Faith Erin Hicks

I wasn’t a fan of Pumpkin Heads for multiple reasons, but before I start talking about why I didn’t like it, I’ll go through what I liked.

The art style was very cute, and I was a fan of the colours used, it felt cosy, I also loved how autumnal it was, autumn is my favourite season, and there aren’t many books set in this season, so this book was a nice change.Now that I said what I liked, I’ll go through my problems with it.

It was just boring, and the story was pointless. The main characters didn’t learn anything, there was no message, nothing. The book also felt way too long for what it was, it really dragged on. It felt like this comic was made for the sake of making a comic.

The entirety of the book is Josiah (the boy) and Deja (the girl) chasing after this girl Josiah has a crush on, so Josiah can ask her out. At the end of the book Josiah finds the girl and talks to her. Josiah then realises that he doesn’t like her, and guess why Josiah doesn’t like her? After three years of having a big crush on this girl (the book states that it’s been three years and that he is always talking about her, despite never talking to her), he suddenly dislikes her because she only works at the patch so she can talk to her friends. Yes, she is so bad for working someone so she can see her friends. They could have made her very rude to Josiah, but no, this is what they chose.

Then the ending, after realising that the girl wasn’t nice (even though she did nothing wrong), Josiah goes and tells Deja that he no longer likes the girl. Then Deja reveals that she always had a crush on Josiah, and then the two get together. My problem with this ending is that Josiah didn’t have any interest in Deja, he was spending the whole book chasing after a different girl, and when it didn’t work out, he decided to go with Deja. It’s the equivalent of Josiah walking up to Deja and saying, “So it didn’t work out with this other chick, so I guess I’m stuck with you now.”, it just feels like Rainbow Rowell didn’t know how to end the book, and just went with something quick and easy.

One thing I thought was odd, is how it has a very good rating on Good Reads, this shocked me, as most people on Good Reads will only review books if it was terrible, so people must have really loved this book. I think it’s because it’s very easy to read, and the incredibly simple story makes it marketable to almost everyone. So, whilst I disliked this book, most people give it five or four stars, so you may like it, like most of the time I’m in the minority.

Now to end this review, I’ll just make this clear: I don’t hate Pumpkin Heads, I just think that it was a very pointless and unnecessary book, which had potential to be a good and funny book about working at a pumpkin patch.… (more)

I’d really enjoyed Rainbow Rowell’s Pumpkin Heads, which Hicks illustrated, but while someone’s illustrations can give an indication of how that person might approach telling their own story, they don’t convey what sort of story that might be, which is to say, I didn’t know what to expect from this one.

Alix, the titular hockey girl, approaches Ezra, the aforementioned drama Boy, for advice. She’s noticed that he’s good at remaining calm and cheerful when others try to give him a hard time, while Alix struggles to contain her anger in similar situations -- and has been punished for her outbursts.

I read this over a month ago, and I was sick at the time, but I don’t think I’m misremembering anything when I describe this story as “sweet”. I mean, not the bullying, obviously, nor the way Alex’s coach ignores it, that’s awful and awfully realistic, but the relationship which develops between Alix and Ezra -- the way they support, and become comfortable with, each other -- is heart-warming and optimistic.… (more)