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Member Reviews
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A beautiful commentary on gender and mourning. This was gorgeous; I felt so emotionally connected to Ash's story and want to escape. I look forward to hand-selling this title!
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Fantastic "coming of age" YA graphic novel. So much heart and feeling. This is the kind of book kids need right now.
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Even as I worries so much for Ash I was fascinated by their journey and aspirations to find themselves in nature. Seeing Ash have the space and time to spread their wings was beautiful. Wang is great at capturing the combination of strength and vulnerability in characters' faces.
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This was a DNF. I did not like this book and could not finish it. I think this was not my type of story.
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Ash's Cabin is a beautiful story of finding one's self when things seem so lonely. When Ash's family has a hard time accepting their personal changes, Ash turns to the memory of her grandfather to try to fine herself. With plans to find her grandfathers secret cabin in the remote Northern California woods, Ash goes on the ultimate adventure. Joined by their trusted "familiar", Chase, Ash quickly leans that living off the land is not what they thought it would be. In this middle grade graphic novel, we learn what loneliness truly is.
The full color beautiful artwork matches this amazing story throughout. The reader visually experiences Ash's varied emotions through their deep facial expressions. With the images of plant specimens and diagrams of traps and shelters the reader also get the feeling we are right there with Ash as they plan and build their new life.
This beautifully emotional story had me tearing up from the start as we experience Ash's deep emotions. The best, most meaningful graphic novel I have read in a long time. Five stars!!!!
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This graphic novel is heartbreaking and heart affirming all in one book. I hate how alone Ash feels and wish I could give them a hug and not make them feel like they need to flee. I am impressed by Ash’s determination and survival skills. And I am affirmed by Ash’s future which is on the road to be much better than their past. All of this with the background of Wang’s beautiful artwork.
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Great graphic novel about family and what it can mean to a person and learning to find out about yourself if you aren't quite sure who you are.
Ash (with a dead name) is tired of people calling them the dead name. When Ash hears their parents might need to sell Grandpa's ranch, they decide they need to save this mysterious cabin that no one knows if it really exists and Grandpa never told a location if so.
So starts an adventure for Ash which they thought they were prepared for but it doesn't turn out that surviving on ones own is as easy as it might seem.
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An incredibly moving and relatable graphic novel. Jen Wang takes the reader on an emotional journey that is engaging, heartfelt, and even instructive. Highly recommend.
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Ash's Cabin is a YA graphic novel about a nonbinary teen escaping to a cabin in the woods with their dog. I absolutely loved this story, and Ash as a character was very fleshed out. While the book tends to be very exposition based, largely due to the journal format and the fact that a large portion of the book only has one human character, the art is still expressive and brings you into the story quickly. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys character based stories, cute dogs, or incredible watercolor illustrations.
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Middle-grade graphic novel appropriate for middle school/upper elementary. Give to fans of Alone, Hatchet, and other survival novels.
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This is a survival story about a kid feeling lost in the world trying to self isolate and realizing it being harder than it seems ideologically while simultaneously realizing that they need people more than they initially thought. Because of the format of the story, the main character initially comes off as preachy in the beginning of the story and there was a lack of emotional resolution to the story of Ash's parents and them. They didn't have a proper talk about running away or even depict consequences to their, frankly, reckless actions and I would've liked to see more of that.
The over all art is beautiful though and this would be better suited for readers who love the wilderness and are queer.
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Life has been hard for Ash. Ash can’t find a community in school, their family hasn’t fully accepted their identity, and they aren’t visiting the family ranch this year. Reaching a breaking point, Ash decides to runaway to their grandfathers cabin isolated in Northern California just a short hike from the ranch. This isn’t a rash decision. Ash reads, plans, packs, and prepares for this journey to a new life. But will it be as life-saving of a move as they are banking on?
Jen Wang writes compelling stories but I feel she says so much more through her illustrations. Besides being beautifully crafted, Wang uses shapes, lines, and colors to tell a much deeper story. Her characters are always powerfully realistic, specifically with Ash. This will satisfy a bit of the urge to escape to the woods you may also have. My heart ached (in the best way) by the end.
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It's so funny because, immediately before picking this one up, I'd been kinda craving a nameless new queer graphic novel to read. And, after having loved The Prince and the Dressmaker, I knew I couldn't pass this one up.
This one is part coming of age story, part wilderness survival story and part finding out how the world doesn't get better if the one you're running from is yourself story.
Maybe that last one was also just encompassed by 'coming of age' story.
Ash is a nonbinary kid who feels like no one in their life listens to them. They fondly remember their late grandfather and the cabin he once used to tell Ash about. And so it's possible that they have an overreaction to hearing it when the cousins who live in their grandfather's old house are planning on selling.
Ash ends up with one goal only, and that's to find the cabin his grandfather made and run away to live there.
Armed with only a backpack full of items, his dog and knowledge gleaned from dozens of youtube how to videos, Ash actually does make a pretty good go of it. And the graphic novel basically makes for a visual journal of what they've done to get as far as they did.
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this was a beautiful, devastating story about identity and agency. the story is pretty simplistic--rebellious teen decides to rehab their late grandpa's cabin and survive alone in the woods--but it showed a lot of complex emotions and also taught me some pretty cool survival tips. pacing was a bit fast and the journal format made it a little exhibition heavy, but it was still a really touching story.
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Ash’s cabin is sad but also encouraging. I remember being 15 and confused about my place in the world, thinking I’d be better off without all the people and I could handle it much better on my own. Ash’s desire to escape society is not a new concept but the way it was presented made me feel educated and empathetic. At every turn, even though they didn’t realize it right away, Ash was learning from other people, using their help, and, as they said, never truly alone. One note: I really hated that ash left the dog outside alone without making sure someone found him. It terrified me more than anything in the story and made me really dislike Ash for a while.
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Thank you so much for letting me read this graphic novel. I liked the story but not as much as i wanted to. the artwork, though, is soo pretty.
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Thank you to the publisher and the author for providing me a copy through Netgalley!
This graphic novel was beautiful, devastating, and haunting. One of survival, self-discovery, and finding belonging. The illustrations were beautiful, and carried the story along well. Ash's story may ring true to many teens, and I believe this would be fine addition to any library's graphic novel collection.
Readers who have enjoyed other survival stories such as "Hatchet" and "Alone" would also enjoy this book.
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Ash spends all year looking forward to time in the country with his family. Ash feels most at home out in nature, so when their parents tell them the family is selling the farm and this year, they will go to Disney as a vacation, Ash is crushed. Things haven't been the same since their grandpa died - he was the only person who seemed to understant Ash. So when Ash convinces their parents to let them spend one last summer at the farm with their cousin, Ash knows this may be their last chance. But no one knows Ash plans to stay out there, in a cabin in the woods that their grandfather built before he died.
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This was totally devastating and absolutely beautiful.
I was worried sick about the dog though, why would you dump him in the middle of the woods; "hoping the search team would find him?" I don't think so because the dog would have lead them back to you. "Hoping he would get away? or be safe from the fire?" Again, I think not. Chase was injured, scared alone and you left him. For a character so concerned with nature, I found this a strange move.
This is a wonderful story about finding yourself, learning to love yourself and learning to love others and open up to others, to see the beauty in every thing, even utter destruction.
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I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a lovely and thought provoking graphic novel that will speak to a lot of youth and young adults. All of the wilderness survival lends the book a Hatchet like air, but Wang also addresses sexuality, loss, self-exploration, and maturity among other topics. I read it straight through and thoroughly enjoyed it. I cna think of a few kids who will really benefit from it, as well.