Title: Pumpkinheads
Contributors: Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
Type: Fiction, Graphic Novel
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Publisher: First Second (MacMillan Publishers)
Date published: August 27, 2019

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review.

Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends.

Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.

But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.

Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .

What if their last shift was an adventure?

⤖ My Review ⬻

As some of you might know due to my rambles about Pumpkinheads, I’ve been excited about it ever since it was mentioned at the Raincoast Preview in Fall 2018! We already had a cover at that point, and even just based on that (without reading the synopsis first), I knew that this was a graphic novel for me! I was lucky enough to receive a copy from Raincoast Books one year later once the book was published, and here are my thoughts: I was very happy with how the interior illustrations match the cover (since I’ve come across graphic novels with which this isn’t the case, and in which the interior illustrations just aren’t as good as those on the cover).

I loved Faith Erin Hicks’ style and choices of colour! I also found that the characters had very expressive faces and that Faith is very talented at depicting the atmospheres and moods of certain scenes. The story in Pumpkinheads was great as well (and my first Rainbow Rowell story ever…please don’t hate me! Haha). I loved the pacing, and I also loved the pumpkin patch itself! I wish that a pumpkin patch like that existed in real life because I would honestly visit it every fall! I plan on visiting a pumpkin patch here very soon, but now it’s just not going to compare to the one in Pumpkinheads. I definitely recommend this one to those who enjoy contemporary YA romance, relatable characters, and (of course) autumn and pumpkins!

⤖ About the Contributors ⬻

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they’re screwing up. And people who fall in love. When she’s not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things. She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

Born in the wilds of British Columbia, the young Faith Erin Hicks frolicked among the Sasquatch native to the province before moving to Ontario at age five. There she was homeschooled with her three brothers, and developed an unnatural passion for galloping around on horseback, though never without a proper helmet (because you only get one skull). After twenty years of suffering through Ontario’s obscenely hot summers, she migrated east, and now lives beside the other ocean in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She worked in animation for a bit, and now draws comics full time. She’s not sure how that happened either.

⤖ Purchase the Book ⬻

⤖ Let’s Chat ⬻

THANK YOU FOR READING MY REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS!