Reading: BLOOM - Kevin Panetta (writer), Savanna Ganucheau (illustrator)

Ari has wrapped up high school and summer has begun. Having lived in a small coastal tourist town on the east coast all his life, above the small, struggling bakery his parents own that Ari has worked in since childhood, it's now time for Ari's to start his New Life: a move to the big city with his friends and their rock band. One obstacle: his father, who needs Ari's help with the family business and does not want him to move away. But Ari is bored with baking and wants a fresh start, so decides the best thing is to help pave the way by posting flyers around town and finding his own replacement before leaving. Enter Hector, a culinary student with a passion for baking who's in town for the summer, who jumps at the chance of working for the bakery - and as Ari helps to train him, the two guys working side by side every day with Hector's upbeat love for his work in direct opposition to Ari's desire to flee it, the two young men somehow become friends. Maybe closer than friends. Maybe even more. Every bit of my heart loved Bloom, a simple, beautiful love story written by Panetta with the same understated grace - yet impact - also so thoughtfully inked into Ganucheau's artwork of simple black and white drawings awash in shades of blue. The best graphic novel I have read to date, Bloom treats its subject matter with zero spotlight, simply telling a genuinely romantic, realistic love story that just happens to be between two men, with such simple grace ... that somehow still manages to sucker-punch even the hardest of hearts in the end. Even the baking scenes, wonderfully and meticulously illustrated, tell a story as well as make you hungry. Truly a piece of art, Bloom is both a treasure and pleasure I am so glad I found and read. You should, too.  5/5 stars