Bloom gay book
In “Bloom,” a Love affair Flours
A sweet brand-new tale of lgbtq+ romance set in a family bakery.
Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau. First Second, 2019. 368 pages.
BLOOM, A NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau, is about two high-school-age boys who meet and plummet in love one summer while active at a family bakery. The words (by Panetta) are earnest, touching, and unpretentious, while the art (by Ganucheau) is comfortingly reminiscent of iconic comic-book art (think Archie). Universally toned in a dreamy, oceanic monochrome of pale blue, the illustrations — created in Photoshop using GrutBrushes’s pastel “papaya grind” — breeze you through the book.
Ari Kyrkos is a recent high institution graduate. He and his friends dwell in East Beach and spend their time playing in an indie-pop band. Their dream is to move to nearby Baltimore, where the music scene is hopping and they might contain a chance at the big second. (If the achievement of the band Beach House is any indicator, Ari and his friends are wise to want to transfer there.) Ari is beautiful: thin and lithe, with brooding, feminine eyes and wild, black hair. He looks thoughtful of like current Hollywood it-boy Timothé
Synopsis
Now that lofty school is over, Ari is dying to travel to the big capital with his ultra-hip band—if he can just persuade his dad to allow him quit his employment 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 corrupt everything.
From: Macmillan Publishers
Notes on This Title
Hector, one of the focal characters, is implied to be Samoan.
Awards
2020 Prism Award Finalist for Mainstream Publisher
Reviews
Starred Review: “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 ebony 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 gradually, focusing on cu
Adult Fiction
Author of THE UNBROKEN C.L. Clark’s WARMONGERS, in an epic fantasy arrange in a kingdom in a cycle of everlasting war, two women—once lovers and warriors at arms—are set on a collision course when years after their separation, one is crowned king and the other vows to murder her, to Brit Hvide at Orbit, by Mary C. Moore at Kimberley Cameron & Associates (world).
Author of UNEXPECTED GOALS Kelly Farmer’s IT’S A FABULOUS LIFE, pitched as a sapphic retelling of the classic holiday movie as a second chance passion, in which a realtor puts her plans on hold again to support with her small town’s winter festival and, with the aid of innocent drag queens, reconnects with her high school passion, to Stacey Donovan at Hallmark, in a friendly deal, for publication in fall 2023 (world English).
Arden Joy’s KEEP THIS OFF THE RECORD, pitched as a romantic comedy remix of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing that transforms ye olde damsels in distress into queer women, women of color, and women overcoming trauma, to Alexandria Brown at Rising Action, in an exclusive submission, for publication in January 2024 (world English).
Andie Burke’s COME FLY
Is your Instagram feed full of your friends baking cakes, muffins, banana bread… endless variations of banana bread? No? Just me? Successfully okay, but there’s a weird connection between the Homosexual community and the calming, homely, carb-inflused art of “Sugar – Butter – Flour” (to quote the musical Waitress). And there’s something equally warm and filling about Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau’s 2019 graphic novel Bloom.
Ari (short for Aristotle) has just finished sky-high school. He’s in a band that’s starting to stare more like a teenage dream than an actual career path. And his friendship group feels like it’s adv drifting apart. As much as Ari wants to fetch out of town and move to the big metropolis, he’s stuck productive in his parents’ struggling bakery. It takes the arrival of the easy-going baker Hector to open his eyes.
Bloom, like the title, is a mild, flowing read. Ari’s angst is juxtaposed against Hector’s pleasure and the pages of them getting lost in the art of baking have a wordless, lyrical lightness of touch. Ganucheau’s art, rendered in monochromatic shades of navy, moves effortlessly. It’s a real testament both to her skill as an illustratior
Mood inducing art in this delightfully innocent queer tale
Genre: Y/A, Contemporary, Romance, Graphic Novel, GLBTQIA+
No. of pages: 368
Now that high university 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 productive there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and steamy ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to flee it. As they grow closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.
A lovely story. Atmospheric, but very simple and didn’t give much attention to the periphery characters. The aquamarine colouring marries with protagonist Ari’s depression and the seaside location, and the artwork is beautiful.
Ari’s feelings aren’t thoroughly explored – why he’s so unhappy. I would hold liked some more examination into his isolation and sadness, maybe uncover the contributing factors to provide the reader a complete character arc.
T