Gather round, fellow foodies and graphic novel fans alike! We’ve got something that combines our two favorite things in the world: food and reading. (Well, make that two somethings.) Our latest dual book review features two incredible debut graphic novels centered around food, family, and the magic of cooking.
Fustuk by Robert Mgrdich Apelian follows seventeen-year-old Katah Fustukian, someone who has a family full of chefs yet is hopeless in the kitchen. He makes a deal with a powerful div, or spirit, to save his mother’s life in exchange for the perfect meal.
Lovely Recipe by Myra Rose Nino follows high school senior Sofia, who’s trying to keep her family traditions alive despite also being a terrible cook. Sofia convinces her classmate Anna Marie to help her learn her late grandma’s recipes in exchange for helping in Anna Marie’s family restaurant. Despite their rocky start, a sweet romance starts to bloom.
One graphic novel highlights an Armenian family and weaves together different timelines. Another features two Italian American girls both dealing with grief and finding the path to healing. We had the pleasure of reading both, and here’s what we love about Robert Mgrdich Apelian’s Fustuk and Myra Rose Nino’s Lovely Recipe!
Fustuk By Robert Mgrdich Apelian
Content warnings: parent death, racism, some violence
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Katah Fustukian has always felt like the odd one out in his family of chefs. Unlike his older siblings, he is useless in the kitchen, and too young to have known their late father—a legendary Hye chef who’d made a name for himself in the Pars Empire.
But with his mom’s illness worsening, Katah hopes that his vision-like dreams are a sign of magic stirring within him—especially after they lead him to Az, a powerful div with some mysterious connection to his family. In an attempt to save their mom’s life, he and his siblings strike a deal: Az’s help in exchange for a dish that rivals their father’s.
But after the siblings clash over what to cook, Katah will have to make sense of his magic and family history—and wager far more than a single meal to meet Az’s demands…
Our Review
Robert Mgrdich Apelian’s debut graphic novel, Fustuk, absolutely blew us away. It fed us both visually and emotionally with a story of a family reconnecting with each other and their past. When Katah and his older siblings make a deal with the spirit Az to save their mother, each person stubbornly wants to take the lead. His brother Garo wants to stick with their father’s traditional Hye cooking style, while his sister Noori wants to use modern Pars tools and methods to her advantage.
We jump from the timeline of the siblings’ present struggle to their father’s time being the chef for a noble family. And we start to uncover different layers of the past and find out the true connection between Az and the Fustukian family. Not to mention Katah’s newly discovered jadoo, or magic ability, to have vivid dreams of his family’s past. The art and the colors popped off the page and fully immersed us into this incredible debut graphic novel. We couldn’t put it down even if we tried!
Release date: January 20
Order Fustuk: A Graphic Novel here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ROBERT MGRDICH APELIAN:
INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE
Lovely Recipe By Myra Rose Nino
Content warnings: mentions of grandparent deaths, hospitalization, themes of grief
Summary: It’s Sofia’s last year in high school. All her friends are getting ready to go to far away colleges, but she doesn’t know if that path is right for her. What Sofia does understand is that, ever since her grandma died, her mom has been distant. But maybe, if Sofia can learn how to make one of grandma’s most cherished recipes, she and her mom’s relationship can go back to the way it used to be. The only problem with that idea? Sofia is terrible at cooking.
Enter Anna Marie, Sofia’s super cute classmate who’s everything Sofia isn’t—driven, disciplined, and a gifted chef. Despite getting on each other’s nerves, Anna Marie starts teaching Sofia how to cook in exchange for her help around Anna Marie’s family’s restaurant. And soon enough, they discover that the sparks between them are more than just stovetop flames.
But can love blossom when Sofia’s and Anna Marie’s lives are changing so much? Or will the impending pressures that come with graduation break them apart?
Our Review
Now, onto our next graphic novel: Lovely Recipe by Myra Rose Nino! Sofia and Anna Marie’s sapphic love story was as cozy as it was real. To start, this graphic novel has incredible art, from its soft lines to the shading. We especially loved how the scenes start to get more sparkly as the girls start to crush on each other. Sofia and Anna Marie have both been grieving the loss of their late grandmothers, and they feel most connected with them in the kitchen.
Sofia learns to cook with Anna Marie, who’s in charge of her family’s Italian restaurant. As they grow closer, they must also navigate the decisions all high school seniors must make in terms of their future. Will they choose to move away for college or stay close? And can their budding romance make it past the potential distance? It’s these kinds of growing pains in the graphic novel that make it so relatable. We finished reading Lovely Recipe in one sitting!
Release date: February 3
Preorder Lovely Recipe here!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MYRA ROSE NINO:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
What do you think about these new graphic novel releases? Is your inner foodie telling you to get your copies of Fustuk and Lovely Recipe? Let us know over on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
