The New Girl (Elle[s] #1)

Teenage Elle, portrayed as white with a pink asymmetrical bob, manages multiple personalities, all vying for control, in this fanciful graphic novel series opener by Toussaint (the Magic 7 series) and Stokart. Elle is the talk of the town after transferring to a new school following a physical altercation with another student, and she makes fast friends with loyal, East Asian Maëlys; sardonic Farid, who is queer and Middle Eastern–cued; and serial heartbreaker Otis and quirky Linotte, who both read as white. Feeling more centered in the new environment, Elle is optimistic about maintaining her internal equilibrium, but when school stress makes her feel as if she’s losing control, her outwardly erratic behavior puts a strain on her budding relationships. Stokart uses varying hair colors to cue the protagonist’s myriad personae: emotionally vulnerable Elle has brown hair, whereas carefree, audacious Elle has purple hair. The book’s treatment of her multiple personalities is questionable; the narrative implies their source is supernatural, and Elle claims she doesn’t “believe my shrink when he says it’s a bipolar disorder.” Tender friendships and Stokart’s lineless, animated art, rendered using vibrant lighting and textured palettes, ably convey this ambitious character study. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)