• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12

A 2020 Tayshas Reading List Selection
A 2020 Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Selection
In Pumpkinheads, beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell and Eisner Award–winning artist Faith Erin Hicks have teamed up to create this tender and hilarious story about two irresistible teens discovering what it means to leave behind a place—and a person—with no regrets.
Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends.
Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.
But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.
Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .
What if their last shift was an adventure?

Rainbow Rowell's profile page

Faith Erin Hicks draws and writes comics in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her works include The War at Ellesmere, Brain Camp and Friends with Boys.

Faith Erin Hicks' profile page

Sarah Stern's profile page

• Long-listed, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
• Long-listed, Goodreads Choice Awards

“Pumpkinheads perfectly captures that feeling of the last night that’s the start of the rest of your life.”—Mariko Tamaki, Printz Honor–winning cocreator of This One Summer and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me
“Fun, funny, and wise.”—Gene Luen Yang, Printz and Eisner Award–winning author of American Born Chinese
"[Pumpkinheads] is more than a story about a last evening at a beloved pumpkin patch; it is about being confident enough in a friendship to speak both challenge and truth — even the truth that makes you feel vulnerable, but could set you on a new, rewarding path." —The New York Times
“A fall-tastic good time, brought to you from the best of the YA and graphic literature worlds.”—Bustle
“Dreamy.”—Entertainment Weekly
"A heartwarming, funny story filled with richness and complexity."—Kirkus, starred review
"There’s something for everyone in this joyful, tender book. Fans of Rowell and Hicks will gobble up this graphic novel like it’s Frito pie, and after just one nibble, newcomers will do the same—and ask for seconds." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Art by Hicks turns the sweetly witty dialogue by Rowell into a miniature autumn universe; precise, affectionate details will coax readers to revel in the cozy atmosphere." —Publisher's Weekly, starred review
"Expect this tender, sweet romance to be popular with a wide range of readers— and let’s hope this isn’t the last graphic novel collaboration between Rowell and Hicks." —Horn Books, starred review
"This is a Hallmark movie in graphic-novel form, as sweet as a candied apple and as warm as a steaming cup of cider with two lovable and inevitably paired leads.... Have this ready when the fall sweaters come out and the crisp air arrives." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Rowell's one of the biggest names in YA; don't be surprised if readers who otherwise turn their nose up at comics seek this one out." —Booklist