Suzanne Walker

"This sweet, spellbinding story will appeal to fans of magic and romance." — School Library Journal (starred review) A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft. Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any townhome. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

Mooncakes

A cute little read! Desperately needed an easy book to pick up given everything happening in my life and given the insane reading slump I’m in. Not too complicated in terms of plot, which was welcome, but I felt it went by a little too fast. Would probably love this more after a reread, but whatever, Nova and Tam are cute, and the illustrations are sweet.

Carmen

Wes Michaud

I'd been wanting to read this book for years and I'm very happy to report it did not disappoint The art was beautiful the story was amazing and the romance was cute the book over all was so so Queer and joyful (for the most part)

Bria

Moonchild

This book exceeded my expectations, a dose of love, magic and sweetness. A super innovative story, using the pronouns makes a story like this enrich us I strongly recommend it to everyone who reads this. The magic was fantastic, the plot was captivating without being cliché. I found the characters very unique and interesting i would love to se a how Tam and Nova go on magic adventures.

Ellie M.

3.25 ⭐️. I’ve come to take a liking to queer graphic novels because they’re just so comforting and Mooncakes is no different. Even though I’m kind of disappointed that I didn’t love it to the fullest because I felt the plot was too rushed and didn’t focus on the relationship between Tam and Nova. This was definitely written for a younger audience but I would still recommend!

Ana Luiza

Que livro mais lindo e perfeito e maravilhoso hahahah me senti encantada com a história, gostaria tantooo de viver nesse universo. Eu adoro essas cozy fantasies, preciso ler mais <3
Apesar da fofura, tem uma mensagem muito forte. Recomendo

🦇 A story of love and demons, family, and witchcraft. Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

💜 It's no surprise that this graphic novel was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee in 2019. From hard-of-hearing Nova and her sapphic grandmothers to nonbinary Tam, this graphic novel is full of diversity and representation. The smallest details tugged at my heartstrings: the magical Black Cat bookstore and cafe (complete with SIX black cats [and I thought my two were a handful]), Tam's adorable little pointy ears and fangs, the Sailor Moon poster, Nova's colorful hearing aids, Nova's Young Adult book pics (I recognized a few!!), ALL the cozy fall vibes. I could go on and on. The friends-to-lovers queer romance is cute, Nova's bestie shipping them is adorkable, and the art makes me eager to watch the leaves change this autumn. There's no end to the cute and cuddly feels.

🦇 The story is a bit simple, unfortunately. I read Paper Planes by Jennie Wood this year (also brimming with representation) and beyond its focus on identity were examinations into poverty, racism, and bullying. Not every graphic novel needs layers upon layers for a good story, of course, but it seems like Mooncakes touched on topics it could have delved further into. Nova's parents visit her as GHOSTS, but the story never fully examines her grief (or the INABILITY to grieve when your parents can still visit you as phantoms). Tam makes a comment about their mother not fully accepting their wolf side or queerness; how does that lack of acceptance weigh on Tam? Instead of examining these issues, Nova and Tam decide to leave and start their own journey. I would love a follow-up to this story that delves into the emotional aspects of the characters, allowing the story to grow from Young Adult to New Adult.

🦇 Recommended for anyone looking for a light witchy read full of beautiful representation! For fans of Nimona, Pumpkinheads, Crumbs, Squad, and The Price and the Dressmaker.

Jazelle H

🦇 Mooncakes Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD Witches or werewolves? ❓
 
🦇 A story of love and demons, family, and witchcraft. Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

💜 It's no surprise that this graphic novel was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee in 2019. From hard-of-hearing Nova and her sapphic grandmothers to nonbinary Tam, this graphic novel is full of diversity and representation. The smallest details tugged at my heartstrings: the magical Black Cat bookstore and cafe (complete with SIX black cats [and I thought my two were a handful]), Tam's adorable little pointy ears and fangs, the Sailor Moon poster, Nova's colorful hearing aids, Nova's Young Adult book pics (I recognized a few!!), ALL the cozy fall vibes. I could go on and on. The friends-to-lovers queer romance is cute, Nova's bestie shipping them is adorkable, and the art makes me eager to watch the leaves change this autumn. There's no end to the cute and cuddly feels.

🦇 The story is a bit simple, unfortunately. I read Paper Planes by Jennie Wood this year (also brimming with representation) and beyond its focus on identity were examinations into poverty, racism, and bullying. Not every graphic novel needs layers upon layers for a good story, of course, but it seems like Mooncakes touched on topics it could have delved further into. Nova's parents visit her as GHOSTS, but the story never fully examines her grief (or the INABILITY to grieve when your parents can still visit you as phantoms). Tam makes a comment about their mother not fully accepting their wolf side or queerness; how does that lack of acceptance weigh on Tam? Instead of examining these issues, Nova and Tam decide to leave and start their own journey. I would love a follow-up to this story that delves into the emotional aspects of the characters, allowing the story to grow from Young Adult to New Adult.

🦇 Recommended for anyone looking for a light witchy read full of beautiful representation! For fans of Nimona, Pumpkinheads, Crumbs, Squad, and The Price and the Dressmaker.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🌙 YA Graphic Novel
💜 Queer Romance
🪄 Hard-of-Hearing Witch MC
🐺 Nonbinary Werewolf MC
🔮 Queer Witchy Grandmas
💗 Childhood Friends-to-Lovers

🦇 #Mooncakes

Madhuri Kasam

It's a super good cozy read to enjoy while sipping on tea.The illustrations are really amazing.

Nessa Luna

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my opinion in any way.

Oh my god, this was just so adorable! I love the atmosphere of this graphic novel and I loved the two main characters. The artwork was really beautiful as well, I might go and check out more by Wendy Xu soon!

Krystyna 

This was such a cute story and perfect for the fall, especially around Halloween. I have been wanting to consume all of the witchy reads and movies during this Halloween season. I adored the artwork and colors. I loved all the diverse rep in this story. I really wanted the story to continue. After I finished reading it, I was content with the ending but I didn't want it to be over. It was such an adorable read and I'd definitely recommend it.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley and Lion Forge for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Julia

Miranda

This book was fantastic. The art style is stunning. The story is complete, I love the time frame, the details, everything. For anyone looking to get into/ already into graphic novels and comics, this one is lovely.

menna

this is the cutest thing ever! I enjoyed the art style, it is so cute, the relationship is cute and the story is amazing! it's also very inclusive. We have a queer girl who uses hearing aids, a non-binary character and queer nanas

thanks to netgalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Pretty predictable plot; a lot of things included that seemed thrown in there; not a fan of the art style. The world building was the best part~

Sabrina D. 

Jordan Peet

4.5 stars! Amazing representation with a non-binary character, fat rep and queer rep!

Ana Paula

4,5 stars 🥺
this was too cute:
the art style, the story, the representation- everythingggg honestly

Marsha Evelyn

4.25⭐

This book is heartwarming yet cute.. I love Tam's relationship with Nova... I love their bond. And cannot lie... even a lil bit complicated, this graphic novel is really really lovely and heartwarming and Nova as a deaf representation... ate in this book!

Very suitable for Disability December read!

Ary Dias 

Marloes

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Reading Mooncakes made me smile. I loved the story, the illustrations and the overall concept of this book. I can't wait for Mooncakes to be released in October and to see all the illustrations in colour. 

The representation of LGBTQ+ was amazing, and I loved that using the correct pronounce was a big topic in the story (especially since nobody made it awkward and after the mention by the POC, everyone used it correctly).

Izza

Ainhoa Marcos Camps

I loved the diversity in this graphic novel, the style was beautiful, but I wish the story was developed better. It had potential, but the love story felt like insta-love for me, I wish we could have seen more flashbacks that gave us more details from when they were younger and had crushes on each other.
The demon story lacked some deepness and development for my taste. And, if the grandmas are so powerful, why let the teens risk themselves?
Anyway, it was a beautiful graphic novel with good and diverse characters but in need of a better storyline.

Isabela H 

Oml, this book was absolutely adorable and I loved every second of it. While things never got super deep, it still was interesting and cute and I simply could not put it down. I loved the art style and immediately fell in love with all the characters. I appreciated how despite being relatively simple, there were still twists and turns in the narrative that caught me off guard. All in all, this is the perfect read for someone who wants to feel a lot of emotion without an excessively complicated background or plotline to follow.

A very well written, emotionally developed, beautifully drawn story. I loved the simple explanation of gender and the representation in the book. The familial dynamics were well told whether good or bad. I’d love a follow up!

Mooncakes

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