Lost at Sea Review

Souls. Who has them, and can they be stolen by cats? These are some of the questions that Raleigh has in the unusual graphic novel Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley, also famous for the Scott Pilgrim and Snotgirl series. In the story, protagonist Raleigh finds herself on a road trip from California to Vancouver with a trio of close friends she doesn’t really know from school. Raleigh’s having a hard time enjoying the trip, though, because she’s pretty sure she doesn’t have a soul anymore.

I found Lost at Sea at the perfect age: eighteen and the end of high school were just around the corner. I had felt disconnected at school for a couple years before that; I had school friends, who I was on solid terms with, but never spoke to unless we were in the same class. Suddenly that changed, and I had lucked into a group of real friends, and we were all planning on disappearing off to different colleges. I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to find friends like mine again. I was worried I was about ending up lost.

This book captures those anxieties (and some fun new ones!) in a dreamy, easy art style and a story that confronts the scariness of the real world. Raleigh’s voice is unflinchingly honest, but the supporting cast is great, too: Dave is a little too cool for school, Ian is a couple watts short of a full bulb and prone to exploding, and Stephanie is the kind of foul-mouthed and pure-hearted we would all be lucky to have. Beyond that, though, the less said about the story, the better: you really have to experience it for yourself, and the journey is more meaningful than the destination.

My experience is far from universal, but finding the book at that time of my life was like finding an amazing album or movie no one I knew had ever heard of. I still remember reading it backwards and forwards in a hotel room in Virginia until I felt I like knew all the words, and for that it earned a special place in my heart. So while I won’t call this book a hidden gem, I do think of it as a limited release, a special matinee. And I would recommend it to anyone who needs a reminder of what leaving childhood behind feels like.

4 souls out of 5. If you’ll excuse me, I have a cat to chase.