Fall 2023

Night and Dana

  • Interest Level: Grade 8 - Grade 12
  • Reading Level: Grade 7

A creative coming-of-age story for the climate-change generation

Dana Drucker fights boredom in her Florida beach town by crafting special-effects makeup—the more gruesome, the better. But when a messy prank with Dana’s best friend Lily gets the wrong kind of attention, the girls have two choices: find a new creative outlet or leave high school without graduating.

To save their shot at diplomas, Dana and Lily join a community college film class. It gives Dana a chance to keep practicing her monster makeup, as she and Lily start work on a horror movie inspired by local ocean warming. And a search for filming locations puts Dana in the path of Daphne Ocean, an activist and self-proclaimed water witch—the perfect kind of inspiring outsider. But when filming starts, Dana finds herself growing apart from Lily, who doesn’t seem to need her closest friend much anymore.

Soon, tempers are flaring, and Dana’s pushing away old friends and her new mentor. But as everything starts going up in flames, Dana also begins to forge her voice. Night and Dana is a creative coming-of-age story for the climate-change era, a graphic novel about making art and growing up when it feels like the world is on fire.

Format Your Price Add
978-1-7284-3035-5
$24.99
978-1-7284-3036-2
$18.99
978-1-7284-9491-3
$37.99
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Interest Level Grade 8 - Grade 12
Reading Level Grade 7
Genre Graphic Novels, Young Adult
Category SEL: C Social Awareness, SEL: D Relationship Skills, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2023
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Graphic Universe ™
Language English
Number of Pages 240
Publication Date 2023-09-12
Text Type Fiction
BISACS YAF010070, YAF047020, YAF043010
Dewey 741.5/973
Dimensions 6 x 9
Features Author/Illustrator biography, Awards, Original artwork, Reviewed, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Author, Illustrator: Anya Davidson

Anya Davidson is a cartoonist, printmaker and musician living in Chicago. Her debut book, School Spirits, was excerpted in Best American Comics 2015, edited by Jonathan Lethem and Bill Kartalopoulos. Her sophomore graphic novel, Band for Life, (2016, Fantagraphics books) based on her experiences fronting a noise-rock band, was nominated for an Ignatz award in the Outstanding Graphic Novel category. Her comics journalism has been published in the Chicago Reader, Newcity Magazine and The Nib, and she writes comics criticism for The Comics Journal. Davidson is a professor in the Painting and Drawing department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

Night and Dana

A creative coming-of-age story for the climate-change generation Dana Drucker fights boredom in her Florida beach town by crafting special-effects makeup—the more gruesome, the better. But when a messy prank with Dana’s best friend Lily gets the wrong kind… View available downloads →

Night and Dana: An Interview with Author Anya Davidson

Climate change, film, and coming-of-age: the new graphic novel Night and Dana pulls no punches. When special-effects obsessives Dana and Lily begin work on an eco-horror movie, tempers flare. But as everything starts going up in flames, Dana begins to forge her voice as a climate… View →

Lerner Is Coming to ALA

By Megan Ciskowski, Associate Publicist Get ready for an amazing weekend with Lerner at the 2023 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition. This year the conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from June 22nd to the 27th, and we hope to see all of you… View →

Awards

  • Green Earth Book Award Longlist, Long-listed, 2024
  • YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens List, Winner, 2024

Reviews

School Library Journal

“The character designs stand out among other current graphic novels, with a more retro and realistic feel featuring orange, yellow, and green tones . . . A story that will resonate with teen and new adult readers.” —School Library Journal

Booklist

“Davidson gives this relatable coming-of-age tale an alt vibe with a retro, high-contrast color palette similar to newspaper comics and a boldly provocative art style.” —Booklist

Publishers Weekly

“In a retro style reminiscent of Archie comics, Davidson. . . fashions characters who are convincingly relatable.” —Publishers Weekly