Some books start low but build to dizzying heights. Some begin well and continue to the summit. Others get halfway up the hill, decide they don't know what they're doing and have to turn around to sheepishly walk home. This is the latter.

For a story described as following a couple's relationship (as heavily implied from the title and cover), the emphasis of this is predominately on their children. Primarily, a couple is struggling with raising their children; their marital strain is secondary. The two can be closely linked but that's alike to saying eating and drinking are exactly the same simply because one might do them in the same room.

At times, the narrative lacks the nuance to distinguish these people as parents from those in a couple. Although, that can be a very real experience, so maybe it's perfectly on point.

The novel explores the challenges of raising children, looking for comedic moments within the Hopkins' dark, mundane lives. The repetitive nature of caring for another living thing is well-explored, with moments of poignancy creating relatability with the characters. These instances are lovely, but they are few and far between. Other instances are just irritating.

There is the running joke of the father misremembering his son's name. This starts off fun, especially when the story is focusing more on them both being distant parents, but when the tone starts to shift onto highlighting the mother's health problems and the effect on the father, it falls flat. Although any joke begins to grate after 40 pages of repetition.

The full-page spread format works well for offering ample panels to watch a snapshot play out, but they are just snapshots. There is some plot progression throughout the novel, however, it is snail-pace slow. This would be fine if there was more depth to the characters to balance it, but beyond darkening Claire's face when she's down, there is little of this.

Someone will love this graphic novel. They'll find it resonates perfectly with them and will marvel at how someone managed to encapsulate their life on a page. That person, however, is not me.