I have seen this book recommended on many sites. I really enjoy graphic novels. This book would be a great discussion piece for middle/high school students. The decision the kids had to go through---being homeless---right vs wrong along with trust. Not only trust in your parents---mom vs dad, but trust in God.
This book gives a lot to think about and it is a true story.

Reading Visitations felt like stepping into a fever dream that’s equal parts unnerving and hopeful. Corey Egbert serves up a graphic novel that is visually stunning and emotionally gut-wrenching—a rollercoaster of family dynamics, mental illness, and enough religious tension to make Sunday school feel like a vacation.

The story begins innocently enough: Corey, a kid just trying to survive his parents’ divorce and dreaded visitations with his dad. (Who, according to his mom, is the actual devil. No pressure.) Things escalate when Mom cranks up her religious fervor to 11 and decides Corey is divinely chosen to protect his little sister. Next thing you know, they’re living out their Mad Max fantasy in the Nevada desert, except there’s no cool cars, just starvation and questionable parenting decisions.

Egbert’s artwork is stunning. It captures the eerie beauty of the desert and the suffocating intensity of Corey’s mother’s beliefs. The ghostly flickering girl who visits Corey under the stars? Equal parts creepy and compelling. She’s like that friend who tells you, “Hey, maybe you should stop listening to your mom because this whole ‘Dad is Satan’ thing isn’t working out.”

What really shines is Egbert’s ability to balance heavy topics with moments of hope. Corey’s journey from blind loyalty to questioning the reality his mom has constructed feels painfully authentic. The book doesn’t wrap things up neatly with a shiny bow—because life, especially one marked by trauma and faith, doesn’t work that way.

Overall, Visitations is a powerful read that’s as much about escaping the past as it is about forging your own truth. Fans of Hey, Kiddo will feel right at home—and by “home,” I mean emotionally wrecked in the best way.

Corey has always relied on his mother Laura as a source of comfort and support. She has always been there for him and his younger sister Sarah. Corey fully trusted his mother and father, his grandparents, and embraced their religion. That is until one day that trust is broken. Corey’s mother accuses his father of a heinous act, they divorce, and Corey and Sarah have weekend visitations with their father. Over time Laura becomes convinced that all ties should be broken off between their father Henry and their beloved grandparents. She takes Corey and Sara for a trip driving endlessly on desert roads. That trip ends up being kidnapping.

Laura convinces Corey that what she is doing is an act of faith in God. Corey believes this to be true as he believes in his faith, God and mother. However, when days becomes weeks of living in their car, no food, no showers, he starts have doubts of his trust and belief.

I found this memoir to be incredibly sad. I have read many memoirs of those who’ve endured wars, illness, or family mental illness. This is one made a large impact and will stick with me a for quite a while.

The illustrations are powerful and I enjoyed the shades of blue and blush.

Visitations is a graphic novel inspired by true events, exploring themes of mental health, religion, and family trauma. Corey has faith—faith in his Heavenly Father and faith in his mother, both of which he believes would never lead him astray. However, Corey begins to question everything when he, his sister, and mother suddenly find themselves living in their car, on the run from the police.

Visitations covers several triggering topics, so be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading. However, it’s a story that is important to share. Corey’s struggle with faith is something I can deeply empathize with. As an adult, it’s clear that his mother’s battle with mental health is more than she can handle on her own. But as a child, you believe your parents can do no wrong. The graphic novel format is the perfect medium to tell this story, as the illustrations effectively convey the uncertainty and emotional turmoil that Corey grapples with. The note from the author at the end brings the story back to reality, and the real-life photos provide a complete picture of the characters we've come to know in the book. I look forward to displaying this title at the library.

Visitations is a haunting graphic memoir. Egbert depicts a childhood forever changed by his mothers unknown battle with mental illness. Hand this to older teens and new adults. Recommended for graphic novel collections.

Corey Egbert’s Visitations is a haunting yet hopeful graphic novel that explores heavy themes like mental illness, family struggles, and faith with sensitivity and depth. The artwork masterfully conveys the emotional weight of Corey’s journey, particularly through the ghostly figure that symbolizes his internal conflict. While the story addresses difficult topics, its message of resilience and self-discovery shines through, offering a nuanced look at the complexities of family and belief. It was an equally powerful and unforgettable read for me. Highly recommended!

A sympathetic graphic memoir wherein the protagonist survived estrangement from his father (and paternal grandparents) by a mother who descended into severe mental illness. Told with a specificity that attests to the lived experience of the author.

Visitations is a well-done graphic novel that covers hard topics such as identity, mental illness, faith, and healing. This book follows Egbert's journey through childhood living and believing his mother who was suffering from a mental illness and how his faith was distorted, but eventually led him on a healing journey to rebuild a relationship with his father and later his mother. Egbert shares the painful memories of missing time with his grandmother before her death along with the struggles of living in a car for a month.

This graphic novel is great for high school students and adults.

Visitations by Corey Egbert is a difficult but important graphic novel that delves into themes of faith, identity, and healing. Egbert does a good job of portraying his journey through personal struggles, including family dynamics and questions of belief. There is a transition into surrealism in its latter half, which can be confusing but lends to the emotional turmoil that Egbert experiences and to the turning point for him that helps him towards the end. The expressive art style, characterized by soft blues and oranges, complements the narrative that is at times somber, but still hopeful. It’s a poignant, thought-provoking read, particularly for young adults exploring their paths of self-discovery.

“When I remember this moment, I can see myself actually touching the leaves. Logically, though, I must have just imagined it. It makes me wonder how much of my childhood was real.”

“For some reason, becoming a teenager is a gradual transition from childhood to adulthood. For me, it felt like a sudden step into the darkness.”

Visitations by Corey Egbert is a young adult graphic novel inspired by events in the author’s life. The book thematically focuses on growing up in an environment shadowed by manipulative religion and mental illness. Corey, the titular character, and his sister Sarah are caught between his parents as their marriage crumbles, leading to a split household and his mother’s insistence that Corey’s father is evil. In an attempt to “rescue” her children from their father, Corey’s mom removes her children from the life they knew as her paranoia grows.

Visitations thoughtfully cradles some very heavy topics in a way that is relatable to anyone who grew up in difficult family situations. I really liked how the main character Corey used escapism to understand his big feelings as well as how the author uses a colorful but muted inking style that complements fantasy elements in the plot. I also admired Egbert’s handling of mental illness in a way that was not villainizing - something he talks about in the afterward as well. I found this book to be empathetic, beautifully thoughtful, and hopeful despite the struggles overcome. I think that many young readers will be able to relate Corey, especially as he navigates trauma and comes to his own terms with his religious beliefs.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Corey Egbert for the opportunity to read and review this work.

Wow this book is deep and the illustrations really emphasize what is happening to our characters.
Corey and his sister go through a lot with their mom telling them what to think and believe about their dad. When she takes them away from him and they have to live in their car, it is hard on Corey and his sister. But they later learn that not everything is as it seems.

A tough read at times, but needed to show what life is like for some.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

A heart-wrenching graphic memoir about mental illness and religion. The book follows Corey, who grapples with his faith and his mother's increasingly erratic behavior. When his mother declares that his father is evil, she takes Corey and his sister by car into the Nevada desert. they have little food, and no real destination. The police are looking for them. When Corey is at his lowest, he is visited by a ghost who helps him reconcile what has happened.

Beautifully illustrated, this book is perfect for YA to adult readers who are interested in religion, faith, mental illness, and memoirs.

I think the thing that breaks my heart the most about this story is the way that Corey’s mom used religion to isolate him and his sister from Corey’s dad. There’s more to it than that, but it was honestly heartbreaking to read some of those scenes where Corey’s dad tries to be as normal as possible around kids who’ve clearly been instructed to freeze him out.

Corey wrestles with some heavy questions about his faith in the midst of some pretty wild circumstances. There’s a lot to process for him. His mom basically kidnaps him and his sister. At first, he has confidence in her faith. But as time goes on and their situation becomes more dire, things get weirder and weirder.

We watch him and his sister trying to figure out how to respond to this situation in which they suddenly have real questions about the person they’ve believed is the most trustworthy. Where is the tipping point at which you push back and stop listening to this person? How does that work when they are the adult and you’re the child?

The book explores some really heavy ideas like that, but it also celebrates the complexity of family relationships. The author is careful not to demonize the character with mental health issues but doesn’t minimize the harm that untreated illness causes.

Visitations offers a critical window into a high-control religious family and what that looks like from within. While that experience may be foreign to a lot of readers, the characters’ expressions and dialog between characters make it easy to empathize with Corey.

Oof.

That was a hard book to read.

I found the story to be compelling, terrifying, and downright heartbreaking. I had a difficult time getting through the story without feeling any major emotions, but I had an equally harder time trying to put it down. Since it is a memoir, I knew the author was going to come out alive, but there were moments of fear where I thought something more permanent was going to happen.

It's definitely important to document journeys with mental health so we can try to destigmatize them in society. As someone who's parent has struggled with a form of schizophrenia, there were moments in the story I was putting myself in the shoes of Corey and Sarah.

Highly recommend for someone to read who wants to read about someone else's experience with severe mental illness and how it affects family, just as much as the individual.

The color palette works to its advantage as does the gentle nature of Egbert's story to share the complications of his mother's (then undiagnosed but eventually diagnosed) paranoid schizophrenia. But the book is more about the use of his mother's religion to control the narrative of their family including keeping their father (Corey and his sister Sarah) away from the kids. She accused the dad of sexually abusing Sarah but can really be traced to her own father's abuse of young girls. Either way, they were kept from him before Egbert's mother eventually kidnapped them and went on the run leading to some horrific experiences traveling in the west in their car.

It's heartbreaking and beautiful and sad and hopeful at the same time and works so well as a graphic memoir to identify the confusion of what his mother thought and the person he was becoming, an independent thinker to question his mother's judgement.

The graphic novel was really well done, and I liked the story of this Mormon kid who wasn't exactly sure who to trust in his parents divorce -- side with Mom who says God is speaking to her (because she has a mental illness) or dad who mom says is evil.

An interesting but also unsettling memoir about the author who was raised by his religiously delusional mother, emotionally and physically estranged from his extended family, and ultimately kidnapped for a month along with his sister as their mother crisscrosses the desert in a car following the supposed will of God. Author's notes at the end of the work make the story even more unsettling when they reveal that for the purposes of the book he and his sister are rendered younger than they really were, making it even harder to understand how such a terrible situation could arise, much less be supported by various friends and family. The artwork is compelling, sparse in a way that suits both the mood and the desert scenery.

This review is based on an ARC.

I think this book is an important story that needed to be told. The themes in this book are timely and relevant to today's youth. It was a gripping and heart-breaking. I found myself wanting to reach into the book and hug the main character close and tell him it was going to be ok.

Visitations was a surprise from the beginning. The trauma Corey and his sister dealt with because of their Mother's mental health issue was sad. This is definitely for more mature readers. Overall, I was thankful that the author and his sister had a happy ending.

This book hit home with me in so many ways. It’s not that I ever experienced anything that went on in the book but I do work with middle school children who do experience traumatic events in their lives. Some kids live with parents that are dealing with mental health issues, substance abuse or abuse and they are powerless to have a voice in what happens in their life. It’s such a sad situation. Corey and Sarah could be any kids in America today and that’s why it’s important for the adults in children’s lives to help protect them. I think a lot of students could see themselves as Corey or Sarah or in a similar situation. I would recommend this graphic novel to any child that has experienced something as traumatic as this to help them heal. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. It was beautifully written and illustrated.