So You Don’t Fit In: There’s a Book for That!
As someone who chronically feels like the odd one out, I can speak on this topic with a certain level of authority. As I grow older (I’m practically ancient), the more I become convinced that the feeling of not quite fitting in is a fundamental part of the human experience. But how do you move past this discomfort? By speaking about it of course! Most often you’ll find that you are not alone. Finding characters I can relate to books always help me to gain courage. So if you’ve been feeling like you’re drifting on the outskirts, don’t worry, I’ve got some great recs for you!
Halfway There
I love graphic novels!! I also love a good memoir! Halfway There has it all—study abroad, biracial representation, honest depictions of mental health struggles, and a truly gorgeous color palette.
Christine has always felt she is just half: Half American, half Japanese. As a biracial Japanese American who was born in Tokyo but raised in the US, she knows all too well what it’s like to be a part of two different worlds but never feeling as though you belong to either.
Now on the brink of adulthood, Christine decides it’s time to return to the place she once called home. So she sets forth on a year abroad in Tokyo, believing that this is where she truly belongs. After years of feeling like an outsider, now she will finally be complete.
Except…Tokyo isn’t the answer she thought it would be. Instead of fitting in, Christine finds herself a fish out of water, as being half of two cultures isolates her in ways she’d never imagined. All she can do is try to stay afloat for the rest of the year—still figuring out who she is, what she wants in life, and whether she’ll ever truly be more than halfway there.
A Room Away from the Wolves
NPR described this book as an “earl grey lavender macaroon, or maybe balsamic fig ice cream.” Need I say more? This NYC-based story will have you hooked from the start.
Bina has never forgotten the time she and her mother ran away from home. Her mother promised they would hitchhike to the city to escape Bina’s cruel father and start over. But before they could even leave town, Bina had a new stepfather and two new stepsisters, and a humming sense of betrayal pulling apart the bond with her mother—a bond Bina thought was unbreakable.
Eight years later, after too many lies and with trouble on her heels, Bina finds herself on the side of the road again, the city of her dreams calling for her. She has an old suitcase, a fresh black eye, and a room waiting for her at Catherine House, a young women’s residence in Greenwich Village with a tragic history, a vow of confidentiality, and dark, magical secrets. There, Bina is drawn to her enigmatic downstairs neighbor Monet, a girl who is equal parts intriguing and dangerous. As Bina’s lease begins to run out, and nightmare and memory get tangled, she will be forced to face the terrible truth of why she’s come to Catherine House and what it will cost for her to leave . . .
Freshman Year
by Sarah Mai
So you’ve finished watching season three of Heartstopper, and now you’re a bit despondent? I get it. Same. Allow me to recommend another fabulous graphic novel to get you through your gloom! Freshman Year will cheer you up—I pinky promise!
Everyone gets a fresh start. Who do you want to be? Sarah is leaving suburban Wisconsin for college in Minnesota. She has high hopes for the future: impress her professors, meet interesting new people, stay close to her best friends and boyfriend back home, flourish as an artist, and shed her lingering high school anxieties. What seems manageable at first quickly unravels into a tailspin and she is overwhelmed by the freedom, the isolation, and all the possibilities that await in this new environment. Based on the author’s personal college journal and comics, Freshman Year navigates the inner workings of an 18-year-old girl in witty and heartfelt detail.
¡Ay, Mija!
Pack your bags! We’re going to Mexico!! This heartwarming graphic novel about family, heritage, and finding your place is something anyone can connect to, whether you share the same background as author Christine Suggs or not.
In this bilingual, inventive, and heartfelt debut, graphic novel talent Christine Suggs explores a trip they took to Mexico to visit family, embracing and rebelling against their heritage and finding a sense of belonging.
Sixteen-year-old Christine takes their first solo trip to Mexico to spend a few weeks with their grandparents and tía. At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don’t yet share a language with. Seeing the places their mom grew up—the school she went to, the café where she had her first date with their father—Christine becomes more and more aware of the generational differences in their family.
Soon Christine settles into life in Mexico, eating pan dulce, drawing what they see, and growing more comfortable with Spanish. But when Mom joins their trip, Christine’s two worlds collide. They feel homesick for Texas, struggle against traditions, and miss being able to speak to their mom without translating. Eventually, through exploring the impacts of colonialism in both Mexico and themselves, they find their place in their family and start to feel comfortable with their mixed identity.
I Was Told There Would Be Romance
by Marie Arnold
I’m in my romcom era. You can ask any of my friends. It’s all I’ve been reading for the past eight months. Given that you now know my expertise, you can fully trust me when I say I Was Told There Would Be Romance is a must-read. Seriously hilarious, and great fun for all!
Fifteen-year-old Fancy Augustine is a Haitian American girl with simple desires. She’d like to trade in her floppy, oversize boobs for cute, perky ones. She’d love a boyfriend. And she’s desperate for an invite to the biggest event of the school year: Imani Park’s birthday party. When Fancy learns her BFF, Tilly, has received a coveted invite and has a secret boyfriend, she is (understandably) devastated and wholeheartedly determined to do whatever it takes to get her own happily ever after.
So what if she makes a deal with the devil (Imani) that guarantees her an invite—but only if she can bring a boyfriend? And what’s so bad about letting her crush, Rahim, believe that she can create a voodoo potion for him in exchange for him posing as her boyfriend? And, yeah, maybe she’s destroying her friendship with Tilly and falling hopelessly behind in her schoolwork, but Fancy knows it’ll all be worth it in the end. Plus, it’s not like Fancy’s parents would really make good on their threats of sending her back to Haiti…right?
Twilight
It would not be a blog post of mine without me trying to fit Twilight into the topic at hand. Luckily this one is easy. Bella has never felt like she fits in, being clumsy and socially awkward as she is. The Cullens are most certainly absolute oddballs to the rest of the Forks High School community. Good thing Edward and Bella found each other. <3
Isabella Swan’s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn.
Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife — between desire and danger.
Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.
