Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen
Published by Quill Tree Books on September 28, 2021
ISBN: 006299509X
Pages: 160
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads

The lush illustrations of this quirky graphic novel by debut author Paulsen may make you hunger for a salad. Set in a world in which a witch has imbued certain vegetables with life magic causing them, in return, to work in her garden growing more vegetables for the farmer’s market is a strange concept, but it works. The star of the book is Garlic, an anxious bulb who can’t seem to be on time for the market and who frets about all things. When it is presumed that a vampire has moved into the castle on the edge of town, the vegetables fear for the townspeople and, spurred on by grumpy Celery, nominate Garlic, with her natural defenses against things vampiric, to go to the castle and vanquish the monster. Garlic finds that things are not as they seem and a lesson is learned by all to not judge people by their reputations. The earth-tones of the illustrations, created in photoshop and procreate, the clean design and uncluttered pages, and the relatability of the unsure yet courageous main character will make this book a favorite of upper elementary aged graphic novel fans.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth