THE DEEP DARK
Everyone has secrets. Mags’s has teeth.
Magdalena Herrera is about to graduate high school, but she already feels like an adult with serious responsibilities: caring for her ailing grandmother; working a part-time job; clandestine makeouts with a girl who has a boyfriend. And then there's her secret, which pulls her into the basement each night, drains her of energy, and leaves her bleeding. A secret that could hurt and even kill if it ever got out -- like it did once before.
So Mags keeps her head down, isolated in her small desert community. That is, until her childhood friend Nessa comes back to town, bringing vivid memories of the past, an intoxicating glimpse of the future, and a secret of her own. Mags won't get attached, of course. She's always been strong enough to survive without anyone's help.
But when the darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to drag her secret into the daylight, and choose between risking everything... or having nothing left to lose.
14+ recommended, 480 pages. Prinz Honor recipient, one of PW’s Best Books of 2024, and Eisner and GLAAD award nominee. Originally published via newsletter under the title DARKEST NIGHT.
THE DEEP DARK is available wherever books are sold.
Kirkus ★
BookPage ★
THE GIRL FROM THE SEA
Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can't wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She's desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends...who don't understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan's biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.
Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn't seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they're each trying to hide will find its way to the surface...whether Morgan is ready or not.
12+ recommended, 259 pages. Debuted as the #1 YA bestseller. 2021 New York Public Library's Best Books for Kids List and 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist: Comics & Graphic Novels.
THE GIRL FROM THE SEA is available wherever books are sold.
The Advocate interview
THE WITCH BOY SERIES
In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.
When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.
8+ recommended, 224 pages (book one) and 208 (books two and three). THE WITCH BOY was named a Fall 2017 Publisher's Weekly Flying Start and winner of the Best Mainstream Comic Prism Award, the Cybils Award, and the EBSCO SEE-IT Award.
THE WITCH BOY trilogy is available wherever books are sold.
Kirkus (The Witch Boy) ★
Kirkus (The Hidden Witch) ★
Kirkus (The Midwinter Witch) ★
Booklist (The Midwinter Witch) ★
THE DUNGEON CLUB SERIES
Middle school is a dungeon… At least, that’s how Jess sees it.
Luckily, she and her best friend Olivia know how to escape into the sprawling worlds of their own imaginations. The two friends have always loved making up stories, first with little kid games of make-believe, and more recently with the fantasy roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons. When they play, Olivia runs the game as Dungeon Master and Jess is the solo party member, playing a take-no-prisoners, lone-wolf fighter of her own design named Sir Corius.
But when Olivia wants to add new players to their group, Jess finds herself struggling to share their game—and her best friend. Will their epic campaign withstand all this change, or has their adventure—and their friendship—finally come to an end?
8+ recommended, 208 pages. Dungeon Club is an official Wizards of the Coast series, written by me and drawn by Xanthe Bouma.
The DUNGEON CLUB series is available wherever books are sold.
EVEN MORE
In 2012, I was living in an apartment building with my friend Brennan Lee Mulligan, and we came up with an idea for a superhero story - a way to approach the genre that was different than comics and movies at the time. STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST, written by Brennan and drawn by me, was the result. We published it online until 2018, ran two Kickstarters to print physical books, and had an active fan community. It’s unlikely SFP will come back (although never say never!) because we have both gotten too busy to work on it (Brennan now runs Dimension 20 on Dropout TV and the podcast Worlds Beyond Number), but I’m forever grateful to the people who read Brennan’s and my first foray into comics.
It is eight years after Colleen Cavanaugh's home world was invaded by the Derichets, a tyrannical alien race bent on exploiting the planet's mineral resources.
Most of her family died in the war, and she now lives alone in the city. Aside from her acquaintances at the factory where she toils for the Derichets, Colleen makes a single friend in Jann, a member of the violent group of rebels known as the Chromatti. One day Colleen receives shocking news: her niece Lucy is alive and in need of her help. Together, Colleen, Jann, and Lucy create their own tenuous family.
But Colleen must decide if it's worth risking all of their survival to join a growing underground revolution against the Derichets ...
A novel by Sharon Shinn, adapted and drawn by me, published by First Second in 2017.