Ah, there’s nothing quite as comforting to me as settling into a new Rainbow Rowell release. Having re-read all her books countless times, I take particular joy in any new works.
Plus, having that familiarity with her books, it’s funny noticing how this graphic novel didn’t have the main characters sit on the floor by the bed, which is something I’ve hit upon recently when browsing through her writing. Carry On caught my attention with this scene mentioning it: “…and sits on the floor at the end of his bed, even though the room is full of comfortable things to sit on.”
Moving on, Pumpkinheads feels like the quintessential fall read that makes you want to cozy up in your layers.
Also, any time I have to type the word “pumpkin,” I just think back to Fangirl‘s Cath cringing at Levi’s misspelling. Now I’m ultra-aware of the word.
And I adored so much in this read that it’s best summed up here:
- Why is Josiah the perfect visualization of Levi? Like, all the plaid and farm boy vibes are screaming “Levi!” at me. All he’s missing is that infamous Carhartt jacket. I mean does this move not scream “Levi!” to you:
Josiah is like if Levi had anxiety in social settings, especially romantic ones.
Luckily, he has Deja there to hold up half the weight, maybe sometimes (usually) even more. You know when someone’s so great you can never find the right words to encompass all their greatness? That’s Deja. This is them in one panel:
- Tackling the widespread idea of romanticizing people because they look like a great cover for whatever story you want to paint them in your head. Deja put it best:
- The artwork by Faith Erin Hicks is a whole new world of brilliant. Am I spying a Rainbow Rowell pop up within the graphic novel or??
B R I L L I A N T
- Many great puns and humor incorporated throughout, which we’ve come to expect with Rainbow’s great one-liners. Few examples include,
“Vanessa Pudgens,” “Fudge Judy,” and more that I’ll leave for you to find out.
Check out just that through this excerpt:
