Either I was asleep, mixed up two books, or slipped into a parallel universe, but when I first heard of/read about Love, Misha: A Graphic Novel by Askel Aden, I thought it was about a runaway who had several dangerous situations or was a child in war, but still homeless and finding safety. Instead, it is about a nonbinary teen who is dealing with their estranged mother. (Yeah, I think I was totally asleep.) But that’s okay, because I had the pleasure of having no expectations about the theme, because it was very obvious earlier on that I was way off base. Which also fits the themes of being lost and not on the right path.
The story is pretty simple: mom and child are taking a “mother and daughter” trip. Of course, Misha isn’t having any of that, as they are neither female or male. Mom seems to be trying, but the guilt of the past is making it hard for her to move forward. This is why when they are on said road trip, they find themselves in the Realm of Spirits. Adventures, misunderstandings, understanding, secrets, reveals and a swamp creature later, we end things. Not on a HEY! It’s all Happy Happy Joy Joy, but we are heading in the right direction. The author afterwards sums it up by saying, Yes, the coming out process is hard, important and worth exploring but what happens next? What about afterwards? How are people dealing? Or not? Who is really in their corner? And how is Misha dealing with their family and themselves? What path will they be able to take? Will they find their way home?
The story itself is neither wow or blah. It was easy. Not the themes, but how things are presented. It is a journey you can sit back and enjoy. The images are not overwhelming, they are detailed, medium color schemes, you can figure out what is going on by the elements given. No, I was not thinking “best book ever” but I liked it. The nonbinary character is a nice touch, the realism of the mothers difficulties of trying to capture lost time with her imagined child, and learning how to move forward with the child she does have, is good. I could have done without one of the secondary characters issues as they didn’t seem to fit what was happening. This made things about them and not Misha and their mother. I think Aden went a bit too complext with them, or is setting them up for a sequel. But I recommend it and look forward to reading other books by Aden.
