School Library Journal
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Gr 9 Up—An autobiographical story about Qian's own experiences growing up in Canada and China. Detailing a tumultuous childhood that took her through multiple Canadian cities and Shanghai, the story is ultimately a reflection on Qian's lack of connection to her mother, a single culture, or any one home she's lived in. Qian's background as a designer shines through colorful pages, delivering brilliant, lineless illustrations that accurately capture the muddled feeling of revisiting complicated memories. While the stunning art offers effective storytelling, the writing doesn't always reach the same heights. The first-person, present-tense writing is unique but doesn't necessarily create a cohesive narrative, with a rapid pace that jumps from one event to the next and doesn't offer extensive detail. The illlustrations do more than the staccato text to underpin the book's key themes, such as forgiveness; the expressive art successfully breathes life into the story. This title would be a good fit for introductory art courses exploring visual metaphors akin to those in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis or S.J. Miller's Mage and the Endless Unknown. VERDICT Though the book's textual structure is loose, Qian's bright, imaginative illustrations stand on their own to tell a story about mental illness, family, loss, and the search for personal meaning.—M. Miri Reyes

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

How do our families shape us? How do we shape them in return? These questions are at the center of Qian’s debut graphic memoir, a melancholic exploration of themes of displacement, split families, and mental illness, dispersed throughout breathtaking spreads of sensory blues, purples, and inky blacks. Qian’s account follows her life as a child of Chinese immigrants growing up between various places in Canada and Shanghai, up until her time as a young adult who is attempting to reconcile her past with her current self. The story mainly revolves around Qian’s struggle to understand her mother, whose mental illness causes her to jump in and out of Qian and her father’s lives at random intervals. Despite a disjointed narrative through line, Qian’s art seems to speak to the unspeakable, to capture what words cannot say. This book would be a good fit for high-school-age readers who are particularly drawn to affecting art. Fans of Visitations (2024), by Corey Egbert, will enjoy this similarly haunting graphic memoir about family and identity.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A debut graphic memoir exploring a problematic, peripatetic coming-of-age. Qian’s life began in Toronto; depictions of family photos record moments from her early childhood that she retains no memories of. What she does recall are snowy adventures with her father; meals made by her nurturing maternal grandmother, PoPo; and the shadowy figure of her disengaged mother. Her parents fought constantly and eventually divorced, splitting custody equally. Qian’s time with her mom, a hoarder, grew unpredictable, even dangerous, and she eagerly anticipated days with her dad. Beyond her fear, shame, and even “a sort of hatred,” a young Qian understood little of her mother’s struggles. For some time, her mom vanished from her life, and she began moving constantly around British Columbia and Ontario with her father. The dislocation took an emotional toll, as did her mother’s occasional reappearances. Eventually, Qian and her dad moved to Shanghai to be near her mom and maternal grandparents. Five years later, Qian entered college in New York. She achieved her dream of studying illustration and the distance ultimately helped her better understand her family and herself, but along the way she struggled with disordered eating and the pressure to be financially independent. The saturated, limited color palette of this visually stunning work underscores the heavy emotions. Particularly affecting is Qian’s pronounced use of black, which replicates the recurring absences that marked her young life. Notably resonant pages vividly convey the splintered family dynamics of an artist’s childhood.(Graphic memoir. 14-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.