Magical Boy (Magical Boy #1)

Coming-out stories and the magical girl genre get a fresh twist in the Kao’s heartfelt, rapid-paced fantasy tale of magic, monsters, friendship, and family, adapted from a webcomic. In Chicago, biracial (Japanese and white) Max is a trans boy trying to step into his identity, which involves navigating intolerant classmates and figuring out how to come out to his parents. When he learns on his 16th birthday that his aura-reading powers are the manifestation of a familial bloodline, things feel more complicated—he’s supposed to wield a goddess’s power to fight an incursion of darkness, which involves a transformation that comes with a full outfit, including a frilly dress, makeup, and heels. As Max slowly learns to control his powers, he and his friends must fight off invading monsters bent on devouring humans’ life force and freeing an ancient power of darkness. Though Max experiences deadnaming, forced gender expression, and misgendering, the gendered prophecy’s interplay also allows for a thoughtful exploration of coming out, dysphoria, and exploring sexuality in a new context. Some panels can be difficult to order, but the visual details of Max’s powers and changing appearance subtly develop the story via clean, expressive manga-style art. Ages 12–up. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary. (Jan.)