Library Research: My Perfect Read: Christina Kerndt

Christina Kerndt

Christina Kerndt in fantasy-genre costume.

Ever since I first learned to read, I've been reading as much as I can. I don't remember much of the early books I consumed until my dad handed me his little mass market copy of a book called The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. From the moment I first embarked on that journey with Harvey Swick to Mr. Hood's Holiday House, I was hooked.

My absolute favorite genre is fantasy, which carries through my love of juvenile and young adult novels as well as adult. Give me some Seanan McGuire, Catherynne M. Valente, N.K. Jemisin, or Nnedi Okorafor and I’m more than satisfied.

Graphic novels came to be part of my life around 2012 when I jumped into the superhero scene with Matt Fraction's Hawkeye and Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel runs. I jumped in on Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson (I will never stop loving or hyping that comic, ever. Go read it, it's amazing) and found J.H. Williams III's run on Batwoman, and I've always been a fan of Gaiman's Sandman comics. Nowadays, while I still enjoy some superhero comics, I've gotten more into independent/creator-owned titles like Bitch Planet, The Wicked + the Divine, Pretty Deadly, and The Old Guard...not to mention all the kids and teen ones coming out.

Genres of Interest:

Female Protagonists
Juvenile Fiction
Graphic Novels
LGBTQIA+ YA
Fantasy
Young Adult Fiction
Nerd/Geek/Fandom Culture

The All-Time Favorite Forever

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker

Juvenile Fiction

The Fairyland Series by Catherynne M. Valente (Start with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making)
The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu
The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
Death and Douglas by J.W. Ocker
The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani DasGupta
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale
Flying Lessons and Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Rick by Alex Gino
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

Juvenile Graphic Novels

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh
Cucumber Quest graphic novel series by Gigi D.G.
The Witch Boy series by Molly Ostertag
Sunny Side Up series by Jennifer L. Holm
The Tea Dragon Society series by Katie O'Neill
Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O'Neill
Awkward series by Svetlana Chmakova
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola, drawn by Emily Carroll
Princeless series by Jeremy Whitley, drawn by M. Goodwin

Young Adult Fiction

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Gwenda Bond's Lois Lane novels (start with Fallout)
Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages, edited by Saundra Mitchell
Out Now: Queer We Go Again, edited by Saundra Mitchell
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Young Adult Graphic Novels

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki, drawn by Steve Pugh
The entire 10-volume run of Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson (start with Ms Marvel: No Normal)
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, drawn by Jen St. Onge
Cosmoknights by HannahTempler
The Backstagers by James Tynion IV, drawn by Rian Sygh
Moonstruck by Grace Ellis, drawn by Shae Beagle, Kate Leth
Faith by Jody Houser, drawn by Pere Perez, Marguerite Sauvage
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North, drawn by Erica Henderson

Adult Fiction

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Adult Fantasy

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (start with The Fifth Season)
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Vicious and Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab
The October Daye series by Seanan McGuire (start with Rosemary and Rue)
The Wayward Children novellas by Seanan McGuire (start with Every Heart a Doorway)
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Adult Graphic Novels

The Wicked + the Divine by Kieron Gillen, drawn by Jamie McKelvie
Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick, drawn by Valentine De Landro
Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick, drawn by Emma Rios
Rat Queens by Kurtis Wiebe, drawn by Roc Upchurch, Tess Fowler
Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel run
Matt Fraction's Hawkeye run. drawn by David Aja and Annie Wu
The Old Guard by Greg Rucka, drawn by Leandro Fernandez
My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame, translated by Anne Ishii
Once and Future by Kieron Gillen, drawn by Dan Mora
Die by Kieron Gillen, drawn by Stephanie Hans
Kim & Kim by Magdaline Visaggio, drawn by Eva Cabrera and Claudia Aguirre
Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins by Matthew Mercer and Matt Colville, drawn by Olivia Samson
Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san by Honda

Nonfiction

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: and Other Lessons From the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
Let's Pretend This Never Happened (a Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Graphic Nonfiction

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
The Fire Never Goes Out: a Memoir in Pictures by Noelle Stevenson
A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni, Tristan Jimerson
A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities by Mady G, drawn by J.R. Zuckerberg
Gender: A Graphic Guide by Meg-John Barker, drawn by Jules Scheele
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
Call Number: SF Walscho Natalie
ISBN: 9780062978578
Publication Date: 2020-09-22
Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. As a temp, she's just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called 'hero' leaves her badly injured. So, of course, then she gets laid off. With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks. Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it.
Loveless by Alice Oseman
Call Number: YFIC Oseman Alice
ISBN: 9781338751932
Publication Date: 2022-03-01
This is the funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of Georgia, who doesn't understand why she can't crush and kiss and make out like her friends do. She's surrounded by the narrative that dating + sex = love. It's not until she gets to college that she discovers the A range of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum -- coming to understand herself as asexual/aromantic. Disrupting the narrative that she's been told since birth isn't easy -- there are many mistakes along the way to inviting people into a newly found articulation of an always-known part of your identity. But Georgia's determined to get her life right, with the help of (and despite the major drama of) her friends.
The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith
Call Number: SF HAC
ISBN: 9781984806376
Publication Date: 2019-10-01
Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing—a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell ... and Earth.
Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee
Call Number: SF Lee Yoon
ISBN: 9781781087947
Publication Date: 2020-10-15
Gyen Jebi isn't a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint. One day they're jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government's automaton soldiers. When Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government's horrifying crimes--and the awful source of the magical pigments they use--they find they can no longer stay out of politics. What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry's mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight.
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
Call Number: YSF Ifueko Jordan
ISBN: 9781419739828
Publication Date: 2020-08-18
Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger; Rovina Cai (Illustrator)
Call Number: YFIC LittleB Darcie
ISBN: 9781646140053
Publication Date: 2020-08-25
Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day. Seventeen-year-old Elatsoe ("Ellie" for short) lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect façade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune
Call Number: SF Klune TJ
ISBN: 9781250217288
Publication Date: 2020-03-17
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret. Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they're likely to bring about the end of days. But the children aren't the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn. An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place-and realizing that family is yours.

As a part time Youth Services Assistant at Dolley Madison, my hours are somewhat irregular and may vary week to week, so please allow one or two days before I get back to you.

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