Depending on who you ask, Maya's family is blessed, or cursed. Each member of the family can see a pillar of light on the horizon, and any of those who give in to the call to seek it out are never heard from again. A few years ago, Maya's sister disappeared presumably chasing the light as well. Now, with new clues to follow, Maya and two virtual strangers go on a roadtrip to try and find her. The setup of the story was very interesting, but the bulk of the story is more about the three main characters becoming friends and facing their issues than learning more about anything potentially supernatural going on. The ending was a bit lackluster, though open enough to make sense for the kind of story being told. The art, however, is great and I loved the style and the color choices. I do wish that the story had focused more on the aspects of the curse and the pillar of light, however.

With the limited detail in the blurb, I wasn’t totally sure what I was getting into with this graphic novel. There’s a fantastical element, an apocalyptic element, and a high school road trip element.

Maya, Cardea, and Dyno each have their own motivation for wanting to search for Maya’s sister Amara. There’s family stress/angst, and there are also strong familial bond with strong currents of love.

The authors’ note mentions combining elements of a world falling apart/things feeling wildly apart with elements of living life…because life keeps going on no matter what. This absolutely shows up across the story.

I can’t tell if there’s an opening to continue the story for these characters. I’m also not sure how I feel about the ending, though I think it’s overall positive.

Though the characters are in high school and thinking about college, this is still very accessible and appropriate for a middle school audience, and I look forward to adding it to my classroom library!