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Silver Spoon, My Brother's Husband Rank in YALSA's Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens

The American Library Association's (ALA's) Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) released its 2019 list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens last week. Gengoroh Tagame's My Brother’s Husband (published by Pantheon Books) and Hiromu Arakawa's Silver Spoon ranked in the Top Ten graphic novels this year. Svetlana Chmakova's Crush (published by Yen Press) also ranked in the top ten.

The 19 manga on the list of 95 titles include:

Title: My Brother’s Husband GN 2
Creator: Gengoroh Tagame
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Yaichi has been struggling to fully understand and accept his brother's husband, Mike. Spending time together during Mike's visit to Japan, Yaichi and his daughter realize just how important he is to their family.

Title: Silver Spoon GN 1-4
Creator: Hiromu Arakawa
Publisher: Yen Press
Yuugo Hachiken has always been a great student, but instead of going to a regular academic high school, he decides to enroll in Ooezo Agricultural High School instead. This city boy was hoping to coast through high school, and an agricultural school is sure to be easy, right? Wrong! Instead of doing math problems, and reciting poetry, he's waking up at 5AM to do chores, raise piglets and learn to ride a horse.

Title: The Bride Was a Boy GN
Creator: Chii
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Chii's biggest dream in life was to live as the woman she always knew she was, but she never expected to also meet her future husband at the beginning of her transition. Documenting her real life experience in manga format, Chii shows readers the complexity of transitioning and relationships in Japan for trans individuals.

Title: Again!! GN 1-5
Creator: Mitsurou Kubo
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Kinishrio has been ignored his entire high school career because his looks make people think he's a troublemaker, but after falling down the stairs at his high school graduation, he wakes up three years earlier with a chance to do it all over Again!!.

Title: Ao Haru Ride GN 1-2
Creator: Io Sakisaka
Publisher: Viz Media
By her last year in middle school, Futaba Yoshioka hasn't found a boy that she didn't find immature or annoying—until she gets to know Kou Tanaka. As possible sparks begin to fly, Kou leaves school, not to return until high school. With both of them having changed so much, can they go back to how they felt before?

Title: Black Torch GN 1-2
Creator: Tsuyoshi Takaki
Publisher: Viz Media
Jiro Azuma is a teen ninja who can talk to animals. One day, he rescues an injured cat, and embroils himself in a whole new world of the supernatural, attracting the attention of a top-secret anti-mononoke espionage unit called Black Torch.

Title: Flying Witch GN 3-6
Creator: Chihiro Ishizuka
Publisher: Vertical Comics
A novice witch moves to rural Japan to complete her training to become a full-fledged witch.

Title: Frau Faust GN 1-3
Creator: Kore Yamazaki
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Marion agrees to help a strange woman in exchange for tutoring lessons, with no idea that he is actually assisting Dr. Faust, the fairy tale character known for selling his soul to a demon. However, the real Dr. Faust is not the sinister man from the stories, but rather, a solitary woman on a mission to find all the pieces of her demon to put him back together.

Title: The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún GN 3-5
Creator: Nagabe
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Left in the care of "Teacher," a young girl named Shiva must survive in the Outside, a land filled with vicious beasts that curse others with a touch. Shiva, Teacher, and Shiva's auntie find themselves in the mysterious push-pull situation between the creatures of the Outside and the humans in power on the Inside.

Title: I Hear the Sunspot: Theory of Happiness GN
Creator: Yuki Fumino
Publisher: One Peace Books
Taichi is confused about his feelings for Kohei, and their friendship is strained after a misunderstanding that happened during Spring Break. Now Kohei, who is hearing impaired, doesn't need Taichi to take lecture notes for him anymore either. Taichi is left to figure out his future and whether or not there is a place for Kohei in it.

Title: Laid-Back Camp GN 1-3
Creator: Afro
Publisher: Yen Press
Rin loves to go camping, and she does so alone. Then she meets Nadeshiko, a girl who wants to see Mt. Fuji as it appears on the 1000 yen note, and their first encounter soon leads to friendship. Rin still prefers to enjoy the outdoors in peace, though she has to admit that camping with a friend can be fun too—even if they're just eating cup ramen and enjoying the view from their campsite.

Title: Nameless Asterism GN 1-2
Creator: Kina Kobayashi
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Since the day they met, Shiratori, Washio, and Kotooka have been inseparable best friends, but Shiratori is secretly in love with Washio and is afraid that her feelings could ruin everything. Will the three girls be able to manage their feelings of first love and still be friends?

Title: The Promised Neverland GN 2-6
Creators: Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu
Publisher: Viz Media
Orphans Emma, Norman, and Ray learn a terrible secret about the fate of the children raised in their orphanage and work hard to construct a plan to escape before it's too late.

Title: Spirit Circle GN 1-5
Creator: Satoshi Mizukami
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Fuuta instantly falls in love with the new transfer student, Ishigami, but when she declares that he is her mortal enemy who she has vowed to kill, Fuuta has to discover what exactly happened between the two of them in their previous lives to cause such hatred in a middle school girl.

Title: Star Wars: Lost Stars GN 1
Creators: Claudia Gray and Yūsaku Komiyama
Publisher: Yen Press
Set in the Star Wars universe, this story follows childhood friends Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree as they escape the rigid social hierarchy of their home world and seek better lives by attending the Empire's military academy. Close friends become enemies as one remains in the Empire while the other joins the Rebellion.

Title: Sweet Blue Flowers GN 1-4
Creator: Takako Shimura
Publisher: Viz Media
Akira and Fumi haven't seen each other since they were childhood friends, but when they bump into each other at a train station on the way to their new schools, the two instantly become best friends Again!!. Now they are faced with the challenges of high school, and Akira continues to help the timid Fumi, even when she starts falling for the most popular girl at her school.

Title: To Your Eternity GN 1-5
Creator: Yoshitoki Ōima
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
An "orb" is cast down from the heavens with the ability to take the shape of anything it sees, including a wolf whose last wish was to be reunited with an abandoned boy. Taking place over time, the main character takes on many forms as he travels the world, exploring relationships in many different places and facing new challenges in each one.

Title: Waiting for Spring GN 3-8
Creator: Anashin
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Mitsuki was determined to have a high school experience full of friends, but she never expected to become close friends with the stars of the boys basketball team. Now, she finds herself falling for the talented Towa, but an old childhood friend challenges Towa as a rival for Mitsuki's affection.

Title: your name. GN 2-3
Creator: Makoto Shinkai and Ranmaru Kotone
Publisher: Yen Press
Two teens, Mitsuha and Taki, have a strange connection; they swap bodies in their sleep. As time goes on, they realize that the threads binding them together are far darker than they could have imagined.

The first volume of My Brother’s Husband made it to the top ten on the previous year's list. Last year, 17 out of 115 titles were manga.

Source: YALSA via School Library Journal