Something that’s become a staple of young adult literature, thanks to over a decade of popularity, is the adaptation of beloved YA novels into comic form. These adaptations take the story you know and love in narrative form and bring it into a visual format. This, of course, means that not everything from the original text makes it into the comic, but the story itself, alongside beloved characters, gets the opportunity to play out in a new and fresh way.
Comics require a form of literacy that coincides with traditional reading skills. In addition to understanding how to parse text, comics require visual skills, too. This makes reading comic adaptations especially worthwhile: they can be a powerful introduction to a longer novel for readers, as much as they are excellent introductions to comics for readers who gravitate toward more traditional novels. The best part? Readers can experience both formats and walk away with a rich, meaningful reading experience.
Though YA comic adaptations aren’t new, over the last half-decade, an increasing number of beloved YA novels have been given the comics treatment. Some are by well-known authors with long-standing careers in young adult literature. Others are those who’ve had quieter careers or surprise hits amid building a writing life not centered in YA. In all cases, here are a few YA comics adaptations you should add to your TBR or to the TBR of a young reader in your life.
6 of the Best YA Novels Turned Comics
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, adapted by Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Dave Kopka, colored by Brann LivesayLina Vilkas was 15 when a knock at her door changed her life forever. It’s June 1941, and her family’s just been arrested by the Soviet secret police. They’re being sent from Lithuania to Serbia. Everything along the way is horrific, and the fight for Lina’s life is unrelenting. Then she gets an idea: she begins passing secret messages to her dad in another prison through drawings. She hopes it can help the family find freedom, though she knows that she’s also putting all of their lives at even greater risk. |
![]() Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, with art by Danica NovgorodoffWhen Will’s brother Shawn is killed by gunfire, Will wants to get revenge. He has the gun in his waistband, but as the elevator he takes from his apartment on the seventh floor goes down, Will meets several individuals in his building who may convince him that responding to violence with more violence isn’t the solution. The short timespan of this novel, with the graphic novel format, makes it a fast read–and a read that will demand revisiting several times in one sitting. |
![]() Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira, with art by Talia DuttoIf it’s wrong to tease a book that’s not due out for several more years, then allow me to be wrong. Dellaira’s phenomenally popular novel is getting a graphic novel edition that’s expected in fall 2028. The link here goes to the narrative version for those reasons, but there’s no one telling you not to get excited for the comic format. Laurel’s English class assignment is to write a letter to a dead person, and she chooses Kurt Cobain. He was her sister’s favorite person, and he died young, as she did. Laurel finds the writing cathartic and begins penning a notebook’s worth of letters to dead celebrities. They help her untangle what happened to her–and ultimately, to her sister–in a way she could have never anticipated. |
![]() Monster by Walter Dean Myers, Adapted by Guy A. Sims, illustrated by Dawud AnyabwileMonster is the story of 16-year-old Steve Harmon, who is telling his story through the format of a film script and diary entries as he awaits trial for murder. The murder occurred during a robbery at a drug store, where Steve was supposedly acting as a lookout. The details of the event are sketchy to Steve, but through the story, he begins to reconstruct what happened–and in the process, begins to free himself. Among the major themes in the book are those of justice and the prison system–particularly as it relates to Black boys–as well as masculinity, peer pressure, and more. |
![]() The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater, adapted by Stephanie Williams, art by Sas MilledgeBlue Sargent comes from a family of psychics, even though she herself never had that power. Gansey is a privileged boy from an all-boys private school, and one of the boys that Blue has always avoided–the Raven Boys at that school are to be avoided. But Gansey offers Blue something she’s always secretly wanted: to join in an adventure with him and three other Raven Boys to discover whether or not a Welsh king is sleeping beneath their mountain town. This promises to be an adventure full of the kind of magic Blue’s always longed for. But it isn’t long before the world becomes a little more dangerous than she could have bargained for. The Dream Thieves, the second comic adaptation from the series, will hit shelves on August 4. |
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, adapted by Barbara Perez Marquez, illustrated by Akimaro and Li Lu (May 5)The first book in the beloved YA series, now a beloved adaptation, is making its comic debut. This story follows 16-year-old Lara Jean Covey, whose stored all of her unsent love letters in a box. Those letters, written to five boys, were for her and her alone. So when they’re released into the world, Lara Jean’s previously quiet love life becomes anything but. |
Check out this post for even more YA novels turned comics, and catch up with April’s new YA comics releases. Can’t get enough of comics? Make sure you get our newsletter dedicated to all things comics, The Stack.








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