Happy new year everyone! I hope 2025 is treating you well so far. Another year in the books, eh? RVGFanatic turns 18 in two days. Wild! I definitely hope to post more content this year. My first piece of the new year will be dedicated to a great little graphic novel by first time author, Debbie Fong. Next Stop on the surface looks like a lighthearted coming-of-age graphic novel for kids. It actually contains a lot of heavy themes and can be enjoyed equally as much by adults (or adults who are kids at heart). I won’t spoil much of the story, but I have to share some of the cool sights seen along the way.
Pia is taking a trip with Sunset Tours this summer. The twist is she’s going all by herself. Her parents are busy with various things and issues. Crazy to think because my parents sure as hell wouldn’t have let me go on a road trip by myself as a kid even if I was part of a bus tour. No way in hell. Oh well, just roll with it.
The first thing that stood out to me was the art. It’s captivating. My wife calls it slightly minimalist. I love how Debbie Fong drew the characters and various set pieces. It’s exactly what I envision a kids graphic novel to look like. Very easy on the eyes and an appealing art style that makes you want to dive in.
Little connected scenes like this are so pleasing to the eye. At times it can feel a bit like an animated film.
Being a road trip, you can expect a lot of stops at random local attractions that litter the roadside along the journey. Hence the title Next Stop 
Their first stop is to check out the world’s smallest corn maze. Fong shows off her sense of humor when she has one of the tourists comment “So corny.” That gave me a good little grin. I also like the speech bubbles and the font. Simple but aesthetically pleasing. My only minor gripe is that the lettering size is a bit on the small side and seems like it could be bigger in size to closer fit the speech bubbles.
Gotta love all the quirky motels the group stays at and the exterior shots. It just takes you back to your own random road trips back in the day staying at God knows where.
Pia speaks with her dad throughout the story. As for Pia’s mom, she’s going through some things that will later reveal itself to the reader.
Relationships can be complicated. Moms can nag a lot. Hopefully they don’t go too far overboard with it and we grow to appreciate them more as we get older and possibly become parents ourselves.
Throughout the story Pia and the random strangers on the bus tour develop a bit of a relationship. There’s a slight hint of magical elements at play that help to make the overall story feel a bit fantastical…
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Next Stop was the first read of 2025 for me. I finished it a few nights ago and even now the story lingers with me in a positive fashion. I did not expect it to get so deep or heavy, and was pleasantly surprised at how Debbie Fong tackled these sensitive topics with brutal honesty yet enough humanity to leave the reader feeling more optimistic than depressed (at least from my perspective). I enjoyed the wacky tourist stops, the different secondary characters and the overall journey that Pia made, both externally and internally. What a great read to kick off 2025 with! Here’s to an awesome year for all of us 
