If you’re looking for a graphic novel about family and identity, I recommend Brownstone written by Samuel Teer, illustrated by Mar Julia, with color design by Ashanti Forston. This young adult graphic novel is a coming-of-age story about struggling to find your identity across multiple fronts. (This book also won the 2025 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.)

Set in 1995, Brownstone tells the story of Almudena, a fourteen-year-old living with her white mother. When her mother has the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong career goal, Almudena is sent to live with her estranged Guatemalan father for the summer. While Xavier seems excited to see her, Almudena is less than enthused. First off, there’s a language barrier: Xavier speaks almost only Spanish and Almudena knows little to no Spanish. Secondly, Almudena has never spent any time with her father. He also expects her to help fix up the old, broken-down brownstone where they are living for the summer. Not exactly how Almudena wants to spend her summer.

Almudena is thrown into this new environment with almost no support, but she has no option but to quickly adjust to her new reality. She spends her time helping Xavier and exploring his Latin American neighborhood. Each person she meets has their own heartbreaks and joys, which she soon finds herself invested in. The part that bothers her: everyone has an opinion about how she should act, talk, behave, and dress. They also have a problem with the fact that she doesn’t know where she’s from, a fact that Almudena is more than aware of herself. Spending this time with her father has put it more into focus that Almudena has no idea where she fits in.

As the summer rushes past, Almudena has more questions for her father, but time is quickly running out. Will she ever get the answer to her most important question: Where was Xavier when she was growing up? Spending time renovating his old brownstone gives them quality time together, but the other individuals she has met over the summer feel like they could become family too. Are they all meant to stay in each other’s lives? What will happen when Almudena’s mother comes back and she has to go home?

Brownstone was a refreshing read. It was sweet, yet layered and nuanced. Each character has a well thought out back story and none of them felt like token secondary characters. There are so many layers of identity struggle to this story, light yet heavy. I can’t wait to read more by this author and illustrator.