Graphix will publish a new graphic novel, Pearl, by writer Sherri L. Smith, about a Japanese-American girl who is trapped in Hiroshima when World War II breaks out. The artist for the project is Christine Norrie (Hopeless Savages), and the 144-page graphic novel, rated for ages 10-14, will be released on August 6, 2024, in two formats, a hardcover with an MSRP of $24.99 and a paperback with an MSRP of $12.99.

The story, illustrated in muted gray-blue tones, follows the fictional Amy, a Japanese-American girl living in Hawaii, who is sent to Hiroshima, Japan to care for a sick relative in 1941 and is trapped in the country after Pearl Harbor. Unable to return home, she is forced to work for the Japanese army as a translator.

Smith is the author of the award-winning Flygirl, a YA novel about a Black girl who dreams of being a pilot during World War II, and Avatar: The High Ground, a comics prequel to James Cameron’s movie (see “Gift Items for Comic Fans”). She is also writing upcoming the DC original graphic novel Lightning: Changes, a middle-grade title that features the daughter of Black Lightning/Jefferson Pierce (see “DC Young Readers”).