How to Talk to Your Succulent - Zoe Persico - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Zoe Persico

GENRE: Middle-grade Graphic Novel

PUBLICATION DATE: April 1, 2025

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A beautiful middle-grade graphic novel about a young girl coping with grief and discovering something magical during the healing process. Great characters, touching storyline, nice medley of reality and fantasy, many thought-provoking lessons, fabulous illustrations. Much recommended.

Plot Preview:

Eleven-year-old Adara hates that her father has decided to uproot them from sunny California and move to cold Michigan to stay with his mother for emotional support. Adara thinks it's too soon after her mom's death to be making such a drastic change, and she's even more annoyed that he doesn't want to talk about his one-sided decision.

Adara's mom had been called the Plant Whisperer, and Adara assumed it was only because she was always talking to her plants. But now, she learns that the plants were also talking back to her mom. When Adara gets a beautiful succulent of her own, she names her ‘Perle’, delighted in her new plant friend. But is Perle equally delighted in her?

The story is written in Adara's first-person perspective.

Sometimes, you don't need to read the blurb. You can take one look at the title and cover and know that the book simply HAS to be read! Yes, this is a risky strategy in these days of never-ending TBRs, but more often than not, it works for me in case of graphic novels as the cover gives a sneak peek at the inside art as well. This was one such successful endeavour of the intuition.

Adara is an endearing character. I love how she actually seems like a child her age, having heartbreak but not clear on how to heal, wanting to understand her father's grief but also frustrated with his avoidance of conversation, loving her grandmother and yet yearning for her old home, and most of all, not realising that she herself was doing what she didn't like others doing to her. It was a brilliant character portrayal, all the more for a graphic novel with so many disparate elements.

The other human characters aren't far behind in impact. The book keeps the number of active characters limited, so each of them gets a well-rounded development. Adara's grandmother is probably my favourite of this lot. I love how she embodies the old style of parenting, allowing freedom to grow and explore without constant monitoring. Adara's dad is also nicely written, though his grief and his anxiety affect his ability to be more open to his daughter, thereby limiting his likeability. That said, this is the first time I have read a children’s book where a father is shown having anxiety issues; usually, mental health problems are reserved only for mom characters. A third wonderful human character is Adara's new best friend Winnie. Quirky and chirpy, Winnie offers the perfect companionship to Adara. Adara's mom is also a memorable human, though in a small role coming through flashbacks.

If you are wondering why I said "human character", it's because this graphic novel has plenty of non-human characters as well. There's little Toby the dog who, though in a limited role, manages to influence the direction of the plot. And then there are the plants! So many wonderful, magical, talkative plants! I have had a fondness for talking plants ever since I read Sarah Beth Durst’s ‘The Spellshop’, and this graphic novel offers in the same delightful experience. Perle was the loveliest of the lot. Though the smallest in size, she had the largest, most compassionate heart.

The story initially seems like that of a family battling the loss of a cherished member and not being able to handle the grief. But we soon see that it encompasses several other topics such as loneliness, communication issues, parenting problems, and mental health (specifically, anxiety.) Perhaps the most important theme in the book is the importance of empathy, of not just being there but being actively there, of being open about your feelings if they are hurting you instead of keeping quiet to protect the other person. These are such important yet underrated values. 

Adara initially seems like the victim of her surviving parent's inability to communicate well, but we soon see that she herself needs to learn better communication. Both of them learn that healing together is always better than struggling alone. The plants have an important role to play in this process of learning and mental rejuvenation.

The story also demonstrates the procedure of propagating succulents. This hit me really hard because it's something I've never been able to do. I love succulents, but I've single-handedly killed so many of them that I'm never going to buy them again as I can't stand their loss. (I am on Stage Five of grief when it comes to ‘Death of Succulents’. 😭)

The illustrations in the book are as stunning as you can see on the cover. Though this is a debut graphic novel, the author is an experienced illustrator and has worked on several picture books. Her talent shows on every page, but most of all, in her depiction of the succulent Perle. Every single page is so vivid and colourful! I love the colouring scheme as well, with each page clearly indicating Adara’s emotions, going darker when she is in a stormy mood. I also loved those little thorn-like appendages. (You’ll know what I mean when you read the book.) Every single character has a strong personality, and the graphics highlight this well. Adara’s dad even has tattoos!

There's a lovely section at the end where the author and Perle take us through the process of making this graphic novel through digital art. A delight to read!

All in all, while this book went a bit heavier than I had guessed from the cover, it is still a beautiful read, with the story, the characters, the themes, and the illustrations all working well in sync with each other.

Definitely recommended. This would be a great option for tweens as well as teens and even older readers who are still kids at heart as the message offered by the story is beyond age limits.