cinema, imagination, and small acts of kindness. Roca is known the world over for his quietly powerful graphic novels, from Twists of Fate to The House, and this latest masterwork may just be his magnum opus. In Return to Eden, Roca manages to charge quotidian life with rare poignancy, in all its daily struggles and daydreams, and readers will come away deeply affected.
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Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir
by Dorrance
A graphic of two whirlwind months in the life of the author, when she suddenly has to care for her dementia-impaired mother, whose last home she urgently needs to find.
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Young Adult Graphic Novels
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In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 1
by Yoshino Fumikawa
In a society hostile to diversity, can mermaid princess Mio be true to herself? In the classic fairy tale, a mermaid princess gives up her special abilities for love. What happens if she doesn't? Princess Mio is betrothed to Prince Chika. However, they've never met, and he doesn't know her secret--she's a mermaid! When her tutor, Yuri, takes her out of the castle to meet her subjects, Mio begins to accept her true self. But Yuri has a secret too... And when Mio tells her father, the king, she wants to live life openly as a mermaid, he punishes her. How can she stay true to herself?
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The Baker and the Bard
by Fern Haught
Juniper and Hadley have a good thing going in Larkspur, spending their respective days apprenticing at a little bakery and performing at the local inn. But when a stranger makes an unusual order at the bakery, the two friends (and Hadley's pet snake, Fern) set out on a journey to forage the magical mushrooms needed to make the requested galette pastries. Along the way, Juniper and Hadley stumble across a mystery too compelling to ignore: Something has been coming out of the woods at night and eating the local farmers' crops, leaving only a trail of glowy goo behind. Intent on finally going on an adventure that could fuel their bardic craft, Hadley tows Juniper into the woods to investigate. What started as a simple errand to pick mushrooms soon turns into a thrilling quest to save some furry new friends--and their caretaker, a softspoken little fey named Thistle--who are in danger of losing their home
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Cat on the Hero's Lap 2
by Kousuke Iijima
Our heroes have been struggling to make headway in their quest to vanquish the Demon King. Is it because of the cat on the hero's lap? Or is it because Red doesn't have the heart to move the little guy? Meanwhile, a powerful foe awaits the party - a beautiful white cat!!
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A Small Change: Finding the Joy in Everyday Things
by Rae-hyeon Kim
"When I tie up my hair, it feels like I'm wearing a new pair of shoes." A young woman is out in the world for the first time, living on her own. When she decides to tie up her hair one day, she embarks on a journey of small, almost imperceptible but important changes. Relationships develop, problems emerge and decisions are made. As the year progresses and she navigates the ins and outs of daily life, she also discovers new ways of styling her hair. Because nothing stays the same -- and sometimes, changing your hairstyle can have a deep impact on your life. In twelve sensitive episodes, this charming coming-of-age novel includes step-by-step instructions for each hairstyle our heroine wears. For young people influenced by K-pop, K-beauty and K-drama, it introduces the Korean concept of so-hak-hang -- the belief that small pleasures like a movie night with friends, painting your nails or trying a new hairstyle are a simple but reliable means of finding true joy.
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Punk Rock Karaoke
by Bianca Xunise
Ariel has dreams of leaving her southside Chicago neighborhood and making it big as a punk rocker with her best friends and bandmates, now that they've graduated from high school, but the realities of young adulthood make that challenging and strain their friendships with each other.
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June 12 1839 - The baseball was"invented"
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Hit by Pitch: Ray Chapman, Carl Mays and the Fatal Fastball
by Molly Lawless
On August 16, 1920, Yankees pitcher Carl Mays threw a fastball that struck Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in the head. Chapman, a star player, died the next morning. Hit by Pitch is a nonfiction graphic novel about these men, their lives and legacies, and the event that linked them forever.
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Out of Left Field
by Jonah Newman
Ninth-grader Jonah is not a jock. On the contrary, he loves history class and nerdy movies, and his athletic ineptitude verges on tragic. So, what's he doing signing up for the baseball team? Could it have something to do with the cute shortstop, Elliot? For the rest of high school, Jonah faces challenges on and off the baseball field, from heteronormative social pressure to thrilling romance. Realizing who his real friends are, he figures out what really matters and finally recognizes and embraces his gay identity. Based on debut author-illustrator Jonah Newman's coming-of-age experiences, Out of Left Field is a big-hearted and funny YA graphic novel about learning to be yourself.
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21 : The Story of Roberto Clemente
by Wilfred Santiago
A graphic tale inspired by the life of baseball star Roberto Clemente includes coverage of a wide range of topics from the ways in which prejudice challenged his career and his personal responsibilities to his achievements with the Pittsburgh Pirates and his triumphant 3,000th hit before his tragic fatal plane crash.
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The Golem's Mighty Swing
by James Sturm
James Sturm pens this richly evocative graphic novel set in the 1920s. The Stars of David, a barnstorming Jewish baseball team, travel from town to town earning a living by playing local squads. They all sport beards, a gimmick to attract patrons but when financial difficulties threaten to end their season they cast their lot with a Chicago promoter who has just seen the hugely successful German silent film Der Golem... With the golem, a baseball game is transformed into a mythical pageant. Fear and curiosity fills the stadium, but it also stokes the flames of anti-Semitism. Winning the game for the Stars of David becomes less important then surviving it. With a sepia-tinted cinematic style, this compelling book reminds us that making it home is at the heart of baseball.
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Mercer County Library System
2751 Brunswick Pike Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 609-882-9246 https://mcl.org
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