Pocket Peaches: Game On

Pocket Peaches #3

by Dora Wang, Nimali Abeyratne (contributor)

Join the Pocket Pals in this colorful, heartwarming graphic novel that blends cozy gaming with meaningful life lessons. Perfect for readers who love kawaii-style comics and charming, whimsical adventures!

Peaches and her pals are back again in this adorable new adventure, Pocket Peaches: Game On. In this sweet, cozy, and heartfelt third book of the beloved comic series, Taro learns to navigate unexpected life changes while maintaining virtual friendships.

Rendered in an adorable soft kawaii art style, this whimsical and lighthearted comic about cozy video games is perfect for young readers starting their reading journeys as well as seasoned graphic novel enthusiasts alike. It's gentle, funny, comforting, and a "must-have" for fans of Hello Kitty, Pokémon, Line Friends, Squishmallows.

Features a Dyslexia-friendly font.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fantasy, Comics, Mental Health, Fiction

80 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2025

Reviews

[Paige Etheridge]

Cute comic about maintaining friendships through gaming. The bonus comic at the end even shows how people of various ages can bond this way. Even the elderly can game!

[Mehsi]

I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.


The third book in the Pocket Peaches series and this time it is Taro’s time to shine! The first book was all about Peaches, the next was about Mango, and now we have Taro. I cannot wait for the next book featuring Pogi and curious what their adventure will be then!

Back to this book! In this book we follow Taro and see how she loves to be indoors, play games, and relax. She is settling in her new environment with new friends, however we quickly see that she is missing her bestie, Milo, from her previous town. And that is pretty much what this volume is about. Games, homesickness. I could definitely understand Taro, though I haven’t lost a friend/lost contact with a friend due to a move, I have lost contact with friends due to growing apart/having different interests/other reasons and I know the feeling of missing them. Throughout the book I was hoping that Taro would either call her bestie or talk with her new friends about her feelings. Because these new friends notice. They see that Taro is closing herself off, that she is preferring to be by herself more, and I love that they were trying their best to figure things out and also help and be there for Taro. I just love the friendship. This friendship is still fresh but you would think they have been friends for years given everything.

And then there is, as I mentioned, games! Taro is a big gamer and she used to play a lot with her friends back in her old town. I absolutely loved it, I am also a gamer, though I prefer to either play alone or with my hubby, haha. But it was so fun to see her play games (I need that game btw it looks so fun) and I also loved when the friends went to participate in a competition featuring a brawler game which looked very close like Super Smash Bros. It meant they had to practice because Peaches, well Peaches has never gamed before and is pretty bad. I loved seeing the friends have fun and motivate each other to get better!

The ending was just so sweet and gave all the fuzzy feelings. It made me very happy.

The art was, just as with all the other books in the series, so fun. I love the style and how soft and cute everything looks.

I would recommend this book to everyone.

Review also posted on https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Adam Fisher]

Review being submitted to School Library Journal for an upcoming SMS article

[Lata]

Taro loves to game, and though she has new friends in her new town, she misses her other friend Milo whom she left behind, and with whom she'd regularly game. She's afraid that since she left, Milo is too busy with his new friends and won't want to speak to her.

She's homesick and missing her longtime friend, and her new friends notice how sad Taro is, and do their best to help her. And Taro eventually reaches out to Milo, and each of them are able to clarify their understanding of their friendship and things are resolved happily. Yay!

Again, adorable artwork, real and difficult situations resolved through kindness, reaching out, and conversation.

[I. P. Grise]

2nd grader brought this home from the book fair and I expected it to be book fair junk with a merchandise tie-in, but it really was a sweet little story about the role technology plays in friendships, especially for young people. It’s nice to see a book on this topic written by someone who clearly has experience using the technology, as sometimes kidlit about the internet can fall flat and disconnected from the actual experiences of users. Taro, despite being a purple cartoon cat, has realistic thought cycles and doubts related to her friendships. Her 3 newer irl friends sweetly model how to befriend someone new and embrace them. I was pleasantly surprised by this, and even more surprised that the most reading-averse kid I work with wants to go back and read the other books now too!

[Darth Reader]

At any given time, I have the anxiety of a small prey animal being hunted. Figured reading this would be a nice break from *gestures wildly everywhere*.

[Suhasa]

Cute as always! I hope there's a hundred more of these in the series and keep bringing us smiles.

[Edith]

4.5 ⭐️

Taro is too relatable in this one 😭

[Jessica✨]

Adorable quick comic, with the cutest drawings. Can't wait for the next one!

[Claire]

Always so cute.

[Diana Flores]

Cute characters, gentle read.

[Tonja Drecker]

Cuteness meets gaming, friendship, and more in a quick-paced, easy read.

Taro has made so many new friends since she's moved to the new town, but she still is a little homesick. Plus, her best friend from her earlier home hasn't answered any of her messages or anything. She's afraid he never wants to speak to her again and is busy with his own new friends. While she loves hanging out with her new group, the depression has her missing more and more activities. She's not sure what to do.

The characters in this book are adorable. They are simple in form, rounded, and delightfully pastel colored. It's enjoyable to glance through the various graphics as they take on gaming challenges or meet for some fun. The illustrations are simple and, yet, hold everything needed to bring across the emotions and situations. The text balances well with each one and is kept concise...just enough to bring across the story without overpowering the illustrations. It makes for a read, which even reluctant readers won't steer away from.

The gaming scenes will easily connect with readers. They aren't too wild but have just enough excitement and tension to enjoy. This offers a nice counter aspect to the more emotional issues Taro faces. The sadness is clear and the problems that depression can bring weave into the tale just enough to be obvious but not really spoken. It's an age appropriate way to address the issue without hitting it too hard. The friendship, however, is golden as this read steers into wholesome goodness pure. The solutions are realistic and understanding isn't something easily achieved.

It's a cute read with fun and good themes, which works very well for the intended age group.

[Becky B]

Taro is starting to feel homesick for her old friends in the town she moved from, but they haven’t been texting her back or getting online to play games when she’s on. Her sadness makes her feel like no one wants to be her friend, so she’s also been avoiding hanging out with Mango, Pogi, and Peaches. Can Mango, Pogi, and Peaches help Taro through her homesickness and be good friends here?

This volume of Pocket Peaches has the friends use video games (something Taro enjoys) to help draw Taro out of shutting herself away. I appreciate that they do understand she likes some alone time, but too much alone time isn’t good for even introverts. The story does involve a bit of video game play but also highlights non-tech interests like drawing and baking too. It’s a cute story good for reluctant readers.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: Only video game battles (and they are more cute than violent)
Ethnic diversity: The characters are all animals with no obvious ethnic backgrounds.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified.
Other: Homesickness/loneliness

[Therearenobadbooks]

We are a family of gamers (we use them for family time and do things together, usually co-op), so we love this one. Plus… It’s super cute. Kawaiii.

Not too many pages, under 100, and with sweet illustrations and less text than a heavy graphic novel.

Missing old friends, new friendships, connections, contemporary and modern themes. I love the Brawl-mania chapters where they all come together as a team. It’s important to keep communication going to avoid misunderstandings.

This volume includes an extra bonus comic. I love Francine!!! I want to be her: cute giraffe.

The volume of Pocket Peaches at the fair is also super cute.

[Danielle Robertson Robertson]

What a super cute story about the challenges of leaving old friends behind and making new ones! I loved seeing Peaches and the others stand up for their friend, breaking through Taro's negative self-talk to let her know her feelings are valid and she's safe to confide in them. Squad Goals. My six year old could relate to this because of leaving her daycare friends behind when starting kindergarten. What an approachable, lovely story.

[angelofmine1974]

Finally was able to get this one in book format. Still super cute and adorable. Taro is playing video games and is homesick. She misses her old friends and doesn't want to hang out with her new friends because she is so sad. Will video games bring everyone together? I certainly hope so! Love the story and the graphics.

[Emily]

This book was relatable especially if you've ever wondered if your friends miss you when you're not around them. The art is really cute and cozy. These books are totally bingeable and addictive. I am excited to read "Happy Campers" when it comes out. I would love to get the coloring book because it reminds me of the cozy coloring books that I've seen on tiktok.

[Taylor]

OMG! It was adorbs definitely want to read it a second time!! It was so cute but kind of sad for Taro and what he was going through with his new life. Overall I loved it.
Thank you Edelweiss and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read this e-arc!

[Karla Dee]

Gaming and streaming competition with new friends. Milo has moved in his gpa and doesn't have as much time to text or game. Friends learn to communicate these feels about changes and having less time and making time for each other again <3<3<3

[Lori!]

Such a cute graphic novel🤍

[Gabrielle L]

4.5/5 stars

[Síofra]

I love it 5 stars

[Bethany the Librarian]

Another adorable addition to this series! A sweet, clean book about friendships, both old and new.

[Chloe (thebookgiraffe)]

3.5/5

[Angel]

this was as cute as the first one. can this be a cartoon? just a cute stress free cartoon

[Lauren Hightower]

Adorable and E gave it “54 stars!”

[Kathyj]

the pookies get together, play a variation of smash, and learn that its okay to make new friends and miss your old ones too <3

[Briana Mejia]

I loved this books. This is one of my favorite book

[Sarah]

Another adorable installment in the Pocket Peaches series! Love how this one addresses long-distance friendships

[Anna]

Another cute little read for bedtime with my daughter, she loves this series so far! 🥰