Bestselling cookbook author Kim-Joy has written her first graphic novel/cookbook, TurtleBread: A Graphic Novel About Baking, Fitting In, and the Power of Friendship, with art by Alti Firmansyah. Known for her appearances on the Great British Bake Off TV series and for such bestselling cookbooks as Baking with Kim-Joy, and Bake Me a Cat, Kim-Joy has written a story about self-acceptance that combines her love of baking with a deep concern over mental health issues, and an understanding of the healing power of community and empathy. Turtle Bread is the story of Yan, an unemployed young British woman struggling to find a job while also dealing with personal issues of social anxiety and a relentless sense of personal inadequacy. But Yan also has a deep love of, and passion for, baking, which eventually leads her to a local baking club in spite of her fears of rejection. The baking club—and Beatrice, the club’s warm and funny leader—provides Yan with a loving and encouraging community of like-minded baking mavens, each with their own collection of insecurities—and secrets. In this 7-page segment, the members of the baking club welcome and embrace Yan by teaming up to make pastries. TurtleBread: A Graphic Novel About Baking, Fitting In, and the Power of Friendship by Kim-Joy and Alti Firmansyah will be released in digital format this month by Comixology Originals, and a print edition will be released this fall by Dark Horse Books.
