3.5/5 Stars: ‘Bloom’ is a Young Adult, Contemporary LGBTQ+ Graphic Novel by Kevin Panetta and illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau; ‘Bloom’ is neither a Fantasy, nor a Sci-Fi Adventure, yet there is a powerful magic present. There is alchemy in which people connect over food; food is sensuous. It is communicative. It is powerful. People prepare meals together, eat together as a family, go out to eat on first dates, celebrate milestones at restaurants, build careers out of food, farming, gardening, harvesting. And, as rendered in the pages of this graphic novel, food can be the substance of a flirty courtship. This is the best kind of romantic tale: innocent and unfussy, yet overwhelming. It is baked to perfection: a crush that turns to infatuation — and later love — in the confines of a professional kitchen bristling with hot stoves, stuffed shelves, and perfectly shaped spanakopita. Ganucheau’s intermittent two-page-spread collages of Ari and Hector kneading, folding, and braiding dough into scrumptious rolls, cakes, and baguettes — while tropical flowers bloom from the edges of the page and all around them — are dreamy, strange, and wildly savoury. You can literally smell the tantalising aroma of fresh-baked goods in the air, amplified by the sweetly lusty sideways glances Ari and Hector toss at one another. It is a wonder, quite frankly, how this graphic novel so deftly normalizes a burgeoning homosexual relationship between two young men. It is never made clear whether Ari’s parents, neighbours, or best friends know — or even care — that he is gay. The romance blossoms, and the relationship forms as simply and sweetly as a cup of white flour. There is neither darkness nor shame here. ‘Bloom’ is neither a vexing ‘coming out’ story nor a cautionary tale of existential angst. No one is bullied, threatened, thrown out of the house, or banished. No one is self-medicating with drugs or promiscuity. Writer Panetta and Artist Ganucheau concoct a delicious recipe of intricately illustrated baking scenes and blushing young love, in which the choices we make can have terrible consequences, but the people who love us can help us grow.