Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Last night I finished reading Debbie Fong’s Next Stop, and while there were definitely feels, I’m going to keep looking for my daughter’s birthday graphic novel. I should specify, though–it’s not because it wasn’t good, because it absolutely was (although the art is not my favorite). I think the ratio of sad to happy might make it less appealing to her long term, however, and the slight touch of fantasy isn’t going to help. (My youngest is much more open to fantasy–my 15-year-old is VERY firmly in the “Give Me Realistic Fiction!” camp.)

I do need to say, though, that if I thought it were going to suit her personality, I wouldn’t mind owning this one at all. It’s heavy–Pia’s family is in crisis, and it isn’t until the end of the novel that they start to actually move through it–but in an unusual twist, the setting provides the needed contrasting lightness for much of the book. The circumstantial sense of family among the members of the Sunset Tours group comes through, and Sam’s personality provides a nice counterpoint to Pia’s. Ultimately, Next Stop is a sort of mash-up of Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons, Dusti Bowling’s Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, and Raina Telgemeier’s Sisters–except that’s just a descriptor, because it is eminently its own book. If your family has been through a tragedy and you want a graphic novel that reminds you you’re not alone, this is it.

It’s also a meaningful read for the rest of us.