Honestly this one is just so stinking cute! Whenever a teen asks for recommendations for graphic novels they might not have heard of this is the one that I suggest

Queer, cozy, magical, emotional. This book is one for the ages. Jessi Zabarsky has created a story that will pull tight on your heartstrings but leave you feeling like you're getting a warm hug from a friend.

The premise of this sounded really interesting and the art is beautiful, but when I tried to read it I was so confused I found it hard to get invested enough to try figuring out what was going on. I think this was a case of me being the wrong audience, but this book has a lot of potential and I hope it finds the best audience for it

‘Coming Back’ by Jessi Zabarsky was an absolutely gorgeous graphic novel full of magic and love. It was so lovely. Highly recommend!

This fantasy graphic novel is full of strange and beautiful artwork and an inventive mythology for an island people who reincarnate as seeds when they die. Preet is a powerful shifter and shaper, helping to fix problems around the community. Valissa has no magic at all, and when something goes terribly wrong at the library where she works, she sees a chance to prove herself worthy of Preet's love. But Preet has never been alone before, and when she breaks one of the most important pillar's of the community, she's exiled along with her daughter, Lue. It's only through self-discovery and compassion that they'll find their way back to each other.

The illustrations are dreamy and otherworldly, which I loved. It was also just a really sweet story. But I wish the plot and worldbuilding had been a bit more fleshed out, which I think would've strengthened the story and made it easier to follow overall.

Coming Back is a sweet story about bravery. The characters must deal with a lot of adversity and consequences when faced with difficult choices. For Valissa bravery means facing her fears and the unknown to prove herself and save her village. For Preet bravery means breaking the rules to do what she knows in her heart is right. The two characters must part ways for most of the story and learn self acceptance and forgiveness.

The illustrations and the world setting were beautiful. The pastel color pallet lent itself to the heartfelt story.

I reviewed Coming Back on my Goodreads page.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The ending hammered the theme a little too didactically, but the world building and magic were very interesting, the love was strong and wonderful, and the themes of forgiveness and of understanding that change is important and needed were good ones. I also thought there was enough story in this for a longer book (which would have allowed some of the plot points to be explained a bit better); in fact I would read lots of stories set in this world!

This is a weird book. I’m not 100% sure I can really tell you what it’s about. There are two women who live in a fantastical community where people are reborn as seeds to grow again. The book starts with an older woman passing on, returning to the land, and becoming a seed. That seed is taken out to the water, then comes back in a form of reincarnation. They have shapers and changers which are people with the type of magic that help the community. The librarian though has no magical ability. And this couple will see hardship as they have to separate after something drastic happens at the library. While separated Preet grows a seed into a child, a secret child. The two will eventually come back together and learn from each other and learn that sometimes the old ways are not always best. You have to make new ways in life. As I said this book is weird. It’s interesting and I think that’s the best thing I can say.

This was such a beautiful story. It’s a story about young love and how that love can grow. It’s about connection and finding your way back to each other.

It’s also about culture and traditions, and finding the balance between respecting traditions and changing them with time. I think that was my favorite aspect of the book; just because that’s how something has always been done, doesn’t mean that’s how it should continually be done!

This graphic novel is stunning. I have already read it multiple times. Every library should offer a copy of this book. I loved the story, the art, the characters.

This was a quick, enjoyable graphic novel with gorgeous illustrations and a beautifully magical tone. I loved the casual inclusion of queer relationships and the bond between the two main characters felt so intimate, tender, and pure. This book was super atmospheric, which I loved!

I did find that I had a lot of questions about the world and the rules of its magic--I think the world building could have been fleshed out a bit more and things could have been explained a bit more explicitly. At times I was also confused about the timeline and unsure of the passage of time throughout the story--I wasn't sure if days had passed or if it'd been years. I think the book was trying to leave more up to interpretation and present a Hemingway-style narrative, but I personally needed a bit more clarity and direction.

This will definitely be a hit for fans of Witchy, The Tea Dragon Society, or The Witch Boy!

A beautiful graphic novel with wonderfully diverse characters. The graphic novel could use more detail in terms of worldbuilding and character development.

A wonderful and deeply touching story about magic, growth, and passing stories on from generation to generation. A lovely and emotional read. The representation of the magic was particularly moving.

A beautiful book that perfectly encapsulates "home" in all its complex meanings. It is messy and loving and warm and will always be there for you. Even if you mess up or aren't "the best". Coming Back was such a beautiful read, I'll carry it with me for a long time.

"We're strongest when we can bend and change to help one another."

This book has a fantastic art style, similar to that of the Tea Dragon series, and at its core is a queer love story. I loved this graphic novel, and its core messages. It does feel very short because there is such little text, but it's very soft.

Zabarsky has created an interesting world here, with a complex mythology of magic and reincarnation, tradition and attachment. THere are a couple of stories running concurrently so there's always plenty going on. It's not terribly action heavy, though. This is largely a personal journey, a plot that encourages reflection.

First of all, we need to chat about the gorgeous illustrations from Zabarsky. There are some truly striking panels and the line work is delicate and powerful all at once. If you love magical graphic novel artwork, this is a definite must read. Secondly, Coming Back unexpectedly struck a chord within me. I can't talk about what specifically happens, but I may have teared up! As a whole, Coming Back is a graphic novel that asks, "just because it is this way now, does it always have to be the same?"

A gorgeous Sapphic graphic novel that follows Preet and Valissa through their individual journeys with magic and identity. Despite obstacles, will Preet and Valissa come back together? And if they do, will they be the same?

Coming Back is a unique sapphic romance where the two main love interests spend most of the book separate from each other, trying to find their way back to each other and to the truest versions of themselves. Inside you'll find a messy, realistic depiction of love and parenthood, cradled carefully by a soft, comforting art style. It is as much about how to love in the confines of a relationship as it is how to love a community and in a community, and as their view of what love is grows, so does their view of how to let go of community traditions when they stop serving the community. It's a quick, sweet read that left me excited to see what Jessi Zabarsky does next.

Wow. This stressed me out. A lot. I wanted to like it more but a lot of it was upsetting in ways I'm not fully processing. It was also the kind of graphic novel where I feel like I would have had an easier time with more text alongside the (beautifully illustrated) panels to properly parse all of the action and story.