Review can also be found on my blog.


content warnings: loss of a loved one, discussions of the deaths of children, children sickness
representation: mexican protagonist, main and side characters, mexican main character with cystic fibrosis, asian side character

“Last year, I met the cutest boy I have ever seen!”
“You did?”
“Yes! Too bad he's been dead for over a century...”

I think I need to steal all of my sister's Raina Telgemeier books because this is my second one and I loved it just as much as the first.

This follows Cat, a girl whose family has to move to the coast of California because her younger sister, Maya, has cystic fibrosis. The two girls discover that the town is known for its ghosts, and while Cat is initially skeptical as the Day of the Dead approaches she starts to question her beliefs.

There wasn't anything in this I didn't enjoy. The art style was cute, the plot was simple but nice, and the characters were incredibly endearing. My favourite part of this though was the way it looks at death.

Maya, being a young girl with cystic fibrosis, has more or less accepted that she's going to die young. I can't even express how heartbreaking it is to see a girl who isn't even ten yet just be so nonchalant about the fact that her entire family is probably going to outlive her. This tied in so well with the Day of the Dead plot, specifically with Maya feeling like she needs to ask the ghosts everything about death.

For a cute middle grade book, this tackles the topic of the imminent death of a young character with a surprising amount of grace and care. I feel like this is a really good graphic novel to introduce young kids to the concept of death, and is just generally a sweet graphic novel that I would recommend for anyone who wants a good, quick read.