Looking for a seasonal read that takes place in October or November? Look no further than these juvenile and young adult graphic novels. From pumpkin patches to ghosts, haunted houses to witches, there is something here for everyone to enjoy. Not a fan of traditional graphic novels? Most of these can also be found on our digital e-book apps! I personally enjoy reading graphic novels digitally because the colors pop, you can zoom in on speech bubbles, and there are multiple formatting options to help you to easier grasp the flow of a graphic novel. Download Hoopla, Cloud Library, or Overdrive/Libby to give it a try today!
Plot summaries from publishers.
Beetle & the Hollowbones
by Aliza Layne
In the eerie town of ‘Allows, some people get to be magical sorceresses, while other people have their spirits trapped in the mall for all ghastly eternity.
Then there’s twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, who’s caught in between. She’d rather skip being homeschooled completely and spend time with her best friend, Blob Glost. But the mall is getting boring, and B.G. is cursed to haunt it, tethered there by some unseen force. And now Beetle’s old best friend, Kat, is back in town for a sorcery apprenticeship with her Aunt Hollowbone. Kat is everything Beetle wants to be: beautiful, cool, great at magic, and kind of famous online. Beetle’s quickly being left in the dust.
But Kat’s mentor has set her own vile scheme in motion. If Blob Ghost doesn’t escape the mall soon, their afterlife might be coming to a very sticky end. Now, Beetle has less than a week to rescue her best ghost, encourage Kat to stand up for herself, and confront the magic she’s been avoiding for far too long. And hopefully ride a broom without crashing.
Sheets
by Brenna Thummler
Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.
Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.
When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.
Available digitally:
Hoopla
Overdrive/Libby
The Okay Witch
by Emma Steinkellner
Magic is harder than it looks. Thirteen-year-old Moth Hush loves all things witchy. But she’s about to discover that witches aren’t just the stuff of movies, books, and spooky stories. When some eighth-grade bullies try to ruin her Halloween, something really strange happens. It turns out that Founder’s Bluff, Massachusetts, has a centuries-old history of witch drama. And, surprise: Moth’s family is at the center of it all! When Moth’s new powers show up, things get totally out-of-control. She meets a talking cat, falls into an enchanted diary, and unlocks a hidden witch world. Secrets surface from generations past as Moth unravels the complicated legacy at the heart of her town, her family, and herself.
Available digitally:
Cloud Library
Haunted Mansion
by Sina Grace
Welcome, foolish mortals... to the Haunted Mansion, where the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake. The happy haunts are getting ready to throw a swinging wake, and all the goblins and ghoulies are invited, so be sure to bring your death certificate!
Sydney is the newest resident of the Haunted Mansion, a retirement home for wayward ghosts. Now she has to learn how to scare visiting mortals in order to earn her keep--all while resident mean ghost Constance is out to make it all as difficult as possible! But with the help of our favorite grim, grinning ghosts, Sydney just might pull it off!
Available digitally:
Hoopla
Mooncakes
by Suzanne Walker
Nova Huang knows
more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her
grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and
investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.
One
fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and
she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling
a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from
place to place for years, unable to call any town home.
Pursued
by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options,
Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against
the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family
ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.
Available digitally:
Hoopla
Pumpkinheads
by Rainbow Rowell
Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1. But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.
Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . . What if their last shift was an adventure?
Available digitally:
Cloud Library
Overdrive/Libby
About the Author
Kelcey is one of our Adult Services Assistants in the Reference Department and has been working at EPL since 2015. She enjoys horror films, K-Pop music, YA books, and traveling with her family. At work she enjoys coordinating adult programming, working with the 3D printer, and getting to the bottom of any research question.