In this graphic novel we follow a group of friends as they illegally race brooms to try and win money to better their lives. Billie Mae, Loretta, Cheng-Kwan, Mattie, and Emma make up the broom racing team known as the Night Storms. Together they enter one of the biggest races with the biggest pot. Can the girls win the race and the life changing money?

This was such a fantastic graphic novel. I loved all of the different characters. They all had their own issues and well fleshed out personalities. I loved all of the artwork too, it really made this graphic novel stand out among the many I've read this year. Overall, a great graphic novel and one I think would be a great addition to your collection!

BROOMS is a powerful queer & witchy graphic novel by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall. It’s set in 1930s Mississippi, where magic use is limited and broom racing is banned. But some witches see broom racing as the only way to make enough money to leave the state for good, or as a way to avoid government officials who want to send young witches away to a boarding school that will prevent them from using their ancestral magic. For other witches, it's a way to be true to themselves. This book follows six BIPOC witches as they turn to broom racing as the only way out of their hardships.

This graphic novel tells the heart-wrenching story of what it feels like to have things taken away from you—your magic, identity, and ability to live as your true self while living in a constant state of fear. But it also shows the importance of fighting back and reclaiming your power; of believing in yourself and knowing that no one can ever steal what’s rightfully yours. This story actively chooses not to focus on pain and hatred, and instead focuses on love, community and acceptance. It allows us to dream of a kinder world and imagine what’s possible.

The characters resist colonialism by embracing who they are, which is a beautiful thing to witness. They fight for survival in the face of injustice, and they lean on each other through it all. Their friendship is the glue that holds the book together, and although there are six main characters the story feels well-balanced and each witch has enough time to tell her story. Their ancestral and familial ties to magic guides them and moves the story forward.

BROOMS is a profound and thoughtful exploration of what it’s like to be a rebellious queer woman of colour in the face of adversity, but also a tender and magical story about friendship and community.

My thanks to NetGalley and Levine Querido for providing me with an eARC.

TW: racism, mentioning & flashback of reservation schools

Wow, this was a star studded read. I love the diversity in this and the world-building was fantastic and was perfect for the story. I do wished that the story’s as longer and possible have gotten more content as to what happened after the race with girls when they were older. The only thing that I have minor critique on is the villianious school boys and in connection the magical schools. I felt like we need more information about the schools especially with one of the characters having lost her powers because of the school. it just didn’t really seem clear enough for my liking.

“Your hatred is your curse. It tightens around your heart like a noose. Act in violence and pay the price.

Live in kindness and you will go unharmed.”

Happy Indigenous People’s Day! It actually worked out perfectly that I finished this #graphicnovel in time to post about it today!

The author Jasmine Walls masterfully blends Choctaw heritage into her story of communities at the margins - those of the mixed race Black Indigenous and Mexican Indigenous, Chinese, disabled and queer communities. These characters came to life in the span of a few pages with the mastery of the author and her team of artists. Swipe ⬅️ for a synopsis, and thank you to @netgalley and @levinequerido for my eARC ahead of publication!

This book is available tomorrow October 10th!!

The basis for the main plotline in this graphic novel isn't wholly unique (some of the characters need money and therefore enter a dangerous competition to win a money prize), but it's the world and the characters that make it interesting. I do wish I had learned a little more about the world, but I feel like I got enough information to feel a true sense of danger and I think it was interesting to see how magic was incorporated into true historical events. My favourite aspect of this graphic novel was definitely the characters. They are very diverse (Choctaw, Black, Chinese-American, Mexican, trans, queer, Deaf and disabled) and all of these identities were incorporated really well. It got enough attention and felt relevant eventhough it wasn't the main plot. It was also lovely to see such a supportive group of friends and family. Everyone had their own struggles going on but they respected others when they made decisions that were different from what they themselves would have liked and it was so nice to see such healthy communication.

I also liked the artwork, especially how distinct all the characters were and the use of clean lines. Personally I do prefer a little more shading as the illustrations appeared quite flat, but that is only a minor complaint.

Over all this was an enjoyable read with enough depth that is great for this time of year!

I loved the premise but I wasn’t a fan of the artwork. I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters and some of the storylines were difficult to follow. However, I enjoyed the ending. I wish I had seen more of that thrill during the rest of the story.

This graphic novel is jam-packed with representation- cultural diversity, LGBTQ+ characters, and deafness all full the pages of this magical read. Read this book if you are looking for a group of witches who face adversity in different arenas and come together to engage in racing competitions on brooms. The coloring is bold and rich. The illustrations are ok, but a bit too 2-dimensional for my taste. This book didn’t pull me in as I’d hoped, so it’s more of a middle of the road rating. I’m grateful to NetGalley for the digital copy to review, and perhaps I might have a different reading experience with a physical copy of this book.

Brooms is an exciting and diverse graphic novel about an underground network of magic broom racers. It follows a group of women who use flying to escape from their everyday troubles and have a chance to use their magic. It tackles the issues of race and gender discrimination in the past, that still unfortunately continues today. I enjoyed that there were many ethnicities and types of queer people represented. I also enjoyed the artwork very much.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Levine Querido, and Arthur A. Levine for access to this absolutely fantastic arc!

5/5 stars!

This was such a great graphic novel. The art was beautiful, the story was entertaining with its magical elements as well as haunting with everything drawn from real life (residential schools, racism, etc), and the queer and BIPOC representation was just so so fantastic. The very very very last page made me cry, I won't say why just that it's beautiful and so touching!!! I loved this so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me this eArc (and ARC) to review.

Tw for: racism, residential schools, violence/injury (mainly from broom riding), police essentially being like ICE

This is a beautifully drawn, coloured and lettered graphic novel with a plot where it focuses on friendships, love and trying to make it in 1930s Mississippi. It has a brilliantly diverse cast of characters with women of colour at the forefront. There is disability, trans and lesbian/wlw representation as well.

I really enjoyed the story, the characters and just everything in it.

Omg such a cool book, I wish I had this kind of book growing up. A super fun read and would’ve loved to see it in color (limited by my kindle). Maybe the most diverse characters, appreciated the Indian sign language and not translated Cantonese.

This was such a cute graphic novel full of love and happiness through the racism that they had to face. It features trans, lesbians, and disabled representation.

This book discusses heavy topics such as racisms and oppression.

I loved everything about this book, the main character were so likeable and easy to love. The art style was remarkable. The only thing I wish is for this to be longer. Also loved how we got some scenes of them as grown ups and to see what their future were.

Thank you NetGalley and Levine Querido for providing me an arc for a honest review!

The art in this book was absolutely amazing!!! I loved getting to see the beautiful work through out that complemented the story beautifully. This is definitely a must read, the diversity and representation present in this book was amazing to see and I hope to see more books like this in the future!

This was a beautiful graphic novel about a diverse magical broom racing team set in the early 1900s. I loved the storyline and all the characters were so lovely! Also there’s a broom racing team named Enbious made up of all nonbinary folks and I’m obsessed lmao.


🌈 Queer rep: Main - lesbian/queer mc, trans woman mc. Secondary - nonbinary, lesbian, trans woman

Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for giving me an ARC (eGalley) to review. Always excited to read new works!

Brooms by Jasmine Walls and illustrated by Teo DuVall is a graphic novel with a fun and heart-warming journey following a diverse cast of characters.

Walls creates a world where magic is real but an older magic that is found amongst a diverse group of individuals is made illegal by the government. Once young individuals show signs of having magic, the government agents whisk these young children away to a magic academy that restricts their natural magic and is altogether unkind. There is one space where those harboring this magic, who haven't been whisked away by the government, can practice and show off, and that's at the broom races. When young girls Mattie and Emma develop magic, their family must keep the girls hidden until they can earn enough money to pay off the agents. That's when a member of the family, Luella, suggests the girls join the broom races to earn money. The girls then learn how to harbor their magic and fly on brooms from Luella's friends and the novel dives further into the stories of all those involved in keeping these girls safe.

Brooms is releasing just in time for fall and I highly recommend cozying up with this graphic novel with a warm cup of tea and maybe some tissues!

What I Enjoyed:

1. The cast of characters in Walls' graphic novel is both diverse and fun. There are characters of different races, from different but similar cultural backgrounds, those with a physical disability, one of the young girls is deaf, there is a trans femme character, two women in love, and more. This level of representation is great, especially for younger readers! Each character also has a fun and unique characterization and an engaging backstory.

2. The story is fast-paced and makes for a quick read! Yet the world is still interesting and engaging. If you're looking for a quick but meaningful read, this graphic novel is perfect.

3. In the creator's notes, Walls explains how she wanted to represent history accurately through a magical world and underrepresented characters. Walls' desire in this graphic novel to represent different minority groups, the oppression these groups face, and the joy of these groups are visible and present throughout the story. Walls beautifully represents these groups through a fantasy world and a magical lens. While I was able to see this representation clearly, I would still recommend giving Walls' "Creator's Notes" at the end a read for a better understanding of the world and passion behind the graphic novel.

4. The ending and epilogue of Brooms made this such a heart-warming story. The ending was satisfying and cute. It made me tear up in the end! Make sure you don't put down the book once you reach the acknowledgments, because if you keep scrolling (or turning the pages) past that, there is a beautiful epilogue that shows what happens to all the characters as they grow older, up to their old age. The ending made me tear up but the epilogue made me tear up even more!

How It Could Be Improved:

1. The art of this graphic novel is rather simple. You're reading this more for the story than the art. But the simple style is still beautiful and seems purposefully simple. The simple design allows for the story to shine and be the star of the show. However, if you read graphic novels for the art, this one is more focused on the story than on the art.

2. The start of the story made me think the two young girls, Mattie and Emma, would be the focus of the story yet they exist more to drive the plot along. The real focus is on Luella and her companions, which still makes for a great story but is not the impression I got when I started reading. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed all the characters!

3. This is a short read! And I do love short reads and the length of the graphic novel does work well with the story being told. But it does feel as if there's such an interesting world that Walls built that isn't fully explored in the length of this graphic novel. I wonder if Walls would consider writing more graphic novels set in the Brooms world, as I can see much potential there.

I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, so this was a real treat. A beautifully drawn story of camaraderie and found family, fighting against incredible odds, and never giving up, set in the world of illicit magical broom racing. Wonderful world building with lots of diversity. I highly recommend it!

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

A really good read. I loved this a lot. It was so good and fun! I wouldn't say it is my most favorite book ever, but it had its bits that I really enjoyed! The characters were all themselves and I liked that a lot.

CONTENT NOTE: Anti-Blackness and anti-Indigeneity, trauma, residential schools, law enforcement, physical and mental violence, fall from heights

Brooms is an absolute treasure of a comic! The story takes us to a reimagined historical Mississippi where a community of magical women and girls literally race to protect one another, teaching magic to the younger ones and navigating complex and dangerous social situations while staying true to themselves. Full of heart and a deep sense of care for both its characters and its readers, this beautifully illustrated comic is a must-read for all fantasy lovers!

What Worked for Me:
Y'all, this one made me cry so many times, so you know it's gonna be a good one! 🥹
✦ The thing I love most about this book is the care its creators took. Jasmine Walls' dedicated research and the team's work with communities to accurately and respectfully portray so many people of marginalized backgrounds really shines through in particular, and it honestly was so heartwarming to read this amazing book!
✦ There are so many wonderful surprises in the book that I don't want to spoil for you because they take tropes that we're so accustomed to seeing and flip them upside down in the best of ways.
✦ As a queer, trans, and disabled person, it was truly so meaningful to see the kind of representation this book gave us as an audience, and in important ways, too.
✦ I love the way trans identity is handled in this book. I can't say more than that without spoiling anything, but if the creators ever read this, I hope they'll know how much it meant to me to see this kind of representation at every step of the way! Their own life experiences and their respect and love for trans people really shine through, and I'm grateful for what I got to see in this comic.
✦ The presence of so many disabled people, both visibly and not, in particular was so amazing and heartwarming to see! This is another thing that I absolutely adored about this book was seeing disability being included as the norm and even seeing adaptive devices within magical settings was just-- chef's kiss! This is the kind of disabled representation I want more of in fantasy, where the disability is not magicked away with a spell/cure but is instead accepted and adapted for.
✦ I love that the characters were given complex, fully realized lives and identities even while dealing with systematic oppression. Something I feel that a lot of media sometimes falls into is this idea that if a character is facing marginalization, especially if more than one kind of marginalization, then that character has no room left to be human, complex and nuanced. They often become ONLY their struggle, while this book gave them the autonomy, letting them lead their lives as human beings and not just the struggle they face.
For example, the characters were free to be disabled AND to race in a high stakes broom race! (Let's not even forget to mention that there were MULTIPLE types of disabled characters doing this!) And this wasn't just with disability, this was across identities, and it was truly a delight to see!
✦ The art was so lovely! I really enjoyed the character designs and the colors in particular, and I was so happy to see so many body types represented, too-- and older people! It felt like a believable world that I had been dropped into with a rich diversity of characters both in the main cast and in the background characters' designs.
✦ I really enjoyed the inclusion of cultural practices and languages in here that weren't white and English, too. I love the depth this gives the world and the characters, and I always appreciate seeing characters of backgrounds different to my own shown in comics. I don't want stories that just cater to my experiences as a white person, so this made me really happy to see.
✦ I also really enjoyed seeing a story where white people were not portrayed as well-intentioned individuals who just made mistakes or just don't know better. It was refreshing to see a comic showing the systematic and predictable nature of whiteness in action and talking about it as such.
✦ The lettering was really clear and easy to read, even on a smaller scale with the ARC I received that didn't format the pages to fit to the screen size (which I expect is an ARC-specific measure of protection, not a a digital version-specific issue), which I appreciated!
✦ I know I mentioned the colors already, but truly-- THE COLORS. They felt so magical! I loved how many scenes were at twilight and dusk, giving us that anything is possible feeling that comes with the time in between day and night. The cozy palette also gave us a sense of intimacy and comfort that I quite enjoyed.
✦ I was happy to see a Deaf character included, as well as Indian Sign Language (as described in Jasmine Walls' creator notes), and was heartened by Walls' acknowledgement in the creator notes about lip reading not being a realistic method of communication. However, as a hearing person, I encourage people to seek out the reviews of Deaf readers, particularly those who speak Indian Sign Language of the book for a more nuanced review of the depiction here.
✦ I enjoyed the magic aspects of the story, too! It was an interesting exploration of the ways magic is taught and how it would be approached in a setting such as 1930s segregated Mississippi, as well as the various kinds that exist. I would have loved to see it explored even more in the book, to be honest, especially the kind shown later on in the book. It was also interesting to see the characters' adaptation to not being given access to certain kinds of magic and the ways they would create access for themselves in the face of it.

What Didn't Work for Me:
✦ The story could be a little bit slow at times for me, to be honest, particularly in the middle. I thought there was a bit of repetition with some parts of the story that could have been perhaps condensed down a bit to help the pacing. But it's still interesting and engaging enough to keep me reading!
✦ I felt that there were some moments with the art that felt a bit "talking heads" without much visual action to give the reader to observe. I think this also contributed a bit to the slowing down of the pace at points because when the characters were engaged with something visually, I felt the pace pick up a lot more!

Overall
I give Brooms 4.5 out of 5 speech bubbles, rounding up to 5: This book is such a magical read for so many reasons, and its focus on community care and queer identities is one that will leave a lingering impression on the hearts of those who read it.

How to Read It:
Interested in checking it out for yourself? Brooms comes out October 3rd, and you can pre-order a copy from Bookshop, your local comic book store, or Barnes & Noble.

Hardcovers provide higher royalties for writers and illustrators, but a royalty is a royalty, so go forth knowing your purchase will support them either way!

Read This Next:
If you liked this, check out Wash Day Diaries, Darlin' and Her Other Names - Part 1: Marta, and Atana and the Firebird

If you enjoyed this review, I have a monthly comic review series called More Comics Please! on my website with interior page excerpts and additional information not shared here on Goodreads, as well as digital comics that don't qualify for Goodreads' library. You can sign up to receive them in your inbox by subscribing to my newsletter Into the Bramble.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. The art, the diversity, and the fun of racing! I will definitely be recommending this to everyone.

An interesting read of fantasy and historical and contemporary kind of in one. It was good to see a lot of representation in this book. The handling of race and queer topics through the fantasy of witches was really well done. I am not sure if it was intended but the story gave parallels to the Indigenous Residential School system in Canada so this was a very timely and good read for handling these topics.