A William C. Morris YA Debut Award finalist
A Lamba Award Nominee
Selected for the Rainbow Book List
A Comic Book Council 2026 KIDS FAVORITE!

“Drenched in golden hues, this adventure captures the nuance of strained familial relationships with ease. ” –Booklist, starred review

“An emotionally realistic, situationally fantastic, and vibrantly illustrated graphic novel.” —School Library Journal

“Emotionally gratifying.” –Publishers Weekly

“An extended mother-child therapy session, with magic.” —Kirkus

In this stunning YA adventure, debut author Askel Aden weaves a story of family schism and reconciliation that effortlessly enriches the complex dynamics of mother and child.

Can this road trip get any worse?
Yes, Mom (Audrey) wanted to spend time with Misha. And yes, she’s never around and they don’t even live together, so this is a rare opportunity. But Audrey still thinks of Misha as her daughter, despite Misha being non-binary and trying to talk to her openly about it. Misha even tries to write how they feel in a letter, but that isn’t going well either.

Then a wrong turn down a forest road leads the mother-child duo straight into the Realm of Spirits! Suddenly in peril and without a clue how to return to their world, Misha and Audrey will have to work together to find their way back home. But can they find a way back to each other?