Bloom

by Kevin Panetta

Paperback, 2019

Status

Available

Call number

PZ7.7 .P22 Bl 2019

Publication

First Second (2019), Edition: Illustrated, 368 pages

Description

"Baked with love! Now that high school 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 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 ruin everything."--Page [2] of cover.

User reviews

LibraryThing member krau0098
I have wanted to read this graphic novel for some time and was excited to see it at the library. This ended up being a sweet, engaging, and heartfelt read that I enjoyed a lot.

Ari desperately wants to move to the city with his band, but his dad desperately needs Ari’s help to keep the family
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bakery going Ari decides to hire a replacement to help his dad, after a bunch of absolutely awful interviews he meets Hector. Hector absolutely loves baking and having Hector around might be even better for Ari than he knows.

This was a very cute, funny, and sweet book about Ari trying to figure out what he wants out of life. I loved all the baking in here and the way that Ari’s family interacts. Ari can be annoying at times but he is also very sincere. Hector is another amazing character and the pure joy he brings to the bakery is fun to watch.

The illustration was unique, fun to look at, and easy to follow. I enjoyed both the illustration and the story a lot.

Overall this was a wonderful, feel good graphic novel about finding your way and falling in love. I loved a lot of the elements around baking, family, and love that featured in this book. I would recommend to those who enjoy sweet books about family and falling in love and don’t mind GLBT content.
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LibraryThing member lilibrarian
Ari, whose family owns a bakery, wants to be a musician. He hires Hector to take on the work at the bakery so he can move to the city, but as they work together, their relationship grows. Graphic, nicely done artwork by
Savanna Ganucheau
LibraryThing member villemezbrown
I am such a sucker for sweet little romances involving cooking. (See also: Meal by Blue Delliquanti.) Sure, one of them is practically a saint and the other is quite a bit annoying, but it totally worked for me.
LibraryThing member booklover3258
This was a great book, story and art. The illustrations were amazing throughout. I really really liked seeing the relationship bloom between Ari and Hector (meaning the flowers on the pages when their relationship grew and grew). Ari was a little annoying at first but he eventually grew on me.
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Super cute ending!
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LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan
I feel this book was way over hyped. I saw so many people add it to their TBR and it as hist a few “best of” lists, and I ask myself why? Because it reps LGBTQ? That can not be the only reason something gets this hyped. I hate the main character Ari (Aristotle). He is whiny and can be a bit
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mean and mean tempered. I loved Hector, except for his choices. He has “battered husband” in the making vibes. Most of this GN is long and drawn out, almost like they are trying to create sexul tension, and all it did was bore me. By the time I started to like Ari he did a buthole thing and made me hate him all over again. And Hector forgiving in the end is just too easy. It was a nice attempt, but not all that shinny.
#Beatthebacklist.
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LibraryThing member chwiggy
It's so cute! I was literally crying by the end. The art is simple but beautiful and I want to bake now!
LibraryThing member LVStrongPuff
This book is so cute. I love everything about it. The drawings were awesome and I loved the story. It is a great story.
LibraryThing member reader1009
teen graphic novel with LGBTQA interest (gay characters, another is incidentally trans)
sweet characters lovingly illustrated - Aristotle is Greek-American living in Maryland; Hector is a Samoan-American visitor from Birmingham.
LibraryThing member oldandnewbooksmell
Ari is dying to move to the city with his band now that high school is over... if only he can persuade his dad to let him quit the family bakery. He loved working there as a kid, but now that he's older, he can't see himself doing that for the rest of his life. Upon interviewing candidates for his
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replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking. As they become closer and closer over the rising bread, love is on the horizon... as long as Ari doesn't ruin it.

First off, I love the blue color pallet for this novel. It's so pretty!

Secondly, poor Ari and things messing up on him. I know how you feel! And not knowing what you exactly want to do with your life - I still don't know! Third: Cameron is a jerk.

Overall, this is a cutesy, gay romance in a bakery that will put a smile on your face.
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LibraryThing member clrichm
So sweet it made my teeth ache, and not because of all the delicious-looking and sounding baked goods strewn throughout. Lots of foods I've never even heard of, but now I really want to try them!

I was a little worried that Ari was going to be far too flawed and have too many issues for things to
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work out with Hector...which is absolutely stupid, since the happy ending was all but inevitable, but I suppose that's good storytelling. The reader *should* forget that it's a finite story with an ending already in place. The illustrations were very atmospheric, conveying the change of season with total grace, and I loved how the artist worked flowers into and among the panels when romance was "blooming" in the narrative.

I am sort of disappointed that the author never managed to work in a pun about yeast also blooming, though. ;)
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
Sweet, and I liked the art, but Ari is kind of a jerk. I see how the story is about that, so... I'm mixed on my feelings. I'm glad Hector called him out on things, though.
LibraryThing member psalva
This was cute, but nothing earth shattering for me. I liked the art quite a bit. Ari’s family are wonderful- accepting and encouraging even though Ari doesn’t know what he wants. Hector is also a wonderful character. The baking elements reminded me a bit of Check Please.
LibraryThing member tuusannuuska
I liked the art work? Story was mediocre, really disliked the characters. My expectations were way too high.
LibraryThing member raschneid
Gorgeous, atmospheric art and a lot of nuance. I wish the resolution had been a little less pat, but still a strong debut.
LibraryThing member caedocyon
I was liking it OK until about page 264, when Ari acts weirdly immature. Then the bakery immediately burns down (it's ~symbolic~ and very heavy-handed) and a bunch of other plot happens in a rush, and it lost a star. Not bad, but meh.

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

8.62 inches

ISBN

1626726418 / 9781626726413
Page: 0.937 seconds