The fall semester has officially ended, and as an English major, I often like to reflect on the books that I’ve read throughout the semester. Even though the majority of them are required readings, and can be tedious at times, sometimes you are fortunate enough to have professors who choose some great books to fit their curriculum. This semester had five standouts for me, which I think belongs in everyone’s library, and will you be surprised to know that two of them are graphic novels. Yes! We read graphic novels as part of a college course. These books deal with prominent social justice issues like racism, gender inequality, poverty, along with creating dialogue on identity discourse, assimilation, teen pregnancies and immigration.

1. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese, is a mutli-narrative graphic novel, that consists of three storylines. The first story retells the story of the Monkey King, who is the ruler of Flower-fruit Mountain. However, the Monkey King wants to be regarded as a god amongst the other gods and goddesses, but the proves impossible because he is after all, a monkey. The second story follows the main protagonist Jin Wang who is a Chinese American teenager who struggles to find and accept his cultural identiy. The third story is on the character Danny, who is a blond teenager mortified by yearly visits from his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee.

2. Aya: Life in Yop City by Marguerite Abouet

Aya: Life in Yop City, is a graphic novel that takes place in the Ivory Coast in the 1970's. The novel follows the life of Aya, Bentou, and Adjoua, at deals with issues of teenage pregnancies, infidelities, female objectification and class differences. The book provides a fascinating insight into a different culture, while weaving in humor and a bit of controversy.

3. Tough Boy Sonatas by Curtis Crisler

Tough Boy Sonatas is a riveting collection of poems that focus on the lives of the minority community of Gary, Indiana. Gary, Indiana was a city that once flourished from the steel industry, but is now plagued with violence, civil unrest, poverty and a broken education system. The dark imagery and solemn wording creates the mood of the poems, and the powerful language in each poem makes the author’s voice prevalent throughout the book. Many of the poems illustrate terrifying violence and abuse, along with methods of survival, and a sense of hope.

4. The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

The Woman Warrior subverts the traditional autobiography narrative structure by interweaving facts and fiction, Chinese myth and legend during the author’s articulation of her experience of growing up in a culturally and racially divided environment.As an American-born woman of Chinese descent, the narrator is caught between conflicting cultures that perpetuate a state of in-betweenness in which she is equally displaced in both cultures.

5. No-No Boy by John Okada

No-No Boy explores the aftermath of the internment of Japanese Americans during and after World War II through the character Ichiro. Okada presents the protagonist Ichiro’s identity crisis through a binary opposition of American identity and Japanese identity.