Recently at Portsmouth High School, there has been a rise with students checking out graphic novels. A graphic novel is a book in comic-strip format. They are good for a quick read. A lot of students prefer reading graphic novels because they are limited with time because of school work. Last year there were 2,000 book checkouts at PHS, and 15% were graphic novels. 

Our school librarian, Mrs. Raab, is aware of this rise in graphic novel popularity. When asked if there is a rise in graphic novel readers, or just more students checking out graphic novels for class, she responded with “this is only my second year here but I think so.” 

Mrs. Raab said she expanded the graphic novel section. The section used to be two bookcases but is now a whole wall. She is buying more graphic novels and recently got a huge donation of graphic novels. Right now, there is a total of 600 graphic novels in the PHS library. She wants to continue to expand the graphic novel section because those books are  “a gateway to kids liking reading.”