I can’t wait to discover more new graphic novel authors and illustrators! My 2020 reading challenge is to read 50 books, and I plan to add more graphic novels to my reading list.

You know that saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, with a graphic novel, the pictures are many and the words are few because the images so beautifully illustrate the characters’ emotions, motives, struggles, and victories. Graphic novels also offer the added bonus of visual storytelling. This is huge because the graphics allow these readers to absorb and learn from the stories and engage in active discussion with friends, classmates, and teachers. This is wonderful because rather than missing out on the book altogether, these reluctant or struggling readers can still follow the plot, utilizing the images where the text proves challenging. In fact, some reluctant or struggling readers who might not pick up a traditional middle grade or YA novel might opt for a graphic novel instead. The fact that graphic novels have less text doesn’t make them any less of a book. But I’ve come to discover the value of graphic novels on multiple levels. They looked more like comic books than novels and they were packed with illustrations and very little text compared to other middle grade and YA novels. To be completely honest, I didn’t really “get” graphic novels when I initially discovered them a few years ago. More so, it’s a great choice for anyone who wants to know more about periods and how to have a positive conversation about them.Over the last year or so I’ve really developed an appreciation of graphic novels. Go with the Flow is a great choice for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jeff Kinney. Lily Williams and Karen Schneeman expertly balance a fun coming-of-age story with a real cultural and social issue that influences half of the population. Go With the Flow expertly tackles the struggle of being a teenager-and also the cultural stigma against periods and the people who have them. This is a story of four friends struggling to handle high school, and, more specifically, the challenges of having a period while being in high school. And, when Abby takes things too far to make a point, everything gets even more complicated. At first, their efforts get shut down, and no one is willing to discuss the issue with them.

The four friends begin a campaign to help confront period stigma, period poverty, and the lack of access and understanding in their school.

But mostly.periods are normal.”īest friends Abby, Christine, and Brit step in to help Sasha, a new student, when she unexpectedly gets her first period at school They are dismayed to realize that the school’s pad and tampon machines are not only empty, they are expensive.

Go with the Flow by Lily Williams