Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell

Synopsis

“Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.

But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye. Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years…What if their last shift was an adventure?”

-Synopsis from Goodreads

Review

If you are looking for a fun seasonal read, look no further! Pumpkin Heads is pure, good, old-fashioned fun. I love the illustrations and was pleasantly surprised to see tons of diverse characters. The setting is so adorable, and there’s a map of the pumpkin patch included on the inside cover of the book so you can follow Deja and Josiah’s wild last night at the patch.

The ending was quite predictable, but with this story the fun is very much about the journey and not the destination, if you will. As I mentioned, the illustrations are superb and exactly the style I like to see in graphic novels. Deja is definitely a character I enjoyed more than Josiah (sorry!) because she is so energetic and fun. Her personality came to life much more than his seemed to. Throughout the story there is also some background comic relief in the form of an escaped goat, a dude dressed as a pumpkin-slash-mime, and, of course, lots of hijinks.

This book was an utter delight and I’d highly recommend it for a fun read.