A tender blend of sugary, buttery, and other complex flavors that’s baked with a tremendous dash of heart.
Summer love rises between two boys in a bakery.
High school may have ended, but Ari is stuck with sourdough starter at his family’s bakery instead of summer gigs in the city with his band. As his family’s money grows tighter, Ari feels tethered in place. His friends start to drift toward their own futures. But the future of their band—and their friendship—drifts toward uncertainty. Under the guise of recruiting another baker to take his place, Ari hires Hector. A culinary student in Birmingham, Hector has temporarily returned home to find closure after his Nana’s passing. The two grow close in more than just the kitchen. Ari, who hates baking, even starts to enjoy himself. But will it all last? Panetta and Ganucheau’s graphic novel debut is as much a love story between people as it is with the act of baking. Ganucheau’s art, in black ink with varying shades of blue, mixes traditional paneling with beautiful double-page spreads of detailed baking scenes, where the panels sometimes take on the shape of braided loaves. The romance between Ari and Hector builds slowly, focusing on cute interactions long before progressing to anything physical. Ari and his family are Greek. Family recipes referenced in the text code Hector as Samoan. Delicious.
A tender blend of sugary, buttery, and other complex flavors that’s baked with a tremendous dash of heart. (recipe, production art) (Graphic novel. 13-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62672-641-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
An amusing and perceptive take on post-adolescent life changes—with a twist.
Changes are imminent for a small-town girl who’s faced with the end of high school—and, perhaps, the world.
Sarah Jane—better known to her friends as Alba—likes her simple life in Eden Valley, a remote farming town in Australia. She spends her days obsessing over and creating her Cinnamon Girl comics (panels from which decorate the pages), helping at her mother's bakery, and hanging with her close-knit group of friends. All together, they are a mostly white, hugely likable group. Post-graduation, Alba is dragging her feet about making plans and reluctant to leave the comforts she knows. Alba's relationship with her longtime best friend, Grady, also is changing, but she can't quite put her finger on why he's been acting differently. When a self-proclaimed Internet prognosticator declares that the rapture is nigh and only their village will be spared, their town is suddenly inundated with hippie-ish refugees, turning the bucolic burg on its head. When another of their friends, a chubby-turned-hunky television actor named Daniel, comes back, her life becomes ever more complicated. Whip-smart banter mixes with thoughtful introspection as Alba figures out what to do with her life and faces the fears that have been holding her back. With a dash of swoon-worthy romance and a healthy helping of humor among the chaos, expect a wide readership to be thoroughly entertained.
An amusing and perceptive take on post-adolescent life changes—with a twist. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-56145-905-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nuanced and skillfully composed snapshot of one woman’s postwar struggle to live
A gritty, hard-hitting, and honest portrayal of one young woman’s difficult journey to putting the pieces of her life back together after serving in the Iraq War.
More a crossover book for adults than one strictly for teens, this black-and-white graphic novel will slap some reality into readers who believe in the glamour of war. Liz, the white protagonist and a former military working dog handler, returns from Iraq after having her leg shattered, sustaining another injury that leaves a scar across most of her torso, and losing Ender, her German shepherd, to an IED. While the half-hearted welcome from the people in her Mayberry-like New Hampshire town makes her feel mildly appreciated, the fallout from PTSD, sexual violence she experienced while in the Army, blackout drunkenness, and an inability to trust anyone for any length of time leads to a downward spiral. Flashbacks accost her often, coming most predictably in vehicles, putting herself and others in danger. Only with the help of Jack, a Vietnam veteran, and Brutus, an aggressive stray dog she rescues from a roadside, does she begin to have hope. The story’s strong language, graphic depiction of war, and Liz’s unpredictable behavior make this an emotionally taxing read, but the ups and downs also effectively give readers a sense of Liz’s trauma.
A nuanced and skillfully composed snapshot of one woman’s postwar struggle to live . (Graphic novel. 14 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5706-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
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