Magical Boy: A Graphic Novel Vol. 1 by The Kao

Max is a biracial (White and Japanese) transgender teen boy who is learning how to grow into himself and is facing struggles with school, home, and the fact that he now has magical powers.  Max’s trusted friend Jen is the only one who knows that Max is a boy at the novel’s beginning.  Max decides to come out to his mom and dad on his 16th birthday, but his mother can’t accept the fact that her little goddess wants to transition since they are descended from the Goddess of Light, Aurora.  Max’s powers transform him into an uncomfortable frilly dress with heals, which causes him to experience dysphoria.  Max has to prove to his mother that he can be a man and use his powers in his own way to fight the darkness that feeds off of negative energy, and he finds that some of his classmates were under the darkness spell.  Max is able to find a group of friends who teach him how to be himself and help fight back the darkness that is creeping into the world, and if they don’t, the whole world could be in jeopardy.

The story and illustrations by Vincent Kao (of The Kao Studios) were done exceptionally well in a manga style.

Sherry Sabins

Library Assistant