Snapdragon

Snapdragon enters the house of the town witch to save her dog Good Boy. Only the witch didn’t hurt Snap’s dog, she helped him after he got hit by car. When Snapdragon finds abandoned baby opossums the next day, she brings them back to the witches house for help. The witch, Jacks, offers to teach Snapdragon how to care for the opossums if she agrees to help her with some work. Snap agrees and friendship is born between witch and apprentice. Jacks teaches Snap some magic and tells her about a past where Jacks knew Snapdragon’s grandmother. Meanwhile while Snap is not at Jacks’s house she is hanging out in her trailer park home with her friend Lulu, developing an interest in anatomy, and helping out at home as her mother is trying to finish school.

This graphic novel is rich with representation in a variety of ethnicities, sexualities, and gender expressions. Full of mostly magic and humor this graphic novel also stops to also deal with economic struggles, bullies, and the sense of loss.  A mostly muted color pallet with pops of blues and pinks makes this story vibrant. Leyh does an excellent job at dividing the panels, showing point of view, and carefully placing page breaks and page turns. Her artwork is crisp and full of detail, making it easy to see the emotion on every character’s face and how everyone connects with each other visually. There is so much life packed in to this wonderful graphic novel from cover to cover.