Book Review: “Pumpkinheads”

Book thirty eight of my 2019 Reading Challenge.

Rainbow Rowell’s Pumpkinheads

I’ve really enjoyed reading Rainbow Rowell’s novels and when I found out she had a graphic novel coming out that was fall oriented I was very excited.

And I wasn’t disappointed. Rowell’s writing paired with the illustrations is witty and fun and everything you want in a graphic novel. Even though the intended audience is young adults, I loved the story and the adventure across the pumpkin patch. I didn’t read any sort of graphic novel aside from maybe an excerpt or passage for a school assignment so this year when I decided to challenge myself with reading I wanted to expand my reading array. Hence the addition of graphic novels.

I always thought graphic novels and comics were not my thing, but I really like the idea of a story being told with the added bonus of images (and it not being a TV show or movie). The images help create the story and show the reader exactly how the characters were intended to be visualized by the author. An added benefit to graphic novels is that the writer doesn’t have to spend time explaining settings or what a character looks like and can focus on the story and the dialogue which is arguably the best element of novels.

The very talented artist, Faith Erin Hicks, brought the characters and the setting to life with beautiful colors and composition. I really liked the story, but I appreciated the illustrations even more. It’s difficult to show so much in a small square on a page but Hicks did just that and she did it very well. The emotions conveyed on the page made the writing pop and the story flow so easily. I really enjoyed the novel and hope that Rainbow Rowell continues to write both traditional novels and graphic novels.

Stay tuned for my next review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand