Don't let the title fool you. This is no drippy romance. Really, the book explores the concept of love more than the love between a particular pair. It utilizes a construction we've seen from Gene Luen Yang before in the Boxers and Saints duology - spirits that only individual characters can see. It is unclear whether these are actual spirits, hallucinations, or simply constructs of an over active imagination but that ambiguity works in the book's favor. Simply put, the spirits don't really matter. They are a device for the characters to come to terms with their families and past traumas. There's complexity to the plot that is worth dwelling on and picking through. The illustrations are complex as well, inviting us to sit on a single page for a while and appreciate everything that is going on. This slows the reading and allows us to fully grasp the plot. This is a prime example of how literary a graphic novel can truly be.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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