Reviewed by: Michaela Silvis

Bibliographic Information: Panetta, Kevin & Savanna Ganucheau (Illustrator). Bloom. New York, NY: First Second. 2019. 368 pages. $17.99. ISBN: 9781626726413.

Content Warnings: sexually suggestive content, bullying 

Bloom, a young adult romance comic, follows the lives of two young boys, Ari and Hector, who somehow found their lives intertwined for a summer and find themselves falling hard for the other. Ari is struggling to figure out what he wants in life and what dream he truly wants to pursue now that high school is over. As an avid baker himself, Hector is filling up his time in East Beach by working at Ari’s family bakery. As the summer goes on, the two find themselves learning more and more about each other, the world, and themselves, all while baking bread, muffins, and more. In the end, Ari learns that perhaps his greatest passion has been in front of him the whole time, and he just needed a little push to see that. Author Kevin Panetta and illustrator Savanna Ganucheau tell a captivating story of young blooming love over a summer baking sourdough rolls. The superb writing matches the beautiful illustrations in an effortless way, sharing young love in its simplest form. The Los Angeles Review of Books writes, “This is the best kind of romantic tale: innocent and unfussy, yet overwhelming. Author Panetta’s story is baked to perfection: a crush that turns to infatuation—and later love—in the confines of a professional kitchen bristling with hot stoves, stuffed shelves, and perfectly shaped spanakopita.” 

Being that this is a romance comic, the argument presented within the text and illustrations is at times lost within the love story. However, it is still present. This is a young adult graphic novel about two recent high school graduates trying to figure out what they want to do and where they want to end up. One has a clearer image, and the other sees a mess. What I believe these authors are trying to communicate is that as we are trying to discover who we are, especially as young adults, we cannot rush the process, and we must accept that we may mess up. Life is messy, just like a bakery. Discovering our passions and dreams amidst reality is also a messy and long journey, despite what society may tell us. Ari needed this summer to discover who he is and what his dreams and passions are. Hector had a clearer idea of that, but he still had hesitations as well. Giving room to this process and welcoming in mistakes and growth is something that we all must be willing to do.  

In an interview with ComicsBeat.com the artist and illustrator were asked “What do you hope readers take away from Bloom?” to which each replied: 

Savanna Ganucheau: That it’s okay to not know where you’re going, we all have to navigate things at our own pace. Ari tries some stuff out that doesn’t end up working for him and that’s okay! 

Kevin Panetta: Yes! You don’t know everything and you don’t have to know everything. Just take your time and learn. 

While this may come secondary to the love story, I believe Ganucheau and Panetta capture the struggle of identity formation among young adults. The murky waters of that time period, the dreams that we have that others do not believe in, and the hesitations we do not want to name. The raw relatability of this storyline pulls in readers to not only follow Ari and Hector as their love unfolds, but also to follow Ari and Hector as they make decisions for their lives. As they explore who they are and what they care about.  

This book had me smiling, laughing out loud, and even crying through the course of reading. It is lighthearted and relatable to anyone who has had a cute summer crush or struggled with what they wanted to do with their life. The part of the book that had the largest impact on my thinking, and which greatly influenced my positive opinion of this book, was how it normalized queer relationships. The story could be interpreted as a coming out story, but the authors intentionally take the focus of the story in a different direction. For Ari and Hector, the focus is on their lives and struggles and letting their love bloom in a sweet and simple way. While coming out stories are helpful and important for the Queer community, this story takes a different approach in centering queer relationships. In the same interview with ComicsBeat.com, illustrator Savanna Ganucheau responds to the following question: 

Interviewer: In some ways, Bloom could be considered a coming out story, particularly for Ari – but that isn’t the focus of the story by any stretch, which is honestly refreshing. Was telling a queer romance story that didn’t center itself around one or both of the characters “coming out” important to you? How so? 

Savanna Ganucheau: We definitely wanted to tell a story about characters who are already comfortable in their identity. I think with queer stories we’re making our way to an age where stories like Bloom are becoming more common and that’s very exciting. Coming out stories are equally important but it’s nice to have variety.  

As I was reading Bloom, I also found this quality refreshing. The normalcy that this story creates lets you focus on the characters themselves rather than on their sexuality. This book helps with issues of representation within books, movies, and television by creating characters that queer audiences can identify with that aren’t tokenizing and exploitative. Imagine reading and watching Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook with a queer couple, not changing anything about the story. Their struggles are the same, their personalities are the same, the story stays the same, but we collectively take a step toward normalizing and representing queer relationships in media in a positive way. The authors have helped me reflect on how the culture has indoctrinated us to believe that queer relationships are outside the “norm,” but this book rejects that and allows to hope for more. Bloom is creating a space for stories like this to become common, and that is refreshing and exciting to see where it takes us in the future of media. 

Bloom is captivating, cute, and thoroughly enjoyable. I found this to be a quick read, one that compels the reader to finish it in one sitting, and it is an easy enough read to do so. It is an entertaining fiction novel with stunning illustrations on each page that make it even more inviting to read. This book broadened how I perceive queer relationships within our culture and how these authors are doing simple work to rewrite that narrative. This book also helped me critically think about how, as someone who hopes to work with youth and young adults, we can normalize our language around and our perceptions of queer relationships within these contexts.  

I would recommend this book to anyone in middle school and up, especially people who enjoy a cute summer love story. This book is mainly targeted to a young adult audience, but I believe it can be appreciated by a wider audience. Another key target audience would be students, especially recent grads. This book highlights key issues students are going through, while remaining lighthearted, which could be helpful. Families may also find this book resourceful if they are wanted to normalize queer relationships within their family unit. Including books that elevate this representation is important and can be done easily within the home. However, churches may not find this book as helpful within their curriculum as it is a fiction novel and does not have theological themes, but it may be a good book to keep in mind as a recommendation to younger readers. Overall, this is a fantastic read that cultivates a wide array of representation in a beautiful way. 

Minor cautions to keep in mind before reading would be that there is sexually suggestive content within the book, that may be cautionary depending on the age of the reader, as well as a fire, both with illustrated content. Additionally, there are a few incidents of bullying within this book.  

Similar Graphic Novels to Consider Reading: 

1. Heartstopper Volume One, Written & Illustrated by Alice Oseman 

2. Heartstopper Volume Two, Written & Illustrated by Alice Oseman 

3. I Love This Part, Written & Illustrated by Tillie Walden 

4. Are You Listening?, Written & Illustrated by Tillie Walden (Trauma Content) 

5. Spinning, Written & Illustrated by Tillie Walden (Recommended by Kevin Panetta) 

6. A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, Written by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson, Illustrated by Archie Bongiovanni 

7. A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities, Written & Illustrated by Mady G. and J.R. Zuckerberg 

8. Queer: A Graphic History, Written by Dr. Meg-John Barker, Illustrated by Julia Scheele (Politics & Social Sciences book, not targeted for young adult readers) 

9. This One Summer, Written by Mariko Tamaki, Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki (Recommended by Kevin Panetta) 

Link for the Full Interview with ComicsBeat.com: https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-kevin-panetta-savanna-ganucheau-bloom/