Bloom

Title: Bloom
Author: Kevin Panetta, Savanna Ganucheau
Series: Bloom #1
First Published: January 29, 2019
Publisher: First Second
Pages: 368
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Rating:


Synopsis:

Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band—if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

Writer Kevin Panetta and artist Savanna Ganucheau concoct a delicious recipe of intricately illustrated baking scenes and blushing young love, in which the choices we make can have terrible consequences, but the people who love us can help us grow.

Buy the Book: Amazon

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Review

There is nothing better than a wholesome love story to absolutely make your day, especially when coming out of a reading slump. I had been pondering reading this book for a while but never got around to picking it up, but thanks to my daughter who had checked it out from the library, I finally did! I loved Bloom to bits, I read it all in one sitting and it was a marvelous mood booster.

The story follows Ari, the son of a Greek baker who finds himself feeling frustrated and trapped in his small town, where he feels pressured to help run the family bakery. He dreams of moving to the big city with his friends and becoming a musician. He decides to try and find a replacement to help his parents and meets Hector, a college student attending culinary school. They bond as they bake together, forming a cheeky friendship, and eventually, Ari finds himself developing a crush.

The thing is, Ari is young and barely knows what he wants, but wants to chase a dream that he thinks would make him happy. I honestly don’t blame people for being frustrated with Ari, as he can come off as whiny and selfish. He relies too much on friends that treat people poorly to pave the way to his future. He knows that the family business is struggling but still seeks to hire someone to work at the bakery in his stead. Worst of all, he becomes clingy and dumps his problems on Hector, which is something that Hector is trying to get away from.

I really appreciated how Bloom understands the messiness of young relationships, particularly ones plagued by codependency. Ari has a lot of growing up to do so that he can do the emotional labor needed to be happy with himself, instead of relying on others. I ended up liking Ari because he was such a flawed main character. The things that he struggles with are natural for people entering adulthood.

Overall, Bloom was a fantastic little graphic novel that tackled aspects of young adulthood that I don’t always see explored in other works. It’s a cozy story with lots of baking and believable characters, it is an absolute treat!

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