Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau is an absolutely gorgeous book. It reminded me a little of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, both in terms of character design and artwork, which – since I loved Heartstopper – was a very good thing.
The story follows Ari, who wants to move away from his family bakery to play in a band with his friends. When baking-enthusiast Hector gets hired to help out after Ari is gone, Ari finds himself with a new reason to stay.
This is such a sweet romance – pun intended – and I loved the soft palette of grey-blue used throughout. I thought it really added to the mood. There were some moments where I wished that certain toxic friendships had been dealt with more instructively, but I do get that this is a representation of real-life struggles amongst teens/young-adults rather than a manual for How To Life. And I wish that there had been some more conversation about what happened following a certain altercation towards the end – Hector deserved better damnit – but overall, I thought that all the conflict was wrapped up nicely by the end.
This is another book for older readers, much like Boy Like Me, where it’s super easy to read alongside your child – the graphic novel format makes it quick, and it’s a breezy delight compared to the real world. Goodness knows I appreciated the happy place it provided for a few hours. And now I get to chat about lovely books with my eldest kiddo, which should keep the world at bay for a little longer.
Do you have any favourite graphic novels? Have you read Bloom, or Global, or The Power of Welcome? I would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations!
A few weeks back, I took part in a Northodox Pride Party author panel, chaired by the lovely SF Layzell – which was absolutely brilliant for so many reasons. Not only did I get to chat to some other great authors, but I also got to hear about Layzell’s book, Cottonopolis. AND I was lucky enough to get an extract to post here!!
Recently longlisted for the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award 2025, Cottonopolis is a story of family, friendship and first love, with a twist of magic, set in Victorian Manchester. It’s the story of Irish mill girl Nellie Doyle, who works hard to take care of her little brothers, and her growing friendship with Chloe Valentine, who is in search of a better life away from Manchester’s notorious workhouse.
In the extract below, Nellie and Chloe meet for the first time. Both have stepped away from their work, enticed by the sight and smells of a new bakery stacked high with goods neither of them can afford.
I follow the pickpocketing boy through the crowd, hoping to see the bakery for myself. What does the best bread look like? It must be something to bring such a crowd.
A shiver runs through me as the bakery door swings open and a sweet, full smell drifts out. It’s heaven. I can taste it!
I feel like I can almost reach out and grab a handful of it to take home in my pocket. Just imagine the boys’ faces, if I could reach into my pocket and pull out a fistful of this smell, shining like gold, and let my fingers ease apart ever so slightly to let just a little of it out, unfurling and filling their little nostrils.
I’m pressed forward by a sudden rush of people and part of me finds a little pleasure in knowing that some of them will find their purses lighter than they expected when they come to pay. People leaving the shop push in the opposite direction to the rest of the crowd, making me feel like a pebble lost deep in the swirling sludge of the Medlock. As they pass, I get a faint whiff of the sweet smelling delights every one of them carries, wrapped up in tiny individual boxes, each tied with a thin black velvet ribbon.
After what seems like an age (and I’m sure I’m going to be in trouble when I get back, though I can’t seem to pull myself away), I reach the big shop window. The window is a wonder in itself, a smooth clean sheet of glass. A sea of breads and cakes spreads out before me, stretched and cut and moulded into beautiful shapes. There are sticky round buns coated in syrup and dusted with spices, plaits of flaky pastry sprinkled with tiny white nuts and purple flowers made out of sugar, and cut-out golden discs layered with firm custard, fresh red fruits and dollops of yellow cream.
‘Makes you sick, doesn’t it,’ a tight angry voice rings out beside me. I jump back from the window, the spell broken, and find myself staring into the face of a girl about my age. The way she speaks is sharp and quick but full of feeling. English. Like the pickpocket boy. That’s where the similarities end though.
____
Sounds brilliant, right? Here’s the blurb, in case you want any more information….
Welcome to 1840s ManchesterTwelve-year-old mill girl NELLIE DOYLE faces eviction and starvation when her father loses his job. But growing up in the notorious Manchester slum of Little Ireland has made her plucky. She befriends CHLOE VALENTINE and has a chance meeting with a circus owner who seemingly grants seven wishes. They embark on a journey to improve their circumstances. Amidst wishes for peace, freedom, and family reunion, Nellie realizes her growing feelings for Chloe, learning that magic doesn’t always work as expected, and sometimes, you must create your own.
Aaaand, here’s some more details about the Little Rebels awards:
I’m waiting for pay day, and then I’m going to grab myself a copy to review. I just wanted to highlight this book as part of the many amazing LGBTQIA+ books that I’m showcasing this June.
___
I’ve set up a ‘bookshop‘ of sorts, over on Bookshop.org, so that I can point you to somewhere to buy that isn’t Amazon. I get a small commission for any sales made there. This helps to support me running this blog.
This is a screenshot taken from Ian’s Bluesky feed- you should go and give him a follow if you don’t already
Ian Eagleton, like most children’s authors I’ve spoken to via social media, is actually one of the loveliest people. I remember watching on Twitter, back in the day, when Mariah Carey – yes, ACTUALLY Mariah Carey – praised his book. It was one of – if not the most – magical thing I ever saw unfold on the platform.
Naturally, being a trendsetter, I’d already read Glitter Boy by that point, and I absolutely agreed.
Glitter Boy is a story about grief, and figuring out who you are, and acceptance, and hope. It follows James, who loves dancing to Mariah Carey with his Nan, but who is being bullied at school for being gay, even though that’s not a label he’s attached to himself. While James is very much the main character, the main character arc of the story – to me at least – felt like James’s dad’s. Initially, he spends a good chunk of the book trying to get James to conform, in an effort to make his life easier, but towards the end, he accepts that it’s everyone else who needs to change, and becomes a good advocate for James.
I really love the complex and loving family that Eagleton has written in this book – I love that James’s dad is the primary carer, and that he needs to work through his own ideas of what masculinity means in order to better be there for his son. I love that some questionable actions are coming from a place of good intentions; parents are fallible and in having James’s dad own his mistakes, it almost gives any parents reading permission to do so. And it lets young readers see that change is possible, that grown-ups can be wrong too – and that we can right ourselves. The reasons James’s dad gives for his actions might also help children to understand some of the – admittedly questionable – choices adults make.
I think I said this before, when speaking about Jamie by LD Lapinski, but I’m never really sure how much of myself to put into these reviews. Books are art, and good art elicits emotion, after all. So, I think mentioning my own relationship with my Nan adds something here. My Nan – my best friend – died when I was in my early 20s; I was in the final throes of my dissertation and working an almost-full time job to get by. I didn’t really have time to grieve. My grief came in little waves at inconvenient moments through the later years. Reading this book and getting to grieve along with James was cathartic, even after all this time. So if there has been a death in your family, this might be the ideal book to offer to any child currently grieving.
What are your favourite books with fallible adult characters? Have you read Glitter Boy yet, or did you see Mariah’s post? As ever, I would love to hear from you.
The story follows Bea, as her happy family of four become a sadder family of three. After the death of her dad, Bea’s family starts to struggle financially and it becomes necessary to move in with Bea’s grandmother – far away from London in the countryside.
Thecountryside – miles and miles from London Pride, where Bea’s family was last happy. Miles and miles from the one event that Bea and her sister Riley were looking forward to. So Bea decides to take matters into her own hands, and begins The Secret Sunshine Project. If she and Riley can’t go to Pride, she’s going to bring Pride to this village – whether her gran’s arch-nemesis and head of the village council likes it or not!
I really, really loved this book. Though it dealt with incredibly serious subjects – family death, financial instability, systemic racism, as well as trans- and homo-phobia – The Secret Sunshine Project never once felt hopeless. Whilst I loved Norah’s Ark, there were times when I needed to put the book down and take a moment because of the subject matter, but that didn’t once happen here. I read the whole thing in a single, joyful sitting, and came away from it feeling uplifted.
The book doesn’t end perfectly, and any resolution the characters enjoy is a temporary respite in the grand scheme of things, but it felt real, and honest, and hopeful nevertheless.
The ‘dead parent’ trope is one that’s used fairly commonly in children’s fiction – and I should know, I used it myself in my upcoming novel – but it’s sometimes feels like it isn’t properly dealt with. I thought The Secret Sunshine Project did an absolutely wonderful job of this though.
What are your favourite books for Pride month? I would especially love to hear about those by LGBT+ authors – especially trans authors at this time.
Millie’s Marvelous Hat, by Satoshi Kitamura is a wonderfully warm, tongue-in-cheek book which follows a young girl on her walk home. It begins when she stops by a hatter’s shop and tries to buy a glorious hat displayed in the window. On discovering she is penniless, the shop-keeper fetches her a ‘magic’ hat from the back room. This hat changes appearance, depending on what Millie sees and feels.
At face value, the book is a lovely romp through a child’s imagination, but it also offers a myriad of opportunities to discuss emotions and how the way we act can improve another’s day.
The passage which particularly helped to illustrate this was when Millie smiled at an old lady, causing some of the creatures from her hat fly over to the woman’s. The happiness felt by Millie was suddenly gifted to a passer-by through the simple act of smiling – something that all of us would do well to remember.
The beautiful, colourful illustrations feel like a breath of fresh air and the details in the various hats which Millie imagines kept myself and the children looking for hours. Even a child too young for the story itself would find value in looking at the pictures.
Whilst I do love the story, I feel that it’s the artwork in this book which makes it truly magical. I can’t imagine this working nearly so well without the glorious pictures.
This is the sort of book that I’d seek out in hardback to gift to people – a real keep-sake – and I wish that I could find prints of the illustrations to hang in my own bedroom, never mind the children’s! The palette of colours is so fresh and crisp that I can’t imagine ever getting tired of looking at them.
This story never fails to make me smile and inspire me – which books make you feel the same way?
THE INQUISITIVE NEWT 