Mariko Tamaki

About Mariko Tamaki

Mariko Tamaki was born in 1975 in Toronto to a Jewish-Canadian mother and a Japanese-Canadian father. She studied English literature at McGill University, graduating in 1994, and began her career as a writer and performance artist before publishing her first graphic novels in the 2000s. Much of her early and best-known work was created in collaboration with her cousin, illustrator Jillian Tamaki, including Skim (2008), a graphic novel about a teenage girl's feelings for her female teacher, which won the Ignatz and Joe Shuster Awards.

Since 2016, Tamaki has also written for major comics publishers, including runs on Marvel's She-Hulk and DC's Wonder Woman, and became the first woman to write an ongoing Detective Comics series. Her writing across mainstream superhero comics and personal graphic novels has earned her multiple Eisner Awards for Best Writer.

This One Summer

Published in 2014 and again illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, This One Summer follows two young friends during a lakeside summer vacation that quietly upends the rhythms of their childhood, as they begin to notice tension and secrets among the adults around them. Told through spare, atmospheric artwork, the book earned a Caldecott Honor—a rare distinction for a graphic novel aimed at teen readers—and an Eisner Award, and it is frequently cited as an example of the graphic novel form being used for serious literary purposes rather than pure entertainment.

Why This One Summer Has Been Challenged

Objections to the book have centered on its frank treatment of early adolescence, including references to sexuality, profanity, and teen drinking, along with its passing acknowledgment of LGBTQ identity among secondary characters. Because graphic novels are often shelved by format rather than reading level, critics have argued the book's themes are better suited to older readers than the shelves where it is often found. Across Tamaki's titles tracked in this catalog, her work has been challenged or banned in 9 states and 30 school districts, making her one of the more frequently contested graphic novelists in recent years.