Things I love: road trips, characters who used to be close and are now awkwardly reconnecting, and the history of cremation.

Things I don't really care for: hostage situations, caricature villains, a monkey for the sake of a monkey.

Ashes is a beautifully illustrated road trip graphic novel that contains both elements I'm into and things that grind my gears. As much as I enjoyed the single-page interludes that were somewhat off-topic, I found they made some portions of the plot more difficult to follow and far less emotionally impactful than I'd hoped for. While this book and I didn't really click, I think it would resonate with readers who enjoy having a circus monkey and two bearded villains named smirnov among their humorous cast of characters.

Recommended if you're into road-trip stories, love beautiful art, and want to explore cremation through humour.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/Wj9tTFqo-BM