Fruitcake
by Rex Ogle & Dave Valeza
Graphix, 2026. 240 pages.
Review written June 12, 2026, from a library book.
Fruitcake is another graphic novel memoir about Rex Ogle’s middle school years, following up on Four Eyes and Pizza Face. This one is about eighth grade, when all his friends were pairing up.
And Rex, too, found a nice girl who liked him – but he couldn’t stop thinking about a boy he spent time with outside of school – and it was the boy who made him blush.
Meanwhile, his Abuela takes him to two different churches – one in his own neighborhood when Abuela is visiting, where the preacher says gay people will burn in hell. Then at Abuela’s home church, the pastor says that God loves everyone.
So Rex keeps trying to hide who he is – until he can’t anymore.
This graphic novel is a quick read, but it’s got a very relatable story about a kid figuring out who he really is.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/fruitcake.html
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