Jen Wang (Stargazing) shows just how creative and versatile an artist she is in Ash's Cabin, her Kids' Indie Next List title 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. Edwin was "resourceful but odd" and spoke of "building a secret cabin where no one could find him." Now, the family is selling the property. Ash, who feels trapped and diminished by a world that has difficulty accepting their gender identity, receives permission to spend August at the ranch. But Ash doesn't mean to stay--Ash is planning to go solo into the wild to find Edwin's secret cabin.
Wang uses a consistently earth-toned palette and skillful formatting, creating something that is a mix between a graphic and illustrated novel. 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. Readers of graphic novels, queer fiction, nonfiction, and wilderness stories should find something to adore here. --Siân Gaetano, children's/YA editor, Shelf Awareness