You might notice something similar about most of the entries on this list...
20. Batgirl, Volume 2: Son of Penguin (Batgirl (2016) #2) by Hope Larson (Writer), Vita Ayala (Writer), Various (Artists)
A fun Batgirl comic sequel. I'm very glad that DC is treating her better now. Review here.
19. Flying Witch, Vol. 1 by Chihiro Ishizuka
Kiki's Delivery Service for older audiences. Nice slice-of-life manga with a magical touch. Review here.
18. Power to the Princess: 15 Favorite Fairytales Retold with Girl Power by Vita Murrow (Writer), Julia Bereciartu (Illustrator)
Important new fairy tale retellings for children. Lovely illustrations as well. Review here.
17. Ms. Marvel Omnibus, Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson (Writer), Various (Artists)
A spectacular Kamala Khan comic collection. What great stories and characters. I love the diversity of the superhero genre in recent years. Review here.
16. The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag
Another lovely, magical graphic novel for our times. The art is also fantastic. Review here.
15. The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Volume 1 by Nagabe
An original fairy tale. A beautiful, enchanting, and dark manga - the best I've read in ages. Review here.
14. Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman Vol. 2 by Various
A collection of rich, powerful, entertaining, diverse, progressive, clever, and beautifully-drawn Wonder Woman comic stories. Review here.
13. Angela: Queen of Hel: Journey to the Funderworld by Marguerite Bennett (Writer), Kim Jacinto (Artist), Stephanie Hans (Artist)
Well... this is something. It's like if Shakespeare wrote Norse mythology, while on acid, in a pub, where someone has just caught on fire. I can't quite get my head around it, but I love it anyway. Exceedingly entertaining and diverse. Punk and hell have never been written in such a sophisticated manner. A unique and bizarre entity. Review here.
12. Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Writer), Taki Soma (Artist), Valentine De Landro (Artist)
One of the very few graphic novel sequels I've read this year that I like. It's even better than the first volume. Brilliant and important for our times. Review here.
11. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 by Emil Ferris
An original graphic novel magnum opus. A shame that the sequel doesn't seem to exist. How many times will it get delayed? Screw it, I'm tired of waiting for the followup. But this is still great. Review here.
10. Heavy Vinyl, Vol. 1 (Hi-Fi Fight Club #1-4) by Carly Usdin (Writer), Nina Vakueva (Illustrator)
Zodiac Starforce Volume 2: Cries of the Fire Prince by Kevin Panetta (Writer), Paulina Ganucheau (Artist), Sarah Stern (Artist)
I've decided to put these two together, since they are similar enough graphic novels and are equally fun and contain lots of girl power! Action-packed girl power! Review of Heavy Vinyl here, and review of Zodiac Starforce Volume 2 here.
9. Kim Reaper Vol. 1: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley
What a cute, funny and charming graphic novel containing LGBTQ and racial diversity elements. More gothic and fun girl power, please! Review here.
8. Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson
The best Jacqueline Wilson book I have read in my marathon this year. It really is brilliant, and something special for children and adults. Hetty is a wonderful creation on Wilson's part - probably her best character ever: rebellious, brave, determined, confident, dynamic, assertive, caring, selfless, creative, sharp, witty, funny, and free. A heroine for children.
The sequels are okay. I'm disappointed that Hetty will soon lose her independence. And why no mention of menstruation, once she becomes a teenager? In these books, Wilson includes alcoholism, child abuse, child mortality, spousal abuse, fatal illnesses, religious themes, the extremely difficult and dangerous aspects of life in the circus, and hints of prostitution and even pedophilia. But periods are the taboo area she will not touch on. What horseshit. Fat people, specifically fat women, are portrayed as either nasty and horrible, or poor wretched souls. Author's bias, conscious or not?
Review here.
7. The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde
A wild ride. Both life affirming, and anger-inducing and depressing. There is an awful lot I can talk about in this emotional roller coaster of a YA contemporary. Solid, beautiful, and life changing. We need more stories like this with a female protagonist. Jen Wilde might be a new favourite author of mine. Review here.
6. Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom by Gigi D.G.
Fun fun fun! Cute and absolutely hilarious. Now this is a parody! And it's for all ages! The sequels are worth having a look at, too. Review here.
5. Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft by Various
Short stories about witches - old, modern, white, black, Latina, gay, of this world, of fantasy worlds, of the past, present, and future: all women can be witches and take back power for themselves. So sweet and magical and entertaining. And powerful. Witches and feminists are one of the same. Highly recommended. Review here.
4. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
A lovely, soft, colourful, palatable, elegant, touching, hilarious, heartwarming, and overall wonderful standalone graphic novel. Fantastic characters and artwork. Review here.
3. Bingo Love by Tee Franklin (Writer), Jenn St-Onge (Artist)
One of the most unique, beautiful and heartbreaking LBTGQ stories and comics in contemporary times. Two black women in the sixties fall in love but are forcibly separated for fifty years, then they find they can finally be together. But what about their families? I can't recommend it enough. Review here.
2. Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
The sequel to the utterly magical and breathtaking Strange the Dreamer does not disappoint. The ending is a little rushed and too-good-to-be-true, but I enjoyed it greatly. Review here.
1. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee
My most anticipated book of 2018 that did not let me down. I was dreading that it would, considering all the hype that I bought into; enough to write a parody song expressing my excitement. Felicity Montague is a revelation, a revolutionary. It's certainly not perfect, and it could have been better, but it has earned its place as my favourite 4-star book of 2018. Review here.
Guilty Pleasures of 2018:
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
Spider-Man Loves Mary-Jane by Sean McKeever (Writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (Artist)
W.I.T.C.H., Part I. The Twelve Portals, Vol. 1 by Elisabetta Gnone, Various
Rent a Bridesmaid by Jacqueline Wilson
Winx Club: Magic Collection by Iginio Straffi (Creator)
Hetty Feather's Christmas by Jacqueline Wilson
And yes, most of these entries are graphic novels. I enjoyed a lot of them this year. Not planning to read that many next year, however. There are only a couple that I am interested in that are getting published soon.
Now, on to my final list of the year. The big one. The all-stars. My Top 12 Best 5-Star Books of 2018!
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