Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

Mooncakes written by Suzanne Walker and illustrated by Wendy Xu is the most adorable graphic novel/comic that I absolutely regret not reading sooner. I did not get around to the review copy I received of it last year, but its Hugo shortlisting (and presence in the voter packet) finally prompted me to pick it up.

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

I didn't actually realise, until I started reading, that this was a story about a witch who wears hearing aids and a non-binary werewolf. If I had known, I would have definitely read it sooner! Oh well, the important thing is that I've now read this adorable story and I have added all Xu's planned books to my Goodreads want list and Walker's stories to my Pocket list.

There was only one thing I didn't like about Mooncakes: the fact that this book is the entirety of the story and we won't be getting more. I really enjoyed reading about both characters and the utter charm of the art and worldbuilding (the forest spirits were so cute!) and would love to be able to spend more time with them. That said, the story was not lacking in any way. It was a complete story with a nice arc for the main characters, including cuteness and peril and a happy ending.

I highly recommend Mooncakes to anyone who likes cute graphic novels/comics, paranormal romance and the various representations I mentioned above. I enjoyed it a lot and I am going to be keeping an eye on future work by both of these creators.

5 / 5 stars

First published: 2019, Oni Press
Series: Seems not :-(
Format read: PDF
Source: Publisher via NetGalley and also Hugo Voter Packet