Crumble was such a cute middle grade story. The illustrations were beautiful and cute.
This story is every emotional, which I love to see in middle grade because even at that age you sometimes have to deal with grief.
This follows a young girl that bakes feelings in all types of sweets with her aunt with magic which is a cool concept.
Bonus there's lots of recipes throughout the book too.

Crumble by Meredith McClaren

“Crumble” is a heartfelt story full of emotion, and many of them! Emily, her mom, and aunt Gina have the incredible ability to bake emotions into the desserts at their bakery. They only bake the positive emotions, but friends and patrons come to them for confidence, stress relief, acceptance, and more..Emily and her friend Dae have a joyous rapport matched only by the vibrant and enticing illustrations throughout. As strong and clear as Emily’s voice is at the beginning, when the plot takes a turn, so does Emily’s voice and baking. What happens when Emily tries baking filled with the presence of non-positive emotions? “Crumble” holds space for Emily in form and so much more. Such an accessible and tangible story demonstrating the complicated and non-linear journey that is grief from multiple points of view. “Crumble” is a delight from start to finish, and if you try one of the recipes included throughout, might be just as delicious long after you finish it!

I think this one is just intended for a younger audience than me and the graphic novels I’m usually most drawn to (Sheets, Beetle and the Hollowbones, etc). The art style wasn’t for me and while the story itself tried to achieve a lot of depth, it didn’t ever really move me.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Crumble was a 8.5/10book for me. I
liked the style of art and depiction of emotion through baking. And the difference between cooking. I like that baking holds emotions, while cooking releases them. It also shows a great perspective of struggle of parenting while grieving, and the big changes that losing someone puts on your life. The fact that she can put all her feelings into the crumble but not realize how sick it makes others, makes a great metaphor of how when were grieving, we tend to not realize the other people we are effecting. And the communication from mom to daughter about grief and needing to talk about it together was the cherry on the top.

This is the story of Emily, who, along with her aunt Gina and her mom have a magic power that allows them to bake feelings into food. They can only bake feelings. They can’t make them from other things they cook. And people come to their bakery to get a taste of feelings they want.

When Aunt Gina dies, Emily wants to keep baking, but no one wants to eat sadness, and that is all she has inside her. But she keeps trying to bake the sadness out, hoping that someday soon, she will be happy again.

Her mother doesn’t know she is doing this, and the problem with eating sadness is it makes you sick.

It is a good story to explain how grief makes you feel, and how you don’t have to “get over it” on some schedule. I liked how she worked through her feelings, and also the stupid things people said to her after the funeral, because kids will say those things.

Not a fun story, by any means, but sometimes books are good to read to feel things, and this one definitely does that.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out Feb 25, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was adorable. The graphics were so cute. The story was really engaging and enjoyable to young kids. My daughter flew through this book because she loved it so much. The story was great and this will be a great read for young readers.

This was an adorable graphic novel that includes grief and dealing with grieving. I loved the artwork in the book and I also loved how the author told the story. I would absolutely recommend this!

This is an incredible bittersweet story about dealing with grief, trying to manage all the feelings that come with it, and understanding how it affects or not the people around you.
The art is gorgeous and the concept of baking feelings into desserts is really cute interesting, I would love to read more about it.

The artwork in this book is so adorable and visually satisfying! I love it!! This book reminded me of the happy shop and sheets. It was so good. It was also very sad, it made me cry so many times. But I loved it regardless. It did what it was supposed to do. If there’s a second book in the future, I’ll definitely buy it! I recommend this book to anyone dealing with grief and loss.

I originally requested this as the description reminded me a lot of “The Heartbreak Bakery” by AR Capetta. And the baking magic was very similar to it, which I loved.
I also loved the characters, the friendships, and the way grief was handled and shown in this book, how it may influence all your relationships and everything you do, but also how you can get strength from community.
The art style is super cute and fits the book very well.
All in all a great and cute read with a good message.

It was a warm read that handled the themes of losing a loved one and the grief that comes from that well. I loved how diverse the entire cast was in ways that felt naturally incorporated. Loved the colours and art styles and will definitely be trying some of those recipes myself.

Cute graphic novel with beautiful illustrations focusing on emotions especially sadness. The author has chosen a relatable theme of food and baking to help readers understand how emotions work and what should we do when we are in state of sadness which is not to react take a break from what we do and focus on something else while it passes naturally. The key is not to force anything.

I fell in love with the art style as soon as I saw page one. The illustrations are colourful and expressive. You know what a character is feeling by just looking at them.

Crumble gives us a unique, original and intriguing plot, centered around a family with the magic to bake feelings into food. One feature I loved was the inclusion of actual recipes within the narrative! The book is aimed at kids and I bet they'll want to try creating some of their own baked goods using these recipes.

Crumble delves into themes of grief and other emotions that come with the loss of a loved one. And these feelings are hard to explain to a kid. How can you promise them that things will be okay when you yourself don't believe that? You don't know when things will get better but the book handles these heavy themes with sensitivity and doesn't make it scary. I did cry when Aunt Gina died.

Representation is another area Crumble does a brilliant job. The book has a wonderfully diverse cast, with characters of different sizes, colours, and backgrounds, without it being forceful. It's just like the real world. Our MC's best friend uses they/them pronouns and has two dads!

The story was just so lovely and heartbreaking at the same time - and deserving of 5 stars!

I had the time of my life reading this one!! So funny and cute and the illustrations were amazing. I really enjoyed my time and the message that such a small book could bring to our life!!
I recommend this to everyone who's looking for a children book!

While I consider myself a generous rater, I don’t always give out 5 stars these days. But this graphic novel 100% speaks my language. It’s as if it was written for someone like me!

First off, let’s talk about the graphic. It’s bubbly and colourful. It’s detailed without being too much. It’s also so very easy to follow. There are moments where the characters do not talk but you can tell immediately what is going on, you can understand the feelings they’re trying to convey.

The book’s central issue is about grief and I think it is a very important subject to expose children to, even though it’s hard. Because children might lose their loved ones and not know how to deal with it. Even us adults struggle with it. And this book tackles it without being scary.

I love the diversity in the book as well. All sorts of people are in the story, even if they are shown only in the background. The main character’s best friend is a Korean with pronouns they/them and I saw a man in turban and a woman in hijab. The people are of all shades, shapes and sizes. It’s there, like it is in the world, without being so in-the-face. So, that’s a plus point for teaching acceptance and tolerance without being preachy.

And then, ah, the love of food! While I cook and make bread more than bake sweets, I love the comic for its appreciation of food and baking. There are recipes included, if parents or guardians want to have activities to do with their children. I know I will be attempting some of these recipes myself! I also love how the recipes change according to the state of mind of Emily.

The book is also about friendship, about making mistakes and apologizing when you hurt someone as well as about taking your time to hone your skills.

I read this book in one sitting. Didn’t expect to cry since it is a graphic novel for children. But this one got my heartstrings like no other. I love it so, so much and I’d recommend it to everyone.

The graphics in this novel were so vibrant and cute. I read this in one sitting and couldn’t stop. I loved it.
This is a baking/grief/magic graphic novel. And because there is baking in it, there are recipes as well. I love that idea.
Such a cute and great read.

I was disappointed with this read. I enjoyed the illustrations and the plot had good intentions, but it just wasn’t there. Maybe more dialogue is needed movement in the storyline. Read more of my review when it’s released on the podcast.

I never thought I’d find myself sobbing while reading a graphic novel, but here I am. Meredith McClaren does a beautiful job telling the story of Emily and her family as they deal with grief and how that grief impacts their special powers of baking emotions into treats. Andrea Bell beautifully brings this story to life with vibrant colours and details. I love that you get little recipes through the story that matches what the characters are baking at any given time.

I can’t wait for this to be officially published so I can destroy my emotions for a second time but in print. I highly recommend you pick this one up so you too can feel all the feels as Emily explores her emotions through baking.

This was a beautifully illustrated story. The use of bright colours balanced the heartfelt story and softened the hard topic of grief.

Including the recipes as well was such a wonderful surprise as well.

I think the topic of grief from a child's perspective was navigated well. It showcased the limited range a child has for articulating what's going on and also their need for supporting those they love as well. Emily's care and compassion for those around her when she is hurting herself was so sweet, this book made me cry.

Th this graphic novel was amazing it was the Perfect Blend of heartwarming and a little bit sad the way it talked about grief and learning to get over it through baking really touched me