Details

Length: 353
Story Build: quickly paced 
Character development: solid  
Age Recommendation: 7th& 8th grade, high school 
Reasoning: BRIEF language

Summary and Review

I realize I can’t say this is the first graphic novel I’ve read (I think that award goes to one I read for one of my book clubs… but was sadly disappointed, not by the graphics, but by the story itself… ), but it is the FIRST YA graphic novel I have ever finished. 

I had seen this in several small bookstores around the area, specifically Longfellow Books in Portland, ME, the two times I went over this summer. I was drawn to the cover, particularly the colors and I found the artwork to be calming. I had since seen it, I think, in Barnes and Noble, and I kept putting it back, telling myself I would get it in my next haul from whatever bookstore I chose to buy from. 

However, I recently acquired a library card for the library that is in walking distance of my apartment, and lo and behold! they had this on their “New” cart. I picked it up right away; I mean, who can disregard fate? I had seen it many times this summer, and I figured why not try out the graphic novel side of YA? 

I’m glad I started with Bloom. First, it’s a quick read with mostly likeable characters. My favorite was, by far, Hector, a young man who is brought to this local town by his nana’s death and his need to sell her house. Hector’s real passion, though, is to bake and create tasty treats. This brings him into contact with Ari, our real main character, who is struggling to really discover who he is in the world by, obviously, bucking the family tradition of running a Greek bakery. 

Ari and Hector’s worlds collide when Hector becomes employed at the bakery, which isn’t Ari’s dream as he wants to leave and live in the city with his friends/ bandmates. The quickly- paced story follows the two boys as they form a strong foundation of a friendship and a possible romance. It also tracks Ari’s transformation from whiny young boy to a more confident version of himself, but not really in his relationship with Hector, but more in his journey to figure out what he truly wants to do with his time—band or bake? 

The illustrations are lovely and, as a novice consumer of graphic novels, I had to remind myself to take a moment to soak up the artwork. It’s as much as a storyteller as the words are. In fact, I was finding myself looking for my text but having to remind myself to analyze the pictures to follow the story. It was a new mindset, but it was refreshing. I know we see students reading graphic novels and want to encourage them to read more text; however, it is an analytical practice to study the pictures and pick up on the nuances that the author/ illustrator want you to get from it. 

Celebrations

I really enjoyed the character of Hector and Hanna and Jake. Hanna and Jake were two friends of Ari who always tried to point out the negativity in the characters who were just bringing Ari down. They were excellent examples of friends who NEED to be in our lives, while Cameron exemplified the ones we strive to please in our lives but who we obviously need to ditch to hang with the Hanna’s and Jake’s of the world. Hector was a breath of fresh air. He had no apologies (as he shouldn’t) for who he was and what he enjoyed doing. He called Ari out when he needed to, and he helped Ari grow into a person worth rooting for. That kind of healthy relationship should be modeled for our youth, and I’m so happy it was between two queer characters, who, by the way, were also not struggling to hide who they were. While Ari may have needed time to realize what he wanted (less about the romance but more about his purpose in his life), Hector was a strong example of being a proud, young gay man. It’s nice to have a love story that isn’t tangled up in the harshness of secrecy and possible shame. It is just a story about love and friendship and growing between two individuals. I dig it. Big time.

Hesitations

I struggled with the character of Ari at times. He was annoying. However, he had growing to do, which was a large part of the text, so I understand why he had to begin that way. I think the ending was also a bit abrupt. I know they skipped over some months, and that was made clear so the reader knew. But I wanted to maybe see more, through illustrations, how Ari and Hector came to be in the fall…. I think it would have been easier to do with illustrations than if it were in a novel format, so I wonder why that was not done.