Summary: Misha could not be less excited to be dragged off on a mother-child bonding road trip with a mother who hardly knows them. After their mother was absent throughout most of their childhood and still treats them as her daughter even after they came out as non-binary, Misha hardly thinks a few days crammed in a car together, visiting tourist traps will fix their relationship. But they barely get through one tense day before a wrong turn in a strange forest spits them out into the fantastical and perilous Realm of Spirits. Helped along by a friendly, but cagey, wolf spirit, the two of them must come together to find a way back home and escape the beings that would trap or consume them.

Reflections: I love the layers to Misha’s mother and Misha’s relationship with her. She is such a flawed character, sympathetic when we get to see her as a person in her own right with her mental health struggles not just a bad mother, but still hard to like or want forgiveness for a lot of the time. She wants to try, but her nature is to run from what’s difficult, so it hardly feels like trying to Misha.
The moments when Misha fell into comfortable banter with her just briefly cut through the bitterness and the coldness of their usual relationship poignantly. It captured the dissonance of still caring for someone who has and still is hurting them.
They can’t settle entirely into rejecting her or loving her.
It’s a simple, quick story, but there’s a lot packed into their relationship.
The art is appealing too, especially in the Spirit World sections which play around with vibrant colors, interesting lighting, and imaginative settings.

Visually pleasing, with a solid plot and thoughtful, flawed, characters. The ending is a bit abrupt, but still satisfying. Misha and their Mom are going on a regular road trip that quickly gets sidetracked into an alternate realm, and alongside the fantasy setting there are real life interactions and situations, such as Mom misgendering Misha multiple times and struggling to understand what Misha is trying to communicate. I can see myself adding this to ,my classroom library.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for the e-ARC of Love, Misha!
5 / 5 ⭐

Love, Misha tells the story of a nonbinary teen trying (and mostly failing) to connect with their mom on a 3 week road trip. Early in the trip, they make a wrong turn and end up in the Realm of Spirits and have to put aside their differences - and learn to accept them - to find a way out. Love, Misha features enjoyable art and characters, and I’m grateful for the chance to read queer and trans stories of self exploration and expression in our current national climate.

Love, Misha is a magical graphic adventure novel about learning to use your voice, accepting others for who they are, and forgiving someone who has caused you pain.

✨ LGBTQIAP+ mc
✨ adventure
✨ close-calls with dealth
✨ parent and child relationship in turmoil
✨ abandonment trauma
✨ misgendering
✨ bottling up anger
✨ betrayal

The novel opens with Misha and their mother, Audrey, going on a trip together. Audrey misgenders Misha constantly and runs away from anything that is uncomfortable. Misha, struggles to speak their truth and show any sort of emotion towards their mother besides contentment. Since coming out as nonbinary, Misha has felt like they ruined their mother's life. To no fault of their own, Audrey just couldn't be who Misha needed--that's part of the forgiveness.

While Misha's story is more about forgiving their mother for who she isn't, Audrey's story is about accepting Misha for who they are. I honestly didn't like the mother until the very end--and I think that was intentional on the author's part. This is just as much a story about forgiveness as it is acceptance, and both Misha and Audrey have a lot of forgiveness and acceptance to work through together.

Askel Aden's graphic novel has easy to read pages and unique illustrations that are vibrant and detailed. Sometimes, I'll stop reading graphic novel if I'm not vibing with the artwork. I was immediately drawn into Misha's story and the illustrations kept me so engaged. I loved the foreshadowing details that the reader could notice from the illustrations and background, but neither Misha or Audrey couldn't.

Overall, this is a story that everyone should read. I highly recommend!


Thank you to First Second Books and Askel Adan for giving me an e-arc to read. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Love, Misha is an equal blend of fantasy and navigating complicated parent relationships through the eyes of Misha a nonbinary character who has recently come out to their mother, Audrey. I really enjoyed seeing not only an openly nonbinary character, but the storyline itself is pretty close to my own experience growing up outside the gender binary. The fantasy realm in this novel was really interesting to see as well, especially as the characters are struggling with whether to trust the antagonist or not. Overall it was just refreshing to see myself so clearly in a fictional character and that's what attracted me to requesting this arc.

"pitched as A Goofy Movie meets Spirited Away, about a nonbinary teen and their mother who, during a contentious road trip, take a wrong turn that lands them in the realm of the spirits, where they are surrounded by trickster spirits who aren’t so keen on human trespassers, with no obvious way out,"

They hit it on the nail with that one! As a big fan of Studio Ghibli, this warmed my heart just as much as the movies!

If you have a nonbinary person in your life who is struggling with using their correct pronouns....this is the book for them!

If you want a graphic novel with great non-binary rep, messy but realistic familial relationships, and spirits galore, this is the graphic novel for you. I really loved Misha’s journey and their mom’s journey because both of them just felt like actual people you might meet. While the reasons Misha’s mom is struggling are revealed, none of it ever felt like an “excuse” and you can empathize with both mother and child. The PPD rep was small but important. Misha’s growth over the course of the story was excellent. I really loved how they learned to speak up for themself and opened up to building a stronger relationship with their mom going forward. The art is magical and mystical. It really felt like I was journeying through the spirit realm along with them. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a fun read! I love the art style and all of the characters and how they are portrayed. I also really enjoyed watching the progression of Misha and their mom's relationship. This will definitely be on our shelf!

Love, Misha is a graphic novel about a road trip gone wrong. Misha and their mom head out and quickly find themselves in a sprit world, due to them being lost in more than just the literal sense. Misha feels abandoned by their mom who was mostly absent during their childhood, and didn't adjust well to Misha coming out as nonbinary. The two butt heads as they follow a wolf spirit, not realizing their relationship is what brought them there. This is a story about relationships and how to mend them even if things aren't perfect. I loved the art style and all the different characters we meet along the way. Thank you to First Second and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it seemed like it would be a normal slice-of-life graphic novel, but delved into topics of self-realization, gender realization, regret, and character growth. I also like that the end was left sort of open for a sequel. I would love to learn more about the spirit realm and the spirits there!

This is a lovely book in multiple ways. It is drawn beautifully- with gorgeous panels featuring imaginative landscapes and characters. It is also a great story, which is heartfelt and moving. I like the fact that everything is not perfectly resolved as the book ends. I think many of students would love this book.

Love, Misha follows Misha, a non-binary teen on a road trip with their mom (Audrey), who has been an inconsistent presence in their life. Audrey is supportive of Misha's identity on paper, but is struggling with pronouns and support, Misha is struggling to express to Audrey how her dismissive attitude is impacting them.

A few wrong turns land Misha and Audrey in a spirit world where they don't know who they can trust to help them get back.

Along the way, they encounter memorable characters and grow closer together.

A queer story about parent/child drifting apart and coming back together after major hardships. While the story is fantastical in it's elements, at it's core, it's about two coming back together, admitting their faults, and still fighting to love each other and commit to growing.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the world be built from the perspective of outsiders at odds with each other. There are definitely hard moments to read, especially experiencing being misgendered frequently.

Beautiful Ghibli-esque book! I could definitely see this as an overarching series between the main character and their mother. I loved the dark twists and turns of the spirit world, and that the way for people to find their way back was not to be lost with themselves and those they love.

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5

An absolutely beautiful story told in stunning illustration that hits a lot of notes that many queer people will certainly relate to. Definitely a book to recommend to libraries and for your personal shelves!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to review!

This is Studio Ghibli levels of cute and mystical with a big big focus on gender identity and family dynamics!! The art is ADORABLE and the storyline (while a bit predictable) is well developed and wraps up nicely.

If you have a nonbinary person in your life and are struggling with using their correct pronouns, READ THIS BOOK.

And then go use their correct pronouns. :P

10/10, very cute, Odun is bae, etc., etc...

Loved this and can't wait until it comes out and I can share it at the library! Would recommend to the middle and high school age range. It hits a lot of notes that kids are looking for, like a parent-child relationship that is difficult, to say the least, an adventure through an imaginative magical world, and messy, multidimensional characters that aren't purely evil or good. I thought the comparisons to Spirited Away would set me up for disappointment, but I think they're actually pretty apt, I just wish we got to spend more time in the spirit world. One book wasn't enough!