This was such a cute story! I loved how diverse and inclusive it was. The art style was stunning, and the story was super entertaining. I really enjoyed the magical elements to it.

This book was cute just what many of my patrons are looking for when it comes to graphic novels. Something light and fluffy and so very cute!

Story: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Art: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Mooncakes was an endearing graphic novel with an enchanting (pun intended) cast of characters and themes of hope, family and love. I’d never actually read a graphic novel before this one so I had no idea what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised with a sweet story that filled me up with all those warm, fuzzy feelings. My only grumble is that the plot was quite basic and focused more on the relationships between characters than specific details but I still had a great general experience despite this.

Nova Huang was a teen witch who worked in her grandmothers’ bookshop and helped them loan out spell books and look into any magical mishaps in the surrounding area. One day she stumbled across her childhood crush called Tam Lang– a werewolf who had been lost and wandering for far too long. They banded together to battle occult forces but ultimately they ended up rediscovering their love and discovering the extent of the potential they both held.

The foundation of this novel was the bonds between the various characters. Nova and Tam’s relationship was the pinnacle of cuteness and I loved their quiet, hopeful trust in each other. The endless love and support from Nova’s grandmothers and the rest of her family was heart-warming as well as the humorous scepticism of Nova’s scientific best friend.

I also loved the diversity! Both Nova and Tam were Chinese American. Nova was hard-of-hearing and Tam was nonbinary. It just fills my heart with so much joy to see so much representation. Furthermore, the illustrations were gorgeous and created an adorable, whimsical mood to the story.

In essence, Mooncakes was a tale of self discovery. Of growing up and ‘leaving the nest’ but also of coming home. Yes, the plot was a bit lacking for me but it was still an enchanting read that I’d recommend and that has definitely made me want to read more graphic novels in the future.

Thank you to Oni Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a gorgeous graphic novel. I adored the art style and this plot. I especially appreciated the representation.

I voted for this in the Goodreads awards this year, over several Image titles that I really love; it's that good. If you like stories that revolve around female friendship and warm, supportive community relationships (among many other things), this is a story for you.

So... it has taken a long time for me to write a review for this book since not a lot happened for me to write about. I liked the casual diversity but that was about it. I wish I had enjoyed this book a lot more than I did, but unfortunately, I did not.

Mooncakes
by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker
Let’s start with the obvious—this young adult fantasy graphic narrative is witchy and wonderous, with wildly good art. There are two (essentially) main characters, as well. Nova, who is Chinese-American (and hard of hearing), and dealing with the devastating loss of her parents while living with her two grandmothers. The other is the punster Tam, who’s also Chinese-American, but Tam’s a nonbinary werewolf who recently left their family because that family couldn’t accept them.

Clearly, issues with parents are at the heart of both character’s trauma, so it only makes sense that the come together for deeply-needed support. As Wendy and Suzanne offer in a note at the front of the book, “Mooncakes is a story of reunion—two childhood crushes who find each other again and find out whether their friendship could be something more.” Add in some supernatural mysteries and horse demons and you’ve conflict aplenty.

Now, let’s consider the less obvious aspects of the book. (1) The specifics of the magic system are a bit underdeveloped (2) The backgrounds of the characters feel a bit thin beyond the obvious elements (see above). (3) There’s a bit of the “insta love” trope in operation here.

Still, there’s much to admire in this old-fashioned love story with a contemporary, magical twist. For anyone looking for a YA tale that fully embraces diversity, this might be an ideal fit.


3.75 out of 5 coffee cups

Have you ever had the experience where you watch a movie and it just doesn't quite add up, but then you go watch a deleted scene and it suddenly makes things makes sense and you wonder why in the world they cut that scene? I feel like somewhere there's a missing scene for this graphic novel that would just snap it all into place for me. Just that one extra little bit of lore and explanation that would make things just work so much better.

Cute and adorable with intriguing mystery and amazing representation! However I didn't really clicked with the art style and the plot was okay in the end.

Just finished reading this and it's one of the best graphic novels I've read ✨ It's diverse, it's respectful toward disability and nonbinary pronouns, it's adorable with the friends-to-lovers trope, and the sapphic relationship is the cutest 💕


📣 hearing aid
👭 sapphic grandma couple
🐈 so many meows
🌙 witch spells
🐺 werewolf canines
👩‍❤️‍👩 cutest kisses
👥 they/them pronouns
👩‍👩‍👧 badass grandmas
💬 annoyingly funny puns
💖 sapphic relationship support
✨ spirit, cult, danger
✨ concern arising from love
👻 ghost parents
✨ chinese-american MCs
💕 childhood friends to teenage lovers
🎨 cutest art

[Review in points format posted on Goodreads; will be posted on the blog in December 2019]

Totally loved it. This is my first time reading Graphic novel, it was such a fun magical book with lots of queer characters.

This had adorable art and likable characters, but I have to dock stars because the world was lazily created and ultimately unfinished. One character is a witch, and it's a sort of generic magical set-up with spell books, potions, and wands. The other character, however, has to tap into her "wolf magic," which isn't based on any preexisting popular mythology I recognized. Obviously she's a werewolf, but how does she use her magic, which is normally autonomic, in a voluntary way? It's not explained or explored, she just does.

Nice diverse cast, with a Deaf character of Asian heritage who lives with her partnered Grandmas, and love interest who is gender nonconforming with a difficult family background.

A charming, lovely graphic novel about family, friendship, and the bonds between us.

I always struggle to discuss graphic novels I love, and here we are! Mooncakes was an unexpected find, a graphic novel with a self contained story full of magic and the mundane. There was so much to love all around, and I would recommend this enchanting book for anyone.

This was such a fun and cute graphic novel!
I loved that it was set during the fall months, because Halloween & the love story was adorable!
I also loved the artwork as well!
Overall perfect graphic novel to read during the fall!

Mooncakes was such a cozy read, and it's something that I should reread now that it's fall. It's a story about family and life after formal education (which apparently exists?) and discovering what you're capable of.

Tam is a werewolf in search of answers about magic. There are rumors and hypotheses of werewolf magic, but they have no idea if it's possible. And if it is possible, how can they discover and control it? Their only hope is in finding their childhood friend Nova, a witch, and ask for help. This sets off into a story of self-discovery, uncovering corruption, and lots of magic.

Overall, I really liked this book. Admittedly, now that I'm writing the review four months after reading it, I don't remember many of the details. But I do remember wanting to tell everyone to read it after I put it down, so that' has to be a good sign.

I also connected with these characters a lot, especially in their subplots. Nova is feeling stuck in her home town because she decided to stay home with her grandmothers instead of going off to study witchcraft in another place. Tam is trying to find not just a place that feels like home but people that feel like home. Both of these were easy to relate to as someone in my twenties.

The art in Mooncakes is absolutely beautiful and some of my favorite from any graphic novel. And that's really saying something considering I read it as an ARC with mostly unfinished art. (Although, I've since seen some of the finished art and it has only cemented what I just said.)

This was really cute and a quick read. I really liked the art style and the dialog. The premise was cute and I liked the diversity in it. I would recommend this book for 12 and up (YA Age). I look forward to reading more from this author.

this story was really cute but I think the writing and art was just okay imo. It has lovely rep: enby werewolf, witch who is hard of hearing, nb/f love story about found family, but the plot was a bit unsophisticated for me and the art was just missing something (it's possible the art was bc it was the unfinished copy?)

Didn't love it, didn't hate it

Mooncakes is a cute , inclusive, and easy to read graphic novel. The book is a fantasy story set in modern times, with witches, magic, and werewolves taking centre stage in this graphic novel.

I really enjoyed the whole cast of different characters – in particular I loved seeing how effortlessly Tam was included in the story. In an early panel, Tam asks for the pronouns they to be used in relation to themselves and throughout Mooncakes we are given glimpses of Tam backstory – some of these include them as presenting as more feminine, and others are they transition and make changes to themselves.

In particular there are two panels that exemplify this excellently, in one Tam is a young girl with two long braids, in the other Tam is emotionally cutting her hair.

The LGBT and inclusion of Mooncakes can be seen in not just Tam but also her relationship with Nova, Nova’s grandparents, and Nova’s hearing aids. Mooncakes is just a queer feast for the senses!

Mooncakes was an engaging graphic novel that had a unique art style that often drew my eyes to small details. I would really recommend Mooncakes if you’re looking for a magically inclusive fantasy read.

This was such a quick, fun read and I can't wait to get my hands on a full color copy! This is one that I really want to buy for my friends because I really think they would love it.

This was a great graphic novel! The characters were awesome and the romance was so cute! I greatly enjoyed the art style of the comic; it flows really well and the colours were cheerful and perfect of an autumn palette. The story itself wasn't very complex, and personalities were pretty one-dimensional but that didn't totally detract from my enjoyment!