Jen Wang (Stargazing; The Prince and the Dressmaker) shows just how creative and versatile an artist she is in Ash's Cabin, a graphic novel featuring a teen who seeks self, ancestry, and home in the California wilderness.
Fifteen-year-old Ash had a special relationship with Grandpa Edwin, who lived on a rural ranch near Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Edwin was "resourceful but odd" and spoke of "building a secret cabin where no one could find him." When Edwin started losing his memory, Ash's parents moved him nearby and Ash's uncle's family moved to the ranch. Now, the family is selling the property. Ash is devastated--they always felt deeply connected to Grandpa Edwin and the land. Ash, who feels trapped and diminished by a world that has difficulty accepting their gender identity and new name, receives permission to spend August at the ranch with pup Chase and cousin Reese. But Ash doesn't mean to stay--Ash is planning to take Chase and go solo into the wild to find Edwin's secret cabin and live off the land.
Wang uses a consistently earth-toned palette and skillful formatting, creating something that is a mix between graphic novel and illustrated novel; some pages are divided neatly by panels; some are mostly text with spot art; and some are breathtaking full-page bleeds with rays of sun or spikes of flame. Ash's Cabin is a wilderness tale that features the great unknown both within and without, as Ash struggles to survive the elements and their own loneliness. Wang, who has given readers drag queen princes and medical dramas, has developed a story that is adventurous, sensitive, and realistic. Readers of graphic novels, queer fiction, nonfiction, and wilderness stories should all find something to adore here. --Siân Gaetano, children's/YA editor, Shelf Awareness