Reviews

Meal by Soleil Ho, Blue Delliquanti

erincataldi's review against another edition

3.0

A short quick graphic novel that explores a young foodie wanting share her love of insect based foods with the world. Yarrow moves to a new town where she hears a insect based restaurant will be opening soon. She interviews with the head chef, but the chef is wary that Yarrow doesn't fully appreciate their food traditions and just wants to exploit it or turn it into a fad. Not only does Yarrow have to win over the chef, she has to win over one of her new neighbors and friends. She's pretty sure sparks are flying between them but what if she's wrong? An interesting look at food, culture, and romance all told through the lens of a short, well illustrated graphic novel.

kellymariez's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mbrandmaier's review against another edition

3.0

Yarrow is extremely enthusiastic about preparing insect based meals, but her enthusiasm does not endear her to local chef and restauranteur Chanda. Chanda's people have been eating bugs for centuries, and Chanda does not want to see years of insect-eating traditions turned into a spectacle for others to gawk at. Yarrow is also grappling with a crush on her artist neighbor, Milani, but is Milani ready to take things to the next level?

aoosterwyk's review against another edition

4.0

Graphic novel about following your bliss and living intentionally. Also, cooking with insects!

13iscute's review against another edition

4.0

I read this because it was hard to find a non-cookbook book for the Read Harder challenge "A food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before". I feel like I've tried most cuisines that have books written about them (and readily available), but I haven't tried insect cuisine. I'm not convinced that I want to, but I did appreciate how warm and heartfelt this book was toward the topic, both toward the future of insect cuisine and also the past and present usage in cultures around the world.

spuriousdiphthongs's review against another edition

3.0

This was really interesting and super wholesome! I wish it went more in depth on the cooking as well as the relationships.

walwoodr's review against another edition

5.0

Meal was a treat. The characters and their personalities and interactions are deeply compelling. It's easy when reading to stop paying attention to the story's weaknesses (which are two: 1. it is very much unabashed entomophagy propaganda, and 2. the driving plot conflict is either weak or difficult for a non-restaurant professional to understand). Nevertheless, I walked away from the book with a newfound interest in eating insects, and an appreciation of entomophagy as not only an ecofriendly protein source or a gross-out fad, but as a type of cultural cuisine.

Also loved the ways the book highlighted Minneapolis.

zellm's review against another edition

4.0

I really really loved the characters and the restaurant, as well as the educational component. This was just way too short, I would have loved more of it. Instead of a graphic novella, I would have loved to see this as a full length graphic novel.

ekimball's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

michalannne's review against another edition

2.0

MG/YA

The characters and story weren’t really compelling, but I still finished the book. I enjoyed the essay and recipes at the end.