A review by ourxstorybegins
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

5.0

I wanted to squeeze in a graphic novel and did not expect to love Mooncakes as much as I did! Nova (she/her, witch) and her childhood best friend and crush Tam (they/them, werewolf), come across each other as young adults. They fall in love and band together (with Nova’s lesbian grandmas) to battle the dark side! 

Some Highlights: 
  • We love cozy casual magic! The whole time I was reading, this felt like a hug in a book.
  • I love the animation style. It gave me the same vibes that I had when I read Nimona (ND Stevenson) years ago. Again, no matter what they might have been doing, it just felt cozy.
  • The representation felt easy and natural. Nova is hard of hearing and, as a result, uses a hearing aid. This is mentioned casually throughout the book, but it also takes on a pretty major role in the story? Same thing with Tam. They have a moment where they let everyone know “I use they/them pronouns” and that’s it! Everyone just moves on and it’s not made into some big thing.
  • THE BLACK CATS ARE EVERYTHING.

I don’t know if Mooncakes is set to have any kind of sequel, but if it does? I’m one-hundred percent ready.
 
ESCAPES RATING:
Enjoyment - 10 | Start - 10 | Characters - 10 | Atmosphere - 8 | Plot - 9 | End - 9 | Style - 10