Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks

Series: N/A
# of Pages: 209
Publication: August 27th, 2019
Source: Library Copy
Genre: Graphic Novel
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Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1. But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye. Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . . What if their last shift was an adventure?

I wouldn't necessarily call myself a comic book connoisseur, BUT I do read a lot of comics, manga, and graphic novels. They're definitely my sweet spot when it comes to reading and I'm critical of them in a different way than I am with prose. I picked up Pumpkinheads mainly because of the hype and I wanted to see if it was truly worthy of the 2019 Goodreads award for Best Graphic Novel. Unfortunately, it did not live up to either and I'm convinced that the author's name is what garnered so much buzz. Pumpkinheads follows to main characters, Deja and Josiah, as they complete their last shift at pumpkin patch before they head to college. During this last shift, Deja encourages Josiah to go after the girl he's been crushing on for ages. The story unfolds as a misadventure of sorts to finally find this unidentified love interest. What could have been a potentially interesting story turned out to be the driest and most boring graphic novel I've read in a while. The characters weren't interesting and the plot was so predictable that it only took about 50 pages before I realized how the story was going to end. Graphic novels, comics, and manga have a shorter amount of time to engage and surprise their audiences so it takes a really gifted writer to develop one that keeps the reader on their toes. I truly believe that Rainbow Rowell is incapable of doing this. I like that there was LGBTQIA+ rep; however, the "fat" rep seemed a little off to me. There is a trigger warning for fat shaming. I just wanted more from the characters and the plot. I feel like this graphic novel was definitely over-hyped and unjustly awarded the Goodreads award when it was up against some pretty good contenders. While I didn't enjoy the plot or the characters, I must say that I loved the artwork. Faith Erin Hicks did a phenomenal job. I can't give my recommendation for this graphic novel, but if you're interested check it out at least for the artwork.