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jess33allen's review
I don’t rate memoirs but this was really interesting and the art style was really cool.
thain's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable road trip travelogue with some interesting history of Route 66 and insights on the modern immigrant experience in America. The watercolor artwork includes some lovely 2-page scenic vistas and fun renderings of weird roadside attractions. I appreciated that the text was clear and easy to read.
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
5.0
I love looking at new things, through eyes that are not mine, and what better way to look at American than through the eyes of someone who was not originally from America.
Though the author has been living in Los Angeles for a number of years, she wants to see the real America, and so decides to take a trip on Route 66.
Back before President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system, those roads that all start with Interstate and an even or odd number, depending on the direction they are going, roads were two lanes, and meandered across the country. Most are gone now, replaced by the Interstate highways, no longer needed.
But Route 66 was the one, as the song says, that stretched from Chicago to L.A. It was one of the longest of the early roads, and it was the one that was heavily used.
And though it is gone, offically, it lives on and is maintained, and people from around the world can be found traveling it to see if they can find the old America.
And so Shing sets out to drive it, and this is her story. It is intersting, and funny and sad, and all those things you want from a road trip.
She meets people along the way, and wild donkeys, and other features of the road. It is a fun trip, and beautifully illustrated.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Though the author has been living in Los Angeles for a number of years, she wants to see the real America, and so decides to take a trip on Route 66.
Back before President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system, those roads that all start with Interstate and an even or odd number, depending on the direction they are going, roads were two lanes, and meandered across the country. Most are gone now, replaced by the Interstate highways, no longer needed.
But Route 66 was the one, as the song says, that stretched from Chicago to L.A. It was one of the longest of the early roads, and it was the one that was heavily used.
And though it is gone, offically, it lives on and is maintained, and people from around the world can be found traveling it to see if they can find the old America.
And so Shing sets out to drive it, and this is her story. It is intersting, and funny and sad, and all those things you want from a road trip.
She meets people along the way, and wild donkeys, and other features of the road. It is a fun trip, and beautifully illustrated.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
mrsthrift's review
4.0
Read (and loved) this graphic novel about a young woman who is an artist and roadtrip enthusiast and also immigrated to the US as a child from Malaysia. She decides to drive Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago in search of... the American Dream? An American Identity? To reconcile her perception of the US with the reality via road trip? I love road trips and Route 66 (we drove part of it on our honeymoon and it is a big part of our story!) so this was an obvious book for me to pick up, but I'd recommend it to a lot of people even those who dont care that much about kitschy roadside attractions. I appreciate not only the great art and storytelling, but also the insights into "the American experience and identity," which is not a monolith, and doesnt belong only to white Americans who immigrated so many generations ago.
abigailbat's review
Longing to discover more about her chosen home of America, artist Shing Yin Khor sets off on a solo road trip along Route 66. While experiencing plenty of kitsch and abandoned history, they have plenty of thoughts about otherness and both surprising and unsurprising discoveries in small towns in the southwest and midwest. I especially appreciated Shing's recollection of being religious at various times in their youth and now being atheist. Religious exploration and atheist representation!
I would hand this to fans of travel memoirs and comic memoirs. Hand to fans of Lucy Knisley.
I would hand this to fans of travel memoirs and comic memoirs. Hand to fans of Lucy Knisley.
karenchase's review
5.0
This is a terrific little graphic memoir, of an artist fulfilling her dream of travelling the iconic Route 66 (a journey I, like many I'm sure, have often dreamed of making as well). She takes off from California in her tiny car with her tiny dog, to Find America. Along the way, she reflects on the history and representation of America's own culture and identity, and how it echoes her own journey as an immigrant, coming into her own as an American. It takes place just as Trump's America is evolving, and the artist is acutely aware, as a brown woman, that things are starting to shift. It was a great time to read this book too, as travel feels like a dream and an aspiration, and the solo road trip, interacting with few besides others on the same quest, feels like the most realistic type of travel right now. Excellent diversion.
ash_hernick's review
3.0
A quick, fun read! It was wonderful to accompany Khor on their journey and I enjoyed the way that they portrayed the various destinations they visited as they traveled on Route 66. The book also includes a few personal anecdotes (I loved reading about Khor's dog, Bug!) as well as some fun facts about the historic route. It wasn't the most cohesive story, and I feel like some questions were left unanswered at the end, but overall I was still charmed by this book and really enjoyed reading it.
stenaros's review
4.0
Shing Yin Khor takes a road trip, driving Route 66 while she reflects on her life and the life of the Mother Road.