However, I never had strong feelings about him one way or another, I didn’t think there was anything about him that really stuck out of enough to make him a memorable character for me. I liked Ari’s supportive parents and had no feelings whatsoever about the people in his group of friends (I can’t remember any of their names or practically any character traits they might have had,) and while Ari himself was a little bit on the annoying side I chalked it down to him being young and immature.

It’s a gentle, sweet-natured story with beautiful artwork but the whole thing lacked a certain emotional component for me that kept me feeling somewhat distanced from the story and characters. Like most of the graphic novels I’ve read lately, I read Bloom beginning to end in one sitting. Ari is amazed how much Hector actually loves baking, and he seems to be the perfect fit if not for the complications that ensue when and Ari develop feelings for each other. In a desperate attempt to break free from a future he does not want, Ari finds a young man named Hector to work for his parents in his stead. Ari’s mom and dad own a bakery and they want their son to continue to live with them and help keep the business afloat, instead of running off with his friends to start a band in the big city. Bloom’s protagonist, Ari, is a young gay wannabe musician who spends his days filled with angst over his parents’ expectations of him.

Bloom by Kevin Panetta