We were delighted to team up with HarperCollins Children’s for Tall Water by SJ Sindu, a YA graphic novel that blends coming-of-age, history, and resilience into a powerful story. Centered on themes of family, identity, and survival, Tall Water resonates with both teens and adults—and we were thrilled to help connect it with the readers most likely to love and share this diverse graphic novel!
Written by Stonewall Honor–winner SJ Sindu and brought to life by celebrated illustrator Dion MBD, Tall Water follows Nimmi, a teen determined to reunite with her mother in war-torn Sri Lanka. When the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami strikes, Nimmi is forced to confront loss, identity, and the true meaning of home. Tall Water is an unforgettable tale of resilience and belonging that will stay with readers long after the final page.
The campaign included a preroll video and targeted YA readers and book buyers, parents of kids ages 12+ who read / buy comic books and graphic novels, GenZ comic book and graphic novel readers and book buyers, and librarians. Additional traits included BookTok / TikTok users, teen TV and movie viewers, YA book influencers and followers, books and literature app users, teen gift shoppers, and more. Comps included popular YA authors and graphic novelists like Kiku Hughes, Mariko Tamaki, Samuel Teer, Amy Zhang, Ruta Sepetys, Robin Ha, and Jen Ferguson, and keywords included phrases such as YA bestsellers, young adult novel, YA graphic novels, educational graphic novels, AAPI YA, YA books about climate disaster, and more!
The video resonated strongly with our AdBiblio genre read-alikes (3.60%!), comic book and graphic novel readers/book buyers who are interested in AAPI news/culture (2.50% CTR), YA readers, parents, and librarians who read/buy bestselling fiction (2.00% CTR), and comic book and graphic novel readers/book buyers who use BookTok/TikTok (1.90% CTR). The video ran on top sites including Book Riot, NPR, NY Times, Parade, Book Club Chat, IGN, Polygon, and more, and finished at a very strong CTR of 1.23%!
If you’re looking for a powerful and moving YA graphic novel to dive into this fall, grab your copy of Tall Water here! And don’t forget—video creation is now included at no extra cost with our niche campaigns. For more details, visit here or reach out to me at marybeth@adbiblio.com!
