In Oasis two kids live in the middle of the desert while their Mom works in the city of Oasis, hoping to earn enough to buy the kids passes into the city. They exist on packaged food, water they must trek through the sand dunes to find, and weekly phone calls from Mom. One day they find an AI robot in the junkyard and when they turn it on their lives change.

Wow, this was an emotional read. The imagery is dark, and sad, and beautiful. The author and artist do such a good job of pulling the feelings out of you and your heart just aches for the kids. The introduction of the AI robot, who becomes a surrogate mother for the kids, also starts the introduction of color and hope into the story. Just well done overall.

This is a beautifully illustrated dystopian story that explores humanity’s reliance on technology and our need for human interaction. I enjoyed this tale and was left wanting more details about this world.

"Oasis" is a middle grade science fiction/dystopian graphic novel by Guojing. A brother and sister live alone in a desert while their mother works in Oasis City in a robot factory, hoping to be able to bring her kids with her eventually. The sister, JieJie, and her brother, DiDi, travel to a spigot to get water regularly and to a phone booth for a pre-arranged call with their mother. In a junkyard where they find a broken robot and decide to fix it. A sweet story about family and hardship, albeit a little short, this is a suggested additional purchase for graphic novel collections.

I feel totally justified in calling Guojing a genius. I have been a fan of hers since I read her wordless picture book Stormy. Her ability to display emotion on her characters' faces without using words, is truly remarkable and this book is no different. Even though there are a few words in Oasis, the story is primarily told through the details of the illustrations, and it is amazing how much the reader begins to feel for AI Mom. I felt the book came to a satisfying conclusion and I would readily read anything else Guojing publishes.

Beautifully illustrated book. I wish the plot touched more on the environment and what made the world come to just being a planet of sand.

This story is super sweet and has beautiful artwork. Jiejie and DiDi created a good example of how it can be difficult when there is a single parent household and the parent must work frequently. I also love that their mother's hesitation to trusting the robot. It made for a sweet heartwarming read about family.

Guojing’s illustrations are beautiful, stark in black and white but soft with texture and round-faced characters. JieJie is a sweet and thoughtful older sibling, shouldering the responsibilities of caring for DiDi and reassuring him of their mother’s return. As the AI replicates the role of a mother, the burden the young girl carries is made even more apparent once she is able to let go and be taken care of. By contrast, once we glimpse the life of the mother working in Oasis City, a new layer is added to the role of AI robots and the humans that create them. This story is sad and bleak at times, but the hopeful solution at the end was satisfying and took me by surprise. An interesting tale at a time when AI is becoming ever more present in our own lives, I appreciated the nuance of the relationships between this little family and the robot that became a part of it.

Oasis by Guojing tells the tale of a future where two children send their days waiting for their mother to come home, going across the desert for water and surviving sandstorms. When they find a dismantled robot, Jie Jie is able to repair it and the relationship evolves from there. The artwork draws one in to the desert and the story keeps one wanting more.

Beautiful! The art is so expressive and atmospheric and the plot, though simple, is effective. I thought the story was going to take a technology is evil turn, which I do usually enjoy, but I appreciated the more balanced view this took.