Turtle Bread: A Graphic Novel about baking, fitting in, and the power of friendship.
Exclusive to Travelling Man, Turtle Bread will come with a free bookplate signed by Kim-Joy.
Drawn by Acclaimed Indonesian Artist Alti Firmansyah!
Kim-Joy, the bestselling cookbook author and finalist on the Great British Bake Off 2018, is writing her first graphic novel titled Turtle Bread: A Graphic Novel About Baking, Fitting In, and the Power of Friendship. The all-new book is inspired by Kim-Joy’s passion for baking and events from her life: working in the mental health field, her own mental health struggles, reading comics, and her desire to help others. Kim-Joy's positive, empathetic, and vibrant personality comes through on every page and is enhanced by the inspiring illustrations of acclaimed Indonesian artist Alti Firmansyah (Star Lord & Kitty Pride, Goliath Girls, X-Men ’92, Marvel Voices: Identity) who utilizes a black-and-white manga-influenced art style in her first full-length book. Together, with letterer Joamette Gil, designer Cindy Leong, and editors Felix Horne and Allison O’Toole, they create a powerful story that explores mental health, that feeling of not fitting in, community and, of course, baking.
“Turtle Bread is a book about self-awareness,” says Kim-Joy (Baking with Kim-Joy, Celebrate with Kim-Joy, Christmas with Kim-Joy, and Bake Me a Cat). “It’s about that feeling of loneliness, of not fitting in or feeling good enough, of self-criticism, and the path towards self-acceptance. This is explored through baking, and in particular, the symbolism of the turtle–coming out of its shell and moving forward; however slowly that may be. Hence: Turtle Bread! (And yes, there’s actual turtle themed bread! Plus loads of other recipes). It’s NOT a magical story about how baking and friendship fix everything, but a story about the small steps forward (and sometimes sideways and backwards) gradually adding up."
Kim-Joy continued, "I’m in absolute awe of Alti’s artwork in the book–it is so expressive and emotive; you can really feel a connection to the characters on each page. As soon as I was introduced, I instantly loved Alti and her work.”
In Turtle Bread, a young woman named Yan who has a passion for baking stumbles upon a local Baking Club on her way home from another unsuccessful job interview. Her social anxiety tries to keep her away but the bakers encourage her to come out of her shell, especially the caring and supportive Bea. As the club bakes together, Yan discovers that her new friends may need her too, more than she realizes…
Beatrice, Yan, Amit, Zara, and Geraint make for a motley cast, each with their own individual issues and life challenges they are trying to cope with–from death, to finding romantic partners, to cancer, to divorce, to children, to keeping a job. But when Bea abruptly leaves Baking Club without a trace, they must hold it together and head out in search of answers and closure.
"Turtle Bread is a story about the strength of vulnerability; how showing a little of our softness from beneath a tough exterior shell can break down barriers between us that serve to reinforce the loneliness in the world," says Kim-Joy. "Being cognizant of who we are and how we affect others is a gift. I want people to read Turtle Bread and feel less alone, comforted, and inspired to drop their armour, come together and bring meaning to their lives; in the same way separate ingredients come together when baked to form something fresh and new."