Gr 8 Up— Hana Ozawa and Bobby Binh are childhood best friends from different islands of the Asian-coded Archipelago entering the Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat together. Giant spatulas are the weapon of choice for taming and defeating a "feastiary's" worth of beasts, from bullfrogs to basilisks. Becoming a warrior chef requires equal parts combat and cooking skill, and Hana hopes to excel at both in order to impress a warrior chef who saved her long ago. The class prodigy, Olivia, who is Black and bisexual, elicits crushes from Hana and Bobby as well as a mutual grudge with Hana when they are assigned each other's preferred mentor. The diverse personalities, including several more classmates, are expressed via their choice of dishes, combat styles, mentor relationships, and socializing. The story balances the fantasy violence of fighting monsters with grounded and relatable issues affecting each student. Cultural discrimination, anxiety, transitioning (two characters are trans), romance, bullying, and self-improvement are all touched upon. The narrative is not overpowered by any one angle, nor is it overcrowded by the charming cast. Similarly, the artwork sells the action, drama, and humor equally. For example, a lesson against a monster may include a prologue of chalkboard doodles by the class or acrobatic spatula strikes, and a dramatic reveal turns bubbly friends into cold shoulders afterward. Readers who do not pace themselves may feel stuffed by all the character development, all the more reason to savor each scene. VERDICT A diverse palate of character ingredients simmered thoroughly to express flavors any reader can enjoy.— Thomas Maluck

The Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat is ready to test your skills in cooking and fighting. Hana Ozawa and fellow newbies are future warrior chefs, training to defeat the monsters needed to source ingredients for bubble bone ramen, kraken pho, and "inside-out" potpie, featuring phoenix stew with puff pastry. High school is more than recipe experimentation and combat training, though, with Hana's growth throughout the story demonstrating how well-fought dishes can nourish the soul culturally and socially while also harvesting peace between students. In his debut comic, Alsaqa, along with celebrated artist Truong, serves up a character-driven story abundant with fanciful monsters and dynamic fight scenes. The engrossing and explosive artwork will have plenty of appeal for readers of battle manga used to fast-paced attacks and fiery sound effects. The depictions of food are enchanting, with sparkles and bubbles below title cards inviting readers to try to adapt the dish themselves. An excellent choice for high-schoolers wishing to attempt their own mooseshroom risottos.

Culinary high school students train to do battle with vicious monsters.In Gourmet City, warrior chefs learn to engage in culinary combat to beat monsters-and then cook them. Hana Ozawa wants nothing more than to become a warrior chef herself, so when she and best friend Bobby Binh finally make it to the Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat, she's over the moon. When she meets Olivia Foster, the coolest person in Gourmet City, she's all the happier; she's "equal parts infuriated by and attracted to her skill." But things start going south when the chefs pick their mentees, and Hana and Olivia end up with each other's dream mentors. The action-packed story still has room for lots of coming-of-age themes and romantic antics in between lessons on taking down giant pistol shrimp and basilisks and preparing miracle pho and bubble bone ramen, and even the multiple secondary characters feel fully realized. Humorous moments and discussions of important topics-like wondering whether you're good enough-are well balanced, supporting the light and satisfying narrative. Names and physical appearances indicate a predominantly nonwhite cast; queerness is also normalized, with diversity in gender presentation and identity. With bright, vivid colors, the fun, dynamic manga-style art will draw readers in and sustain their interest.An engaging and appealing series to watch out for. (Graphic fantasy. 13-18)