The next of the holiday book exchange books I read was the graphic novel Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione (graphic novel, 230 pages).

“Porta Bella Magiculinary Academy is the finest school for the art of cooking with magic, and Basil Eyres is determined to be the top student. On the first day of her senior year, Arabella Oregano, the daughter of a renowned chef, joins the academy for her senior year as well. The two are instantly smitten with each other, but Basil senses there’s something Arabella is hiding from her. Still, the two work together to stand out from the class as the end-of-year culinary festival approaches. But when Arabella’s secret is revealed, Basil is faced with the hardest decision of her life, which has the potential to throw her future aspirations in jeopardy.”

This entire graphic novel is a warm, positive, healthy, adorable story about several young magical culinary students and the trials they all face at school. This story was seriously such a cozy story and a fast read that I read the entire book while having breakfast (though, many of my friends would say that I tend to read rather quickly and my reading speed should not be used as a judge for how much time something might actually take you to read).

Every character in this story is diverse and all have their own life situations, which create real-world depth to all their goals, motivations, and conflicts. I also enjoyed the puns or character quirks involved in most of the character names, such as Basil and Oregano, which are two spices. I enjoyed the casual representation of everyone in the entire story, with two dads, two moms, trans and nonbinary, Pride flags hanging from stores when they go into town, and all the other ways this is a supportive QUILTBAG book.

Overall, I’d say this is an easy four on my rating scale. It’s cute, short, and happy with a really quick read. I’m glad I own a copy of it and will likely reread it frequently 🙂

Capriglione, Melissa. Basil and Oregano. Dark Horse, 2023.