DNF
I wanted to like this book so much, I really did. I am always here for the humanization of those in Long Term Care Facilities.
But this book was so dreadfully dull to read that I had to finally call it quits and leave it as a lost cause.

Sixteen-year-old Jackie Chavez loves her local amusement park, Kingdom Adventure, maybe more than anything else in the world - but this summer might be her last. When she finds out that her Tía Gina, can’t afford a season pass for next summer, Jackie's crushed. But during a sneak backstage Jackie finds out about an odd park policy - if a member of a party dies at the park, the rest of their group gets free lifetime passes. With that in mind, Jackie and her friends hatch a plot to bring seniors from Valley Care Living, where Tia Gina works, into the park using a fake volunteer program, with the hopes that one of the residents will die during their visit. The only wrench in their plan is Phyllis who is far too eager to go to the park.

I was really excited to get my hands on these comics because I've been following Terry Blas' work for a few years now as a Latino comic creator. I came into the book a little hesitant because I don't like horror comics and the cover originally made it seem like it would be more sinister than it is. Granted a plot to induce death in the elderly is pretty sinister but its gradual evolution into something more moving is worth the read. The book touches on themes of identity, family separation, loss in different forms, and learning how to identify real friendships and their boundaries. There are a lot of points that resonate with me as a Latine-American, and it's a worthy addition to any shelf.

It's disappointing to be given a black and white edition to review, when the full colour looks so nice. The text is squashed, layed over over text and impossible to read. I didn't finish it. If a finished copy can be provided I will be happy to update my review.

The summary calls this darkly comedic, but I don't agree. While the original premise is a bit dark, the overall tone of the book is more lighthearted, even wholesome. Jackie loves Kingdom Adventure, the local theme park more than anything, but when her aunt tells her they can't afford to keep their season passes, she needs to come up with a plan quick. She learns of an unofficial rule of the park, if someone in your party dies at the park, the group is given free lifetime passes, and convinces her friends to create a fake volunteer group at a nursing home so that they can take the residents into the park and try to capitalize on any death that may occur. Things don't go exactly to plan, and Jackie forms a bond with Phyllis, one of the residents whose husband helped build the park. Jackie has to face a lot of things in this book, the pain of being raised by her aunt after her parents were deported, a friend group that she just doesn't mesh with anymore, and her growing interest in the nursing home's residents. I think there will likely be some confused readers who are expecting something funnier and darker based on the summary (and there is a bit of a darker bit at the end but it's overwhelmingly not), but this was by no means a bad story, just a different one to what I expected. I will also state that I had a black and white digital copy, and I hope that the final product looks as good as the cover does, because the illustrations were lackluster in my copy.

I thought this was really cute, but it honestly wasn't at all what I was expecting. The synopsis makes it seem like it's going to be dark and ~edgy~ but it's really more wholesome and sweet. I wasn't necessarily in the mood for the latter but enjoyed it nevertheless. I really loved reading about Phyllis and seeing her life story! I thought she was such a fun character with so much soul and heart. All the others were okay for me. Some of the teenagers were soooo overly angsty I couldn't help but roll my eyes at some of the dialogue. Overall I enjoyed the ride it took me on (lol get it? ride? cause it's about an amusement park? ok nvm). It's just not what I was expecting and I'd want anyone else going into it reading this to know it isn't really "darkly comedic" like the synopsis claims.

This story ended up not being exactly what I thought it would be but I still loved it. From the synopsis you may think it will be dark and twisted but it ends up being a heartwarming tale of not judging people when you don't know their story.

I wasn't sure about how to feel about this comic at first since the characters were pretty flat and unlikeable.. I mean taking elderly residents to a theme park in the hopes that one of them passes away, just so you can get life-time passes to a theme park? I'm sorry but no theme park is worth that, even if you have sentimental memories there.. The only thing that made this comic salvageable later was the character growth in Jackie and Daniel partway through, along with the bonding moments between them and the elderly residents. It was interesting to see the complex history that each resident had with the theme park.

I'd also like to mention that the arc I read had a pretty bad quality on top of being black white, however I'm sure it would look absolutely stunning in colour.

Heartfelt and wholesome, I loved the premise of this graphic novel. I have to admit that this review is somewhat incomplete as the copy I was given was in a very hard to read black and white version. Some of the characters are flat, but the concept wins overall for this one. I hope to see it in its full colored glory eventually.

This was amazing I loved every minute of it other than of the 2 characters that were very snotty and rude. But its going to be hard to really review this book without wanting to spoil it. So I will put a spoiler mark on this post. But it follows Jackie as she navigates life after her parents were deported back to there home country. She lives with her aunt who works at a assited living home for the elderly. At first Jackie and her friend were trying to get free lifetime passes if one of the elderly died in their care at this theme park. But something in Jackie changes after hanging out with Phyllis. Phyllis explains who life story of her and her late husband and how he helped build Kingdom Adventure. But when one of Jackies friends gets severely gets hurt and they get the lifetime passes place in that assisted living homes name for ther other elderly members and their families can go when they want to. I would go on and on but this would turn into a short book in itself so to make it short you need to read this I highly recommend it.

I went into this only knowing a slight bit about the synopsis, but ended it so pleasantly surprised.

I thought the character’s motives were a little vain, so when it comes to be that Nikki and Daniel are nothing like their awful friends, it put a huge smile on my face.

I loved the immigration backstory for Nikki and Phyllis’ life as a costumer for movies in the 50’s. This definitely helped define them as characters and cement my love for them both.

I did NOT see the ending coming, so maybe that made my experience that much more enjoyable.

This was a super cute graphic novel about a teenage girl who lives with her aunt do to some unforeseen circumstances with her parents. She meets a group of so called friends and they all enjoy going to an amusement park that is in their town. There's a fun fact about this amusement park though, if someone dies there the amusement park gives whoever is with the person lifetime passes for the park. Our main character and their friends get to know some elderly people at the retirement home that the main character's aunt works at. The students all begin to bond with the residents and take them on adventures! I recommend this book to anybody and I will most likely purchase a copy of this book when it is released!

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

I liked the concept of this graphic novel but it was too much of a slow burn for me and then the ending wrapped up way too fast. I liked the art style and am curious to see what the final product will look like. I enjoyed our main character a lot and I like all the historical stories brought into this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity.

This graphic novel was hard to read and get into, why? I couldn't stand the characters' thoughts and approach to the elders. I have always been really clear with how you should treat others, especially elders, and how these characters talked about them was painful for me. I enjoy the adventures and the topics covered, but I would have enjoyed it more if there were some sort of respect since the beginning of the book.

This had a lot of good intentions but didn't execute them as well as I might have hoped. It was ultimately about knowing your own value and making other people treat you as such. It was about overcoming struggles like death of a loved one, immigration and deportation, lgbt expectation and the desire to fit in. But I was TOLD all that. There was a lot of exposition. And for a comic about a theme park it wasn't as fun as I think it was trying to be. The villains were way too villainy, the heroes were only their problems.

As a caregiver, I thought the representation of elderly activities programs and facilities was inaccurate but that wasn't a huge issue. In the end it was medium good.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

This was a wonderful read. It’s about a group of young people who start taking residents from a senior’s facility to the local amusement park in hopes to receive lifetime passes. While their plan is a little dark a couple of the young people learn a lot from the elderly. It’s a feel good story I would recommend.

At first, I wasn’t sure if this novel would be up my alley. Dark Comedies aren’t really something I gravitate towards, but boy did I enjoy this story! It’s really a coming of age story about standing up for yourself and embracing the time you have on this earth. I loved the conversations with the seniors, and the representation in this novel. The only thing that I wish was different was for the novel to be in color. I wanted to see the vibrancy of the park, and the flashback scenes.

I very much enjoyed the plot of this work and the characters were portrayed with their own complexities.

Because I was viewing an ARC through NetGalley, I did not have the pleasure of viewing the work in all of its full-color glory. However, despite the work being black and white only (ARC), I still enjoyed it and look forward to seeing the full-color work when it is released later this year.

The diversity of the characters in this work is appreciated. This work could easily be enjoyed by YA audiences along with older audiences who might enjoy this style. Kingdom Adventure amusement park and its history is very much reminiscent of the Disney franchise, and while the initial motivation behind the main character's group of friends is very dark, the character growth that comes from that darkness is lovely. This read could be encouraging to so many young people dealing with many different things.

I look forward to viewing the full-color work. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and ABRAMS for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions expressed are entirely my own. I enjoyed this graphic novel and thought the illustrations were pretty good as well. The only thing hated about it was some of the humor was a bit dark for my tastes. I know that was part of the story and there were very heartwarming moments as well, but there were still some jokes that were very disrespectful to the elderly. I also wish the backstories of the characters were explained a little more. I felt that some of the characters felt like they were unfinished and needed more time in the story. All in all, I still enjoyed the book and enjoyed the lesson that being selfless is often more enjoyable and fun than being selfish and only caring about yourself.

With a diverse cast of characters, and an interesting storyline, Lifetime Passes is a great graphic novels for adolescents and teens who want a heart-warming story that explores finding yourself, being kind to others, and discovering new ways to help.

This graphic novel was perfection. There are so many good life lessons in there especially that time is precious so don’t waste a minute doing anything that doesn’t make you happy. The characters were all really great and well-portrayed. I hated Berke and Nikki and thought they were rude and self-absorbed a-holes. There is a plot twist at the end of the story that gave me a mini heart attack but I thought it was very poetically just 😅 Jackie was such a sweet character and I love how she stepped up and ran the activity program for the seniors. The characters in this graphic novel were so diverse and there’s some BIPOC, immigrant, Jewish, possibly gay, and adoptee representation. This story just gives you all the feels and I was crying at the end from how emotional and touching everything was. Such an amazing graphic novel and everyone needs to read this. This graphic novel is a literary work of art.

6/5 Stars