45 Graphic Novels With Strong Girls
Heroes don’t always wear capes! In fact, the stars of this collection of graphic novels with strong girls are female characters your kids are sure to relate to. Sassy or shy, confident or questioning, these are girls who make mistakes and who are learning lessons about identity, equity, emotions, friendship, leadership, self confidence and more.
The collection includes graphic novels re-imagined classics, memoirs sharing stories of bravery and self-discovery, and the tales of unlikely superheroes. What do they have in common, each includes a strong girl who is remarkable in their own story!
45 Graphic Novels With Strong Girls
As always, each title included on our list is linked to an Amazon and/or Book Depository page (these are affiliate links) where you can find further information and reviews for those titles you might not be personally familiar with.
Gabby and Gator by James Burks  With a fun side of humor, this delightful story of the unlikely friendship between a young girl who feels like an outcast and a misunderstood alligator shares positive messages about overcoming you fears and standing up to bullies. Age 6+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Giants Beware! (book 1 of the Chronicles of Claudette series) by Jorge Aguirre  Claudette is determined to defeat the giants she hears of in the village storyteller’s tales. She recruits her best friend, Marie (a princess in training), and her little brother, Gaston (an aspiring chef) to join her quest to defeat the savage giants. This is a fun and adventurous book that breaks gender stereotypes and embraces diversity, inspiring readers to face their fears and use not just bravery, but also wit and intelligence, to achieve their goals. Age 7+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Phoebe and Her Unicorn (book 1 of the series) by Dana Simpson  Phoebe and Her Unicorn is the first in this series of witty, sarcastic stories about 9 year old Phoebe, a confident, happy misfit, and her absolutely self-absorbed unicorn friend, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. The series explores themes related to fitting in, popularity, loneliness, honesty and being oneself. Age 8+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Diana: Princess of the Amazons by Shannon Hale  11 year old princess, Diana (aka Wonder Woman), is the only child on an island of immortal Amazons. And she’s bored. When she hears the story of how she was made out of clay, Diana decides to make her own clay best friend. Enter Mona….who may not be the best influence of Diana. Diana makes some bad decisions that could put the whole idyllic Amazonian world in danger! Age 8+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Smile by Raina Telgemeier  One night sixth grader, Raina, trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. The story of her long, frustrating and often embarrassing journey to look and feel normal again has become a surefire hit read with girls all around the world. Age 8+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Guts by Raina Telgemeier  Another incredible Telgemeier graphic novel memoir, this time dealing with her lifelong battle with anxiety, phobias and panic attacks and their effect on her digestive system. A great read for kids who struggle with worry and stress, and associated tummy pains. Age 8+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Max and the Midknights (book 1 of the series) by Lincoln Peirce  Max wants to be a knight but kingdom rules state girls cannot be knights. When her uncle is kidnapped by the evil and aptly named King Gastley, Max gets her chance, banding together with several courageous friends (who together dub themselves the Midknights) to come to the rescue. This graphic novel/chapter book hybrid touches on important themes such as bravery, gender roles, equity and poverty. Age 8+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust by Loic Dauvillier  An inspirational introduction to the topic of the Holocaust for children. A grandmother gently shares her story with her granddaughter of her early life during the Holocaust, including being separated from the other students at school, being separated from her parents and sent to stay with strangers, surviving by hiding in small spaces and not recognising her mother on her return from the concentration camps. Age 8+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
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Anne of Green Gables. Adapted by Mariah Marsden  Fall in love with Anne all over again with this wonderful adaptation of the story of the orphan Anne with an e when she is sent to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. The Cuthberts had requested a boy to assist with their farm and could never have imagined the impact this spirited, passionate red headed girl would have on their lives, and the lives of those she meets in Avonlea. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
To Dance by Siena Cherson Siegel  When she was six years old, a doctor told Siena’s mother that she would never dance because of her flat feet. Years later (as a young adult) she debuted with the New York City Ballet. A beautiful memoir about growing up to love dance, and the refuge a sport can become when facing life difficulties. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson  Roller Girl has so much good stuff in it – it explores growing apart from childhood friends, finding new friends, standing up for yourself and others, the importance of positive role models, defining who you are as a person as you grow up, facing fear and surviving. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
El Deafo by Cece Bell  El Deafo is the fabulous, semi-autobiographical story of Cece as she adjusts to life as a deaf person. Cece is trying to find ways to cope as the only deaf student in her school – a job made especially difficult thanks to the giant hearing aid strapped to Cece’s chest! The story is funny, deeply honest and a fabulous lesson in learning to accept individual differences. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Stargazing by Jen Wang  Christine tries hard to be everything her parents want her to be – academic, musical, and serious. Moon is a bundle of contradictions – vegetarian, Buddhist, funny, loud, good at drawing, uncool but supremely confident. The two are unlikely friends and then become best friends. When Christine becomes jealous of Moon’s burgeoning popularity she makes a choice that just might sabotage their friendship forever. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen  When Willow is overwhelmed by her own emotions following a fight with her big sister she goes running off into the woods to seek refuge. There she meets Pilu, a lost tree spirit who cannot find her own way home. The two become friends with Willow determined to help Pilu return home safely. As they travel together, Willow is forced to come to terms with the emotions that cause her to lash out at her loved ones and to think poorly of herself—learning to deal with these big feelings in a healthy way, without hurting herself or her family. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Donut the Destroyer by Sarah Graley  Donut is a villain who wants to be a hero! Her parents are epic evildoers so it’s going to be hard to break tradition. Then there’s her best friend, Ivy, who is trying her hardest to ruin Donut’s time at hero school in order to set her back on a villainous path. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Lumberjanes Vol 1: Beware the Kitten Holy (includes books 1-4 of the series) by Noelle Stevenson  A group of five, diverse, female best friends are spending their summer at Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penninquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types when things take a surprisingly strange turn, transforming their summer camp into a non-stop fantasy adventure involving a mysterious Bearwoman, three eyed foxes, talking, arm-wrestling statues and other supernatural critters. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd  Ten year old Maggie has always wanted a pet. When her parents finally agree to her getting a dog, the family discovers Maggie has a sever allergy to fur and feathers. Struggling to accept her allergy and determined to find a pet that she can tolerate, Maggie is also facing the difficulties of a new baby for her family, starting a new school, and the attempt to find and keep new friends. Portrayed with sensitivity, this lovely story still manages to be light, with moments of true humour, whilst also balancing feelings of frustration, loneliness and sadness. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
The Stonekeeper (book 1 of the Amulet series) by Kazu Kibuishi  In this popular graphic novel series, Emily and Navin move into their grandfather’s house with their mother after tragedy strikes their family. When a mysterious creature kidnaps their mother, Emily and Navin are determined to rescue her, following the trail into a world of robots, talking animals, flying ships, new friends and dangerous enemies! The siblings must battle for the freedom of this alternative world from the Evil Elf King, as Emily learns that she is actually a Stonekeeper and essential to the survival of this strange alternative reality. Age 9+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
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White Bird by R J Palacio  As part of Julian’s school assignment he asks his grandmother to share her story as a teenage Jewish girl in southern France during WWII. Her story of survival is a remarkable tale of human kindness and unspeakable bravery. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Target Practice (book 1 in the Cleopatra in Space series) by Mike Maihack  Cleopatra, Cleo to her friends, is transported from Egypt into the future to the planet Mayet. There she is seen as the saviour to this world, and she has been chosen to defeat the evil dictator ruining civilisations on the planet. But first Cleo must attend an intergalactic school to learn the skills she will need to fulfil her destiny of saving the universe. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Primer by Thomas Krajewski & Jennifer Muro  Middle schooler, Ashley, has finally found a foster family she cares about. They accept her free spirit and encourage her love of art. But when Ashley stumbles upon her scientist foster mother’s top secret body paints that foster superpowers, Ashley transforms into the world’s newest superhero, Primer! When interest in the paints attacks trouble, Ashley has to decide what family really means. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Catherine’s War by Julia Billet  Nazi resisters in occupied France help a young Jewish teen, separated from her own family, stay one step ahead of the Nazi round-ups that threaten to send her to the concentration camps in this true story of the kindness of strangers and the power of the arts to help us all find a way through the darkest of times. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Long Distance by Whitney Gardner  Vega and her dads have moved from Portland to Seattle and she’s not happy about it – having to leave her best friend, Halley, behind was hard. Her dads send Vega to camp in an effort to help her make new friends. Once at camp Vega must work together with fellow campers, Qwerty, Isaac and Gemma to solve a mystery and along the way she learns important lessons about friendship and feeling comfortable in one’s own skin. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova  Awkward is a hilarious, thoughtful and heartfelt story about Penelope as she tries to find her place in a new school, making mistakes from the very first day. Shyness, bullying, social acceptance, competition, working together, friendship and day to day middle school survival are all important themes here. It offers a fabulous reminder to be open to others, even when they are completely different to you, because they may just be more similar than you realise. Age 10+ years Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L Holm  Sunny Side Up is about the summer 10 year old Sunny is spent to stay with her grandfather in Florida – in a retirement community while her parents deal with her teenage brother’s substance abuse problem. It is so boring until Sunny strikes up a friendship with the gardener’s son, Buzz. Sunny and Buzz enjoy adventures together and Sunny learns that it’s often not good to keep secrets and that her brother’s struggles are not her fault. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
| Continue enjoying Sunny’s adventures in book two, Swing It Sunny (Amazon | The Book Depository) and book three, Sunny Rolls the Dice (Amazon | The Book Depository). |
Cub by Cynthia L Copeland  Discovering she has a knack for writing, Cindy’s English teacher finds a local female reporter willing to show her what it is like to work as a journalist. Cindy learns a lot on her internship, discovering much about herself as well – like who she really wants to be friends with at school and the developing relationship with her first boyfriend, and set in the 70s, it includes lots of great references to female empowerment, environmentalism and other social reforms. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol  All Vera wants is to be like the other kids in her neighbourhood. Everyone she knows goes to summer camp each year but Vera’s single mother cannot afford to send her to the cool summer camps that the other kids from school attend. Then one summer her mother agrees to send her to a cultural Russian summer camp. But this camp is not much fun at all and with awkward hilarity Vera finds herself learning lessons about self-acceptance and resilience, and an awful lot about true friendship. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse  When Effie is orphaned and sent to live with her eccentric aunts she quickly realises that things are not as they seem – Carlota and Selimene are actually witches…and Effie might be one too! With a new school, new friends and new abilities for Effie to manage, this is a story full of humor and heart, with a cast of unforgettable, (mainly) loveable characters. Age 10+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
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Go With the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann  A wonderful story of friendship, bullying, activism and periods. Three teens take the new girl under their wing after she gets her period at school. The four become close and realise how unfair it is that the sanitary supplies machine is never stocked, and it costs money, and they decide they want to try and change it. Age 11+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Primates: The Fretless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas by Jim Ottaviano  The insightful stories into the lives of three of the greatest primatologists and their groundbreaking work is cleverly woven into this engaging non fiction graphic novel. Age 11+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
The Time Museum by Matthew Loux  An exciting time travel adventure with six teens from different centuries all believing that they are competing for one internship position at the prestigious Earth Time Museum, a magical repository for all the artifacts from the entire course of the planet’s history. Delia, the main character, is a hard core, science and history nerd and a wonderful female lead. Starting out as competitors but quickly realizing they must work together to succeed, the group manages to save the day – past, present and future! Age 11+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon & Dean Hale  A fabulous, fresh take on the traditional Rapunzel fairy tale, this awesome version is set in the Wild West. Our main character, an empowered, spunky Rapunzel, has braids that prove to be useful as more than just a ladder as she lassos her way to freedom following her imprisonment by Mother Gothel. Intent on revenge she teams up with Jack to stop the evil Gothel, who uses growth magic to enslave the desert’s inhabitants, including Rapunzel’s birth mother. Age 11+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Displacement by Kiku Hughes  Cleverly blending fact with fiction, Displacement tells the story of a modern day, biracial teenager transported back to the time of her grandmother’s detention in a Japanese internment camp in the US during World War II. A great title for engaging students with an important historical period – that wasn’t actually that long ago, that also highlights valuable parallels to recent political events. Age 12+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman  This graphic novel adaptation takes parts of Anne Frank’s original diary and further illuminates the difficultly of the grave situation she and her family experienced, with clever insight into their daily lives and Anne’s personal thoughts and emotional struggles. Age 12+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Fred Fordham  Fordham has done a wonderful job of recreating this beloved classic as a graphic novel. With the innocence of childhood, Scout and Jem Finch are learning to navigate their small town in the deep South in the 1930’s. It’s a place divided by race and class and both the story of a black man wrongly accused of a crime by a white woman, and the neighbourhood legend of a scary black man named Boo who never leaves his house help teach the Finch children, through the guidance of their wise, kind father, important lessons about right and wrong. Age 12+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy: A Modern Retelling of Little Women by Bre Indigo and Rey Terciero  What can you count on in this world if not your sister? The classic story of sisters has been recreated with more than a little modern day twist -including a parent’s military deployment, a multiracial blended family, chemotherapy, coming out as gay, cell phones, email and more, alongside themes of poverty, bullying, disability and family. Age 12+ years Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp  Teen hacker Barbara Gordon has been paralysed from the waist down after being shot as a bystander to a violent crime. Her father sends her to a residential hospital focused on children and recovery from acquired disabilities. She doesn’t want to be there and she doesn’t want to make friends with the other residents. But Barbara gets sucked in by a dangerous mystery, as she discovers that kids are going missing from the creepy halls of the institution! Great, edgy comic book style of graphic novel. Age 12+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
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Almost American Girl by Robin Ha  Moving unexpectedly from South Korea to the US, 14 year old Robin struggles with language barriers, racial injustice and gender roles as she struggles with the loneliness and isolation of attempting to fit into a culture that ostracises others who are different in any way, whilst also navigating the shifting relationships within her own family. Age 13+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice by Debbie Levy  The inspiring biographical story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life including her fight against social inequality and prejudice, as an advocate for women’s rights and gender equality, and how the events of her life and her personal hardships helped to shape her path. Age 13+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia  Seventeen year old Raven has just lost her mother and her memory in a horrible car accident. As she attempts to remember who she is, she realises that she can read other people’s thoughts and feelings, and even control some of their actions with her mind! A story about discoing who you are during the stage of life where you truly feel most vulnerable. Age 13+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki  A bittersweet exploration of the changes in friendships that can take place over just one season, especially for those on the cusp between childhood and adolescence. Rose and her younger friend Windy only see each other every summer. This year they have grown apart and are no longer interested in the same things – Windy wants to dance, drink pop and build forts while Rose wants to talk about her summer crush and watch grisly horror films. Rose is also dealing with family drama and this year Awago Beach no longer feels like her refuge from life. Includes mature conversations and references to body image, sexism, miscarriage, teen pregnancy, and coarse language. Age 13+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell  It’s Deja and Josiah’s last night at the pumpkin patch that they work at every Halloween season. The last chance for Josiah to finally speak to ‘the fudge girl’ he’s been crushing on for the last three seasons. Deja convinces her shy friend to go talk to her, but it turns out that the girl is harder to track than they thought. What starts as a mission to find fudge girl turns into a night of adventure and some interesting realizations for the friends. Age 13+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge  When Paige and her family moves to Brooklyn from Virginia, she feels alone and a little lost. Her first companion becomes her sketchbook. Through her drawings and doodles, Paige tries to find her place in this new life and in her art, with new friends who encourage her to feel more secure in herself and her secret ‘artist’ identity. Age 13+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash  Funny, warm, brave, vulnerable, confused – this is an emotional summer camp story of first love, as fifteen year old Maggie navigates her developing sexuality and her first crush on an older camp counsellor. Age 14+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
Spinning by Tillie Walden  Figure skating has Tillie Walden’s life since she was tiny. But she is lonely, even when surrounded by many other girls. As as her interests evolve during her teenage years – from an evolving passion for art to her first girlfriend, she begins to question if she actually fits in the world of figure skating. Age 14+ years. Available: Amazon | The Book Depository |
For more great graphic novels for kids, check out the great big list in our blog post, Best Graphic Novels for Kids (6-12 years). Or browse our collection of the latest graphic novels for pre-teens in our feature, 20 Best New Graphic Novels for Tweens, all published in 2020. Or click through to find our pick of the best Funny Graphic Novels for Kids.
