Bloom

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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.

As someone a little older than him who still only has the barest ideas of what I want out of life, I really, really related to the road to self-discovery he goes on throughout this graphic novel.Bloom raises the question whether gay stories — be they graphic novels or otherwise — should honor the struggles LGBTQ youth experience by starkly exposing them or by portraying life as completely normal so as to eradicate the hackneyed assumptions and biases that surround them. When Ari learns of this during a snatch of overheard conversation, the casual, unguarded candour of the conversation startles him as much as its revelation, but it neither alarms Ari nor turns him into a self-aware sea of raging hormones. What frustrated me is that Ari, the character who is working in his dad's bakery, is a selfish, self-absorbed, whiny, immature, pouting little brat.

As pointed out by other characters, he doesn’t work to make it happen, using the family business and other’s expectations of him as an excuse to avoid making scary steps on his own. It is lighthearted and relatable to anyone who has had a cute summer crush or struggled with what they wanted to do with their life.The relationship with Hector jumpstarts with a kiss, there felt like there was little build up or angst. Ari is struggling to figure out what he wants in life and what dream he truly wants to pursue now that high school is over. rant is in no way in regards to the book itself; my God I couldn’t love this gem of a graphic novel more!