Next Stop
By Debbie Fong
Middle grade contemporary graphic novel about friendship, loss, and a magical sight-seeing road trip bus tour through the desert
PRH/RH Graphic, March 19, 2024; 240 pages
Subrights Info
- Translation rights available via PRH/RH Graphic
- UK/ANZ rights available via PRH/RH Graphic
- Film/TV rights available via Janna Co.
- Merchandising and commercial rights available via Janna Co.
Middle schooler Pia is dealing with grief as she finds herself on the biggest adventure of her life–a bus tour stopping at weird and wacky roadside attractions. In an effort to get her mind off of the troubles at home, Pia goes on a bus tour with a family friend, stopping at weird and wacky roadside attractions. The final destination: a mysterious underground lake. The locals say it has magical powers.
Pia won’t admit she believes in it, but she’s holding on to hope that the waters may hold the answer to mending her broken family. Next Stop explores grief, resilience, and learning how to laugh again. Debbie Fong weaves together an incredibly strong debut filled with humor and heart, with a splash of mystery and magic.
Reviews
“In varied panel and full-page illustrations, Fong’s spare cartoon style is well suited to the setting and the main character’s bleak emotional landscape. The trip offers moments of peace and lightheartedness: ‘I’m actually having a lot of fun! It kind of feels like being part of a big family.’ The story begins to take on elements of magical realism the closer the group gets to the lake, making the impossible begin to seem possible. Pia’s miracle looks different from what she set out looking for, but the magic is transformative all the same. With a sympathetic protagonist navigating unimaginable pain, fully realized and engaging secondary characters, and a skillfully crafted narrative, this is a remarkable debut.”
“This is a story that will stay with readers long after they read the last page and have them go back again and again to read more. Fong creates an accessible story of grief and healing that will speak to young readers and touch adults as well..”
“Fong has a knack for infusing the mundane with the surreal to enhance emotional impact, and for recreating the comfortably uncomfortable, anything-could-happen atmosphere of an extended road-trip. Wordless panels fully immerse readers in Pia’s silently conveyed moods, pulling them into a desert haze of tourism-time under shockingly blue roadside skies, eager to uncover the mysteries of Cessarine Lake themselves. Mixing young friendship and whimsy with a depth of feeling as long as any highway, this introspective graphic novel should be the obvious nextstop for middle grader readers looking for the weird and wonderful.”
“A poignant story that delicately balances youthful delight and naïveté with profound mourning.”
Awards and Accolades
- March/April 2024 Kids’ Indie Next List
- Her minicomic Greenhouse (2018) was nominated for an Ignatz Award and won a Broken Frontier award that same year.
This book might appeal to fans of Snapdragon by Kat Leyh and Pilu of the Woods by Mai Nguyen.
If you are a rights buyer or a reviewer and wish to access the pdf, email me.
Author Bio
Debbie Fong is a comic artist, illustrator, and designer from Brooklyn, NY. Currently, she runs POMMO Press, an online shop selling mini-comics, zines, prints, and many fun accessories. As an illustrator, she enjoys both commercial work as well as longer narrative projects. Past clients include Time Inc. Books, The Strand, and CreativeFeed. Her most recent books include the forthcoming Faraway Forest series, and she was the illustrator for Catherine Newman’s What Can I Say? and How To Be A Person. Visit Debbie at http://www.debbiefong.com/.
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