RHIANNON

Raised by her elderly aunt, 12-year-old Rhiannon is the only kid living in the trailer park at the Golden Canyon Retirement Community.

It’s the summer of 1989, and Rhiannon can’t wait for her best friend, Kit, to come for an extended stay with his grandmother. Though they spent the year apart, Kit and Rhiannon easily fall back into their friendship dynamic—and this year, maybe it will become something more. Rhiannon has planned the perfect summer: “sledding” down a dry, grassy hill, transforming an old camper into a makeshift clubhouse, and befriending a wild coyote. The arrival of a newcomer—a purple-haired, 16-year-old former ballet dancer, who’s visiting her grandmother—throws a wrench in Rhiannon’s plans. Elizabeth is also keeping a big secret that Rhiannon and Kit must help her hide, which adds to the tension between the friends. Rhiannon’s trio comes of age over the summer—exploring love, grief, and identity through trials that test them. Popular classic song lyrics accentuate the mood, and clear line illustrations in muted tones convey the trailer park and desert landscape setting. Variations in panel sizes and detailed, gestural close-ups wordlessly depict Rhiannon’s rich inner life and lend the illustrations a voice of their own. Rhiannon presents white, Elizabeth is cued Latine, and Kit is San Carlos Apache.

Quiet, poignant, and full of heart—this graphic novel glows with the soft light of growing up.