YALSA 2024 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

2024 Texas Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List

In this delightfully creepy and unapologetically queer horror romp of a graphic novel, sometimes dreams do come true. Nightmares are technically dreams, after all....

When college freshman Kat Fields receives a mysterious email urging her to visit a relatively unknown Texas town with a history of witchcraft, strange sightings, and ?devil lights??glowing red stars that appear above the town's hills every night?she ditches her plans for spring break and takes a solo road trip to Estrella Roja to investigate for her podcast, Paranormal Texas, catchphrase: ?Y'all stay spooky!?

Meanwhile, Marisol ?Mari? Castillo is also headed for Estrella Roja, to attend the funeral for her abuela whom she hasn't seen since childhood, when her mom cut ties with the family and left town. Feeling lost and bored, she decides to help Kat after a chance meeting at the local diner?and, okay, it doesn't hurt that Kat is super cute.

As the two girls grow closer not only to each other but to uncovering the dark legacy that the town was built on, they discover that something hungry lurks beneath the strange stars and that in the hills of Estrella Roja, some secrets should stay buried.

Ashley Robin Franklin is a queer cartoonist and illustrator based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with her girlfriend and their goofy tiny dogs. Ashley makes sweet and spooky comics with horror and fantasy elements. Her most recent in-print comics are One Million Tiny Fires (2020) and That Full Moon Feeling (2021), both published by Silver Sprocket. She has also published several short comics with the New Yorker, the Nib, and Pome press. The Hills of Estrella Roja is her YA graphic novel debut.