By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

Life Is Sweet (A Graphic Novel Prequel to the Candymakers)

Contributors

By Wendy Mass

Illustrated by Keiko Nishijima

Formats and Prices

On Sale
Oct 27, 2026
Page Count
336 pages
Publisher
Little, Brown Ink
ISBN-13
9780316461658

Price

$14.99

Price

$19.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Trade Paperback $14.99 $19.99 CAD
  2. ebook $9.99 $12.99 CAD
  3. Hardcover $24.99 $32.99 CAD

A heartwarming tale of friendship, finding your calling, and candy! Perfect for fans of The Candymakers and Cardboard Kingdom.

Everyone—and every place—has its origin story. Step back in time to 1952 Brookdale, where the scent of sugar and summer fills the air, and the biggest adventure is only a bike ride away. 

Meet four friends with dreams much bigger than their small town. A regular at the town junkyard, Sam Sweet can find anything—except the courage to enter the first Nationwide New Candy Contest. Frank yearns to create maps that people will want to crawl inside of. New-in-town Evy longs to dazzle with magic tricks, but the deck is very much stacked against her. And Frank’s little brother Henry? He just wants to make the fluffiest marshmallows Brookdale (and the world) has ever seen.

Each on their own journey, Sam, Frank, Evy, and Henry swap ideas, practice new skills, and pick each other up when it looks like all is truly lost. Whether it’s braving stage fright, finding the perfect candy recipe, or simply believing in themselves, they discover that together they can turn the impossible into something wonderfully sweet.

Brimming with heart, humor, and the magic of true friendship, this delicious graphic novel is about finding out what you are meant to do and the people who will help you get there. 

Series:


Wendy Mass

About the Author

Wendy Mass is the New York Times bestselling author of The Candymakers, the ALA Schneider Family Award winner A Mango-Shaped Space, Leap Day, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall, and Every Soul a Star. Wendy lives in New Jersey with her husband and their twins. Her website is http://www.wendymass.com.

Keiko Nishijima is a comic illustrator based in Georgia. She grew up with a love for the arts and has been drawing since she was young. After graduating in 2023 from SCAD, she's still doing what she loves, but gets paid for it too sometimes.

Learn more about this author