Book Review: Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen

August 26, 2024

Honestly, this was the perfect time of year to read this. I could not love the spot on-ness of this book for the season right now. It is just spooky enough (being that it features enchanted veggies, a witch and a vampire) but it feels like it is still the end of summer because they are all harvesting their veggies and selling them at the market.

We follow the story of an anxious young garlic who has been enchanted by a witch to help tend to her garden. She and her other veggie friends go to the market with the kindly witch every week to sell the veggies that they have helped her grow. At the beginning of the book, we learn that Carrot is Garlic’s dearest companion, and they have a stand that they run together with her garlic and Carrot’s carrots. Garlic is often sleeping in and arriving a little late to market, but that is part of her charm. While on the way home from market, one of her veggie friends notices that the castle on the hill has smoke coming from its chimneys, which means it is no longer vacant, like they thought. As they are discussing who could possibly be inhabiting the castle on the hill, the witch comes over and breaks the news that it might be a vampire, and chaos ensures from there!

This is such a sweet tale of fear of the unknown, and facing your fears head on, in spite of being afraid. It is about friendship and loving those who are different than you, and appreciating them for those differences. It is about the obstacles we face, and being kind to people, even when they are not kind to you. I highly suggest this book to people of all ages. It is cute and cozy and I am so excited to read more by Bree Paulsen.