A BOOKSHOP.ORG BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OF 2024. This bold graphic novel sequel to Cross My Heart and Never Lie, which Alice Oseman called “a warm hug,” follows Bao, who bands together with her friends to save their beloved forest from being turned into a parking lot.

After being leader of “girls-who-never-fall-in-love” in Cross My Heart and Never Lie, Tuva’s best friend, Bao, faces a challenge unlike any she’s faced before: the PTA wants to raze down the students’ beloved forest, removing the space where Bao and other student have always played and integral to both Bao and other students’ lives and the environment they call home. When the adults are too apathetic, too cynical, or too preoccupied to see the importance of the forest, Bao and the others will have to stop playing nice and take matters into their own hands. But Bao and her classmates are only twelve years old—how can they get the adults in power to see this crisis for what it is? This timely story follows Cross My Heart and Never Lie and continues the popular graphic novel format with gorgeous hand-lettering and a unique, charming art style.

Translated by: Lise Laerdal Bryn