21 Best New Graphic Novels for Tweens

Looking for fresh reading material for your graphic novel loving tween? We’ve collected together 21 of the best new graphic novels for tweens 2023.

These are awesome new graphic novel titles for 8 to 12 year olds (with many that young teens 13+ years will enjoy as well), and they’ve all been published in 2023. There is a little of everything in this list – adventure graphic novels, fantasy and magical realism, realistic fiction and memoir graphic novels, and even historical fiction!

So if you are looking for new graphic novels for your upper elementary or middle grade classroom, school or community library, or for your own child, this is a great place to start.

And, if your child is just getting started with adding graphic novels to their bookshelf, be sure to check out our previous lists of Best Graphic Novels for Kids (which includes suggestions for children ages 6 all the way through to 12 years) and 15 Fabulous Graphic Novels for Tweens for some great super popular tween graphic novel titles.

21 Best New Graphic Novels for Tweens 2023

Each book included on our list of new graphic novels for tweens is linked to both an Amazon page – these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Click on the title or image for more about each book.

Four Eyes by Rex Ogle Rex needs to survive sixth grade – which isn’t easy when his friends are unreliable, the school bullies have him in their sights, and he discovers that he needs glasses…but his family can only afford the cheapest (and ugliest!) pair in the store. Any hope Rex has of fitting in is gone in this great graphic novel for middle grades. Available: Amazon

Wildfire by Breena Bard When a wildfire destroys Juliana’s home and her family has to leave their farm for the big city of Portland, Juliana joins her new school’s conservation club, hoping to find some solace in helping the environment. But to Juliana, the real culprits were a bunch of kids who played with fireworks, that started the fire. One of those kids, her ex-friend Carson, has also moved to Portland, and is now in the same school as Juliana and even has the gall to show up at the conservation club! How is Juliana supposed to find solace in her new life after losing everything to the fire? Available: Amazon

Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd Eleven year old Avery loves her life. She lives in a great neighborhood, has terrific friends, and loves her family. Despite all this, she’s feeling squished by her six siblings and just wants some space of her own. A great middle grade graphic novel exploring family dynamics, emotional communication, friendship, and the complexities of being a pre-teen in an ever changing world. Available: Amazon

Duel by Jessixa Bagley Sisters Lucy and GiGi are completely different and constantly fight. Their relationship has been even more strained since their father, a fencing instructor, passed away and their mother struggles with her own grief. When a big fight on the first day of school lands them in the principal’s office, the sisters decide to settle things once and for all…with a big fencing duel! GiGi is an experienced fencer, who plans to try out as fencing team captain, but Lucy hasn’t touched a foil since her dad died. As the girls prepare for the bout, anticipation at school grows but will this duel really be the answer to their problems with each other, or will it cause more harm to their already fractured family? Available: Amazon

Ghost Book by Remy Lai July can see ghosts. Not only that, July can also summon ghosts, and sometimes even converse with them. But this often gets her into trouble, especially with her dad who insists ghosts don’t exist! So July pretend ghosts don’t exist – which is incredibly difficult during Hungry Ghost month, when the Gates of the Underworld open and dangerous ghosts run amok in the living world! When July saves a boy ghost from being devoured by a Hungry Ghost, he becomes her first ever friend. Except William is not a ghost. He’s a wandering soul wavering between life and death, tethered to his living body by a red thread. As they embark on an journey to return William to his body, the two unearth a ghastly truth – they always been connected, and for William to live, July must die. Available: Amazon

For more titles like this, check out our big list of Scary Graphic Novels for Tweens.

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School Trip by Jerry Craft This is the third and newest title in Craft’s awesome The New Kid graphic novel series. In this edition, the gang from Riverdale Academy Day School are back and this time they’re heading out on a school trip to Paris. As an aspiring artist himself, Jordan can’t wait to see all the amazing art in the famous city. But when their trusted faculty guides are replaced at the last minute, the school trip takes an unexpected, very funny turn. And its little surprise that trying to find their way around a foreign city ends up being almost as tricky as navigating the same friendships, fears, and differences that they struggle with at home! Available: Amazon

Break by Kayla Miller A new Olive story for fans of Kayla Miller’s Click series. Spring Break is full of opportunities…usually! This year Olive is spending Spring Break with her dad and she is not excited! As the week winds on Olive finds feelings of loneliness and resentment throwing her out of whack. Is there any hope of salvaging the visit or will Olive’s Spring Break be a Spring Bust? Available: Amazon

For more of the best graphic novel series of tweens that have had new editions released in 2023, be sure to also check out the latest episodes of; •  Emmie & Friends: Surprisingly Sarah •  Last Kids on Earth: Last Kids on Earth and the Monster Dimension •  City of Dragons: Rise of the Shadowfire •  PAWS: Priya Puts Herself First •  Witches of Brooklyn: Spell of a Time •  Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers •  Big Nate: Move It or Lose It! •  HiLo: Gina and the Last City on Earth •  Wings of Fire: Winter Turning

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Picture Day by Sarah Sax Seventh grader Viv is tired of being overlooked so when picture day comes around she does something drastic to make her stand out from the crowd. Her actions make her peers stand up and take notice and she becomes an overnight influencer at her middle school, which drives her to do more and more to be successful and popular. But at what cost? Will Viv lose a piece of herself in the process, as well as the trust of her true best friends? Available: Amazon

Katie and the Cupcake Cure by Coco Simon When Katie’s best friend deserts her for the popular girls at middle school, Katie teams up with some new allies to form their very own Cupcake Club in this sweet and sugary tale about everyday life as a tween, changing friendships in middle school and bonding with new friends over common interests. The first book in a colorful graphic novel adaptation of the Cupcake Diaries book series. Available: Amazon

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat Christina, a young Asian American girl, is just trying to fit in in her nearly-all-white, small-town school in Texas, and making the cheerleading squad would certainly get her in with the in-crowd in this wonderful story about chasing dreams, finding your passion, believing in your friends and also, believing in yourself. Available: Amazon

Nell of Gumbling: My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life by Emma Steinkellner Seventh grade is no fairy tale! This fabulous graphic novel-diary hybrid (it does have more text than most graphic novels) is all about Nell, a twelve-year-old girl living an ordinary life in a magical fairytale land – her best friend is a fairy, the community center is a castle and she is excited for her upcoming apprenticeship. But Nell feels like everything goes wrong hen she isn’t placed with the artist of her dreams, but the town archivist! Although she tries to make it work, things keep going wrong, and then human developers from New York City arrive with a plan to transform their magical town into a bustling resort. Nell and her friends must use their skills and the power of friendship to try to save their beloved kingdom. Available: Amazon

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Dungeon Club: Roll Call by Molly Knox Ostertag For Jess middle school feels like a dungeon. Fortunately she has her best friend, Olivia, and a shared love for Dungeons & Dragons. When the girls create a Dungeons and Dragons club in their first year of middle school, Jess struggles with accepting others into their D&D world. A great middle grade graphic novel exploring real issues for tweens such as bullying, shifting friend groups, evolving relationships, and learning how to accept others. Available: Amazon

The Secret of the Ravens by Joanna Cacao In this exciting middle-grade fantasy graphic novel (the first in a new series) orphan twins, Elliot and Liza, decide to join a mysterious game involving a series of quests in an attempt to make enough money to survive. One such quest leaves Liza fighting for her life, and Elliot must rely on the help of a dark mage to find ingredients for a spell to save Liza. Available: Amazon

Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Graphic Novel, Part 1 by Shannon Messenger Fans of the super popular book series, Keeper of the Lost Cities, can now literally see the story come to life in this graphic novel adaptation. Part 1 covers the first half of the first book in the series. For those new to the story, 12 year old Sophie is a telepath, someone who can read minds. And she has never quite fit in anywhere, until she meets Fitz, another telepath, who explains that the reason she doesn’t fit in is because she is not from the human world. And so her path of self discovery begins, into the realm of ‘the lost cities’! Available: Amazon

The 39 Clues: A Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan Another popular series undergoing transformation from novel to graphic novel, this first visual peek into the world of The 39 Clues is sure to be a hit with fans of the original series. New readers will discover in this first installment the story of The Cahills – once the most powerful family in the world. However, the family is now fractured, and the source of its power lost. When the matriarch  of the family, Grace Cahill, dies she leaves her heirs a choice: they can either receive a million dollars or a clue. The first Cahill to assemble all 39 clues hidden around the world will discover what makes the family so powerful – a reward beyond measure. Available: Amazon

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Mexikid by Pedro Martin A heartfelt and hilarious graphic novel memoir by Pedro Martin sharing his story as a Mexican American born boy in a big family and their oftentimes chaotic road trip in an old Winnebago to Mexico to bring home their ailing Abuelito (grandfather) to live with them in the US. Pedro is not looking forward to the addition to the family, his family already has eleven people living in a house suited to five, and he doesn’t know what he will even talk to his Spanish speaking grandfather about! Available: Amazon

Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang A fascinating, heartfelt look at the struggles faced by three Taiwanese children (aged 10, 14 and 16) in the 1980s when they are left by their parents to grow up undocumented in America. They leave home on a family vacation only to find that their parents have made plans with friends for them to stay in the US without them. When the family friends also abandon them, the siblings face many stressful mishaps and hardships in a fictionalized story based on the reality of a generation of ‘parachute kids’ and the challenges they face in pursuit of a better education and future. Available: Amazon

Hoops by Matt Tavares What would it be like to be part of the first ever girls team for a sport at your high school? A great historical fiction graphic novel based on the real experiences of an Indiana based girls basketball team in the 1970s and the ups and downs of their fight against gender inequality in high school sports. The girls team didn’t get to use the gym until the boys had finished practice. They had to make their own uniforms, and organize their own transport for away games. What hope would they have of ever winning a championship? Available: Amazon

Buzzing by Samuel Sattin Isaac is a lonely twelve-year-old struggling with OCD, an overbearing mother and older sister. When he finally makes some friends at school who want him to join their role playing game, he feels a lot less lonely but video games can make OCD worse so when his grades start to slip his mother forbids him from continuing. How will Isaac explain how necessary the friends and game are to quietening the constant worrying thoughts swirling around in his head? Available: Amazon

Global by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin A clever graphic novel for middle grade readers, addressing issues of climate change through the impacts upon two children living in different parts of the world – Yuki, a girl in the Canadian Arctic and Sami, a boy in the bay of Bengal. Both are affected in different but equally powerful ways, inviting young people to think about the global impacts of climate change. Available: Amazon

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin A fascinating graphic novel adaptation of the award-winning nonfiction book, Bomb, this is the frightening true story of the creation behind the most destructive force that birthed the arms race and the Cold War – the atomic bomb. Captivating for older tween and teen history and spy story fans. Available: Amazon

For more like this, check out our list of over 30 historical fiction graphic novels for tweens and teens.