Apprentice witch Nova Huang is spending a “gap year” working at the family café and bookshop when she learns that a white wolf has been spotted in the woods. It turns out that Nova's long lost childhood friend Tam Lang is the white wolf. Tam is glad to be back in town but they're hiding something more than their werewolf status. Tam is unsure of and insecure about their werewolf magic and enlists Nova and her grandmothers to find their power. The merging of magic is thrilling and inspirational and the reader will be rooting for Tam and Nova to succeed.
At the heart of Mooncakes is a love story. Nova and Tam rekindle their childhood crush and learn more about each other and their families. The families are multicultural, multi-gender, multi-dimensional, and multi-powered. Nova wears hearing aids and uses this in her magic. The hearing aids add a depth to magic that is more modern and daring than the traditional magic and Nova's grandmothers' support her experimenting and believing in this part of herself.
The author and illustrator include additional materials at the end of the graphic novel that depict concept art, a script breakdown and more. The combination of witches, werewolves and other powers in Mooncakes creates a world of acceptance and love that left me wishing that people in today's society could handle things better in the real world. It's sweet, scary and a little bit edgy with some comforting family feasts to soften the intensity.