Coming Back follows Preet and Valissa. Everyone in their village has magic in their bones and Preet is the strongest of all—while Valissa has no magic at all. Without any power of her own, Valissa questions how she can be enough for Preet to love her. When their home is attacked and Valissa has a chance to prove herself, she takes it, even though it means leaving Preet behind. On her own for the fist time, Preet breaks one of the village’s most sacred laws and is thrown out of the only home she’s ever had. Divided by different paths, insecurities and many miles, will Valissa and Preet find their way back to each other?
What a gorgeous graphic novel with the heartwarming message that home is where your heart is! Though I was a bit lost at times because there is an abundance of panels—beautiful though they are—that are without text and as such, I’m not quite sure who the audience for this story is because it might get confusing for younger readers what the story is actually about. Nevertheless, the story overall and its focus on finding family, love and community was downright enchanting. The art style and colour scheme drew me in from the very first page and has both whimsical and dream-like vibes that kept me flipping the pages.
What I think this graphic novel did marvellously was how it approached the topic of traditions – what makes a tradition worth keeping and when is it time to break away from the way things have been done for eons? How do you still honour your culture, your people, your history, without ostracising anyone? Coming Back tries to answer that question and examines the way in which traditions are rooted in our history and how that doesn’t always make them worth keeping around forever. As Preet and Valissa grow apart and together again, their differing stances offer an intriguing narrative that made me think a lot about the traditions and rituals in my country—and I hope it will do the same for other readers.
This story also explores self-worth and identity in a really accessible manner. Both Valissa and Preet struggle with how they see themselves, whether they are worthy of the other’s love and what they identify as because of the village they live in in terms of magic and when an unexpected arrival causes Valissa and Preet to not see eye to eye for the first time, you really get to see how different life is when you don’t have the support of a community behind you and how that might shape your stance when you encounter new people.
All in all, Coming Back is a tender, gorgeously drawn graphic novel with a beautiful exploration of young love, traditions and what it means to stand up for yourself when no one else will.
Coming Back is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A beautiful graphic novel fantasy romance that follows two young women who have to go on their own separate adventures to discover the truth about themselves and about each other.
Preet is magic.
Valissa is not.
Everyone in their village has magic in their bones, and Preet is the strongest of them all. Without any power of her own, how can Valissa ever be worthy of Preet’s love? When their home is attacked, Valissa has a chance to prove herself, but that means leaving Preet behind. On her own for the first time Preet breaks the village’s most sacred laws, and is rejected from the only home she’s ever known and sent into a new world.
Divided by different paths, insecurities, and distance, will Valissa and Preet be able to find their way back to each other?
