Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu: Book Review

Mooncakes is a graphic novel by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu, with Joamette Gil as the letterer. Originally a webcomic, Mooncakes was released in October 2019 by Oni Press.

Synopsis from Goodreads

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.

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.

My Opinion

The art is stunning in this graphic novel. There were a few images in the shop that Nova’s grandmothers run that reference current books, like The Astonishing Color of After by X.R. Pan.

I found the story to be cute, but I felt like I was missing something. I assume that Nova’s grandmothers are in a queer relationship, but I’m not 100% sure that’s accurate. What happened to Nova’s parents? Why does she live with her grandmothers? And Tang, where have they been? How long have they been gone?

The representation in this book is pretty cool to see. Nova and Tang are Chinese-American. Nova is hearing impaired, referenced to the fact she has hearing aids that she fidgets with at times. Tang is non-binary.

I enjoyed reading the book, but I feel like there are holes, things I’m missing. But that could just be me.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.