Next Stop | Review

Next Stop
By Debbie Fong
Random House Graphics, 2024, $13.99
Grades 5-8

In this melancholy graphic novel, readers will follow Pia on her summer bus tour as she leaves behind her grief-stricken parents and crumbling family life. The trip to Lake Cessarine, a magical place that is meant to make a person’s wishes come true, is Pia’s way of coping with the tragic loss of her brother.

The story is told both in the present day and through flashbacks. Fong’s color palette, the vivid colors of the present day and the sepia – washed-out colors – of the flashbacks help readers orient themselves to the timeline. The leisurely pace of sequential art, where Fong lingers over the details of the scenery and elongates a moment is very much influenced by classic manga, though on the surface, no reader would categorize this graphic novel as manga or manga style.

This is a complex story of friendship, grief, and healing. Pia is alone on the trip, being supervised by the tour guide, an old college friend of her father. Sam, the tour guide’s daughter, is Pia’s age, and the duo form a friendship, which is only thwarted by Pia’s grief and inability to share her tragic story.

The solemn mood of the story is lightened by the quirky and colorful people who are also along for the tour: Auntie Ming, who travels without her grumpy husband but has an arsenal of treats; the family with two young children who gravitate towards Pia; and the elderly couple who hope to make it to the lake to wish for a cure.

This is a story that will stay with readers long after they read the last page and have them go back again and again to read more. Fong creates an accessible story of grief and healing that will speak to young readers and touch adults as well.

Sidenote: Watch Debbie Fong discuss her process in this author interview.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Reviews