I've been meaning to re-read this wonderful story for a while now, and when a conversation in one of my Discord servers reminded me of it yesterday, I just had to crack it open again. Sometimes, your entire TBR can't stand in the way of a good re-read!

Mooncakes has been among my top favorite graphic novels since I first discovered it back when it only existed as a webcomic. I remember getting hooked in a matter of minutes by the wonderful, wondeful artwork, and then each new detail just kept pulling me in further. The characters! The warm family feels! All the casually used magic! The queer reunited-childhood-friends-to-wholesome-romance! There's just so much to love about this story.

I absolutely adore Nova and Tam and their relationship, but it's the secondary characters who truly help this story shine. Nova's friendship with Tatyana is amazing, and all their interactions brought a smile to my face. And I can't put into words how heartwarming everything about Nova's grandmothers is. For once, these two are absolute relationship goals: they've obviously been together forever, and their relationship is still obviously so strong and tender. Second, they're just amazing people—I love how easily they welcome Tam into their home, and how Tam only needs to state their changed pronouns once for both of these women to just start using they/them without a single slip, even when Tam's not around to hear them. Finally, I love how they were actively involved in the whole demon mystery plot from the get-go instead of pouring tea in the background, or warning the younger character against danger, or getting swiftly kidnapped/otherwise indisposed—you know, the way adults in young adult/new adult SFF so often tend to do. At the same time, they offered Nova and Tam plenty of freedom to explore and experiment and be heroes on their own, never overshadowing them with all of their experience, but still always tangibly being there. They all handled that (very interesting and exciting) mystery together, as a family.

Some other things I loved:

the disability rep;
the family holiday and the balance of heartwarming belonging and drama there;
the character growth both Tam and Nova go through over the course of the story;
the artwork. I know I mentioned the artwork at the very beginning, but it's worth mentioning again! It's just so beautiful, and I love how all the characters have their own body shapes, with no "golden standard" to adher to.

I love this story, and I just want to rec it to everyone.






❤️️