Yes, another food book. Call it a special interest at this point. I was wonderfully gifted Crumble by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis
Crumble is another sweet graphic novel where food magic is at the center of the plot.
This graphic novel is targeted at Ages 8-12 and deals with family death and grief, though in a thoughtful way for those ages.
Emily is a middle/late elementary school student with a special power, along with her Aunt Gina and her mom, Emily can bake emotions into food, sweet foods specifically.
Emily stays with her aunt Gina, who runs a bakery, she takes care of Emily and teaches her about the family business while her mom travels to promote the store.
Emily is excited to learn to bake, however when something happens to her aunt.
Emily is left without the ability to bake anything, because of the rule her family has. They don’t bake when they have negative feels because it transfers into the food making people feel bad.
Emily though tries to bake anyway, as it is the only thing that seems to help with her sadness which she’s trying to keep from her mother.
However after a bake sale gone wrong, Emily must deal with the emotions she trying to avoid and repair the relationships she hurt while grieving.
REVIEW
I loved the art style, and I also liked the recipes included. I just think this is a nice touch from books to their readers.
Emily’s story is a pretty serious one. But it is handled with a deft hand, and incorporates the magic in an interesting way.
Overall this was a four star book, very interesting, well plotted and great art. But not one of my favorites.
This book is out November 19th.
Hachette Books: Pre-Order Your Copy
About The Author
MEREDITH McCLAREN is the writer and creator of Hinges for Image Comics, and the artist for the graphic novels Heart In A Box and Real Science Adventures: The Nicodemus Job. Additionally she’s done short stories for Adventure Time, Bee and Puppycat, and Twisted Romance. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona. You can find Meredith on Instagram: @iniquitousfish.
ANDREA BELL is an illustrator and comic artist living in Chicago through the best and worst seasons. She is the illustrator of the Diary of a 5th Grade Outlawtrilogy, The Leak, and Maker Comics: Conduct a Science Experiment! She enjoys curating playlists, playing video games, and indulging in warm memes on a cold day. You can find Andrea online at andreabelldraws.com or on Instagram @andyharvest.
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