Debra Touchette, a Round 1 Judge for Graphic Novels this year, is a blogger not only at her own blog, (Library Lass) Adventures in Reading, but also at the group blog Guys Lit Wire. She's got a Master's in Literature and is an apprentice librarian. Fun fact: Although she can now command words the way a mighty goddess commands planets and stars, she has limited zombie apocalypse survival skills.
Recently, she reviewed a nominee in the category of Teen Graphic Novels: Drama by Raina Telgemeier, whose previous book Smile was a 2010 Cybils finalist for MG Graphics. This latest volume is not autobiographical, instead following protagonist Callie's adventures with her friends as they prepare for a play. Debra says:
So many books about middle school
and high school focus intensely on the romance aspect of adolescence,
but really, there's a lot more going on for kids, and I really liked how
this book struck a nice balance in Callie's interests.
Read the full review here.