Brave Chef Brianna by Sam Sykes: Book Review

Title: Brave Chef Brianna
Author: Sam Sykes
Illustrator: Selina Espiritu
Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel
Audience: Young Adult
Format: Paperback

My Synopsis:

Brianna’s ailing father, a renowned chef, challenges Brianna and her 15 older brothers to each establish a successful restaurant and inherit the family name and reputation. Brianna has only just graduated from culinary school so, broke and unestablished anywhere, she ends up in Monster City where rent is cheap. But how welcoming will monsters be to human cuisine?

My Review:

I grabbed this on a whim as I was prowling through my library’s shelves last week. Who can resist a bright and cheerful cover that also portrays monsters? Not me.

This was really cute and contained important messages about friendship; overcoming self-doubt; and living for your own ideals of happiness, not those dictated by someone else.

Brianna was a well-developed character who looks sweet on the outside but who is plagued by demons of self-doubt that make her lash out at others. She’s in a stressful situation and the youngest in a family of thirteen. It’s understandable. But she learns her lessons and makes her apologies and tries to grow and be a better person. The supporting characters also showed growth and they were a lot of fun to read about as well.

The illustrations are beautifully done in the same style as the cover. I loved looking at the monsters and seeing them contrasted against Brianna’s cute little cafe.

This is a standalone graphic novel as far as I can tell. I enjoyed it so much that I’m slightly disappointed.

I highly recommend this for readers who struggle with their own self-doubt and especially for anyone who is as drawn to that cute cover as I am. For those who enjoy cooking, there are even four recipes from the book included at the end.

Similar Books:

If you liked Brave Chef Brianna, you might also like my reviews of

• Aurora Borealice by Joan Steacy
• Blankets by Craig Thompson
• The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Purchase:

Buy Brave Chef Brianna from Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, NC.

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.