I have no idea what Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley is about. There are more questions than answers. There is no logical flow (at least not to me) and it is done mostly in a chronological order with the events. There was something missing from page one. By the end I appreciated the experience, the art and even the text. I just cannot say I liked it.
The story is basic with four teens traveling from California back home to Canada. They see things. Say things. Smoke a few cigarettes. Eat some food. Say more stuff. Sleep. Dream. Eat some more. Talk some more. And chase some cats while looking for the soul of one of them (she thinks her soul was stolen by a cat. However, she also thinks her mother sold it to the devil in a motel). There is something about it I wanted to love, but only came away with a “I sort of like it, but not really.”
However, the saving grace was the image of the waitress in a diner. She was slightly stereotypical, but the way she was presented was real, haunting, and beautiful. It was black and white, but there was life to it. The other images are flat. The main character usually has empty saucer eyes. This waitress had realness to her. You know she is out there someplace, really smiling at the customers, even though her dogs are barking, her kid is sick, and her husband (at best) has a minimum wage job.
Overall, the art is interesting (and I feel that anyone who likes art/interested in the medium of drawing will appreciate them), the text will talk to the right person and I hope that the reader this was meant for. I would say ages 14 and up would be the best audience due to language and situations.
