Lifetime Passes: A Graphic Novel

by Terry Blas, Claudia Aguirre (Illustrator)

In this darkly comedic YA graphic novel, a group of teens starts a program to bring senior citizens to a local theme park to take advantage of the unofficial park If someone dies on the property, the rest of their party is given lifetime passes! Sixteen-year-old Jackie Chavez loves her local amusement park, Kingdom Adventure, maybe more than anything else in the world. The park is all she and her friends Nikki, Daniel, and Berke—although they aren’t always the greatest friends—talk about. Kingdom Adventure is where all Jackie’s best memories are, and it’s where she feels safe and happy. This carries even more weight now that Jackie’s parents have been deported and forced to go back to Mexico, leaving Jackie in the United States with her Tía Gina, who she works with at the Valley Care Living seniors’ home. When Gina tells Jackie that they can’t afford a season pass for next summer, Jackie is crushed. But on her next trip to Kingdom Adventure, she discovers a strictly If a member of their party dies at the park, the rest of their group gets free lifetime passes. Jackie and her friends hatch a plot to bring seniors from Valley Care Living to the park using a fake volunteer program, with the hopes that one of the residents will croak during their visit. The ruse quickly gets its first volunteer—a feisty resident named Phyllis. What starts off as a macabre plan turns into a revelation for Jackie as Phyllis and the other seniors reveal their own complex histories and connections to Kingdom Adventure, as well as some tough-to-swallow truths about Jackie, her friends, and their future. With artist Claudia Aguirre, Terry Blas has crafted a graphic novel that is dark and deeply moving. This book is Cocoon meets Heathers—a twisted satire about a magical land and the people who love it, even to the point of obsession. Jackie’s summer is about to turn into a wild ride filled with gallows humor, friendship, and fun—or is it?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Comics, LGBT, Contemporary, Fiction, Queer

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 23, 2021

About the author

TERRY BLAS is an illustrator and writer based in Portland, Oregon. He is the writer behind the auto-bio comics Ghetto Swirl and You Say Latino (featured on NPR, OPB, Vox.com and Cosmo.com.)

Terry’s work has appeared in comics Bravest Warriors, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time, and Rick and Morty.

His first graphic novel, Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom, is a murder mystery set at a weight loss camp. Dead Weight has been named by YALSA as a 2019 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers.

His latest graphic novel, Hotel Dare, a love letter to his childhood memories in Mexico, will be in stores June 2019.

Reviews

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that packed much more of an emotional punch than I was expecting! I also found it really fun that this was set just up the freeway from where I live so I was able to perfectly picture the setting and immerse myself into the story. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a new graphic novel to read!! Especially if you're looking for something that isn't part of a series and wraps up in a single issue.

CW: deportation, death of a loved one

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a dark high concept pitch for this book wherein teens cynically take senior citizens to a theme park hoping one will die so the park management will give them lifetime passes to smooth things over. But really it's a slice of life book about being true to yourself and making meaningful friendships instead of shallow ones of convenience. DACA, LGBTQ+ themes, adoption, and grief are also touched upon.

Thanks to the Big Lie at the center -- I hate that trope! -- it's not perfect, but there are nice characters who actually grow as people. Thumbs up!

[ame · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, I would like to mention that the arc I received was quite bad quality and black and white, but I am sure once it will have colour, it will be stunning.

Secondly, i think it needs to be said, that this book is a little falsely advertised. Based on the synopsis it is supposed to be dark and twisted, but it was far from that, in fact at the end I would even call it wholesome and heartfelt.

The characters are the point where it really went south tho, they are really irritating and flat, plus the interaction between them was kinda unnatural and badly written. The only character that was developed decently was Phyllis, I loved reading about her past and see how she shaped those around her.

Overall, it was a fun and short little book, but if you are looking for something dark (as the synopsis claims to be) then this is probably not the book you are looking for.

[Jinghay (these.blank.pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about how to feel about this comic at first since the characters were pretty flat and unlikeable.. I mean taking elderly residents to a theme park in the hopes that one of them passes away, just so you can get life-time passes to a theme park? I'm sorry but no theme park is worth that, even if you have sentimental memories there.. The only thing that made this comic salvageable later was the character growth in Jackie and Daniel partway through, along with the bonding moments between them and the elderly residents. It was interesting to see the complex history that each resident had with the theme park.

I'd also like to mention that the arc I read had a pretty bad quality on top of being black white, however I'm sure it would look absolutely stunning in colour.

Rating: 3.5/5
Thank you so much Netgalley and ABRAMS Comics for providing the ARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

[Christina Close · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who thinks of taking elderly people to an amusement park hoping that they die there just so you can get lifetime passes to the park???? Like seriously who does that????

The art work was actually very good, the plot was actually truly interesting and completely different. Now learning the different stories of the elderly people of their lives and how they are tied to the amusement park was interesting to me. The emotions throughout the novel were very moving and you could feel some type of emotion for each and every character.

I did like that Jackie did finally start questioning if what they were doing was really the right thing. I also liked the inclusion of queer characters and characters of all different types of ethnicity.

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to keep this pretty short. The premise was interesting, but I feel like marketing it as 'darkly comedic' is perhaps setting it up to fall short of readers' expectations.
I wasn't a fan of this work for a few reasons:
1) The quality of the images wasn't great and I didn't love the art style - this is partially just a digital ARC issue, but was exacerbated by the fact the entire thing was in grey scale. It would have been easier to read if it was presented in full colour, or more in the style of manga/comics with line drawings and limited shading/screen tones.
2) The group of young characters grated on me - the way they spoke varied between irritating, inane, and sometimes just downright rude. It was hard to enjoy the story when I wasn't gelling with the characters, who lacked depth.

I did like learning about the elderly people living at the nursing home, but it wasn't enough to turn this around for me.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This GN takes the straightforward plot of a scheme to get free theme park passes and sprinkles conversations on DACA, mixed-race adoption, ageism, racism, and deportation naturally throughout. Unfortunately this suffers from the same problem as Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms where too much stuff happens in too few pages. I wanted more bonding with Kaleb and the elderly residents and less montages of amusement park visits. Jackie is the only one of the four friends who gets any emotional development and two others are straight up caricatures. Since they barely interact with each other there’s no how and why such total assholes would be hanging with the child of deported immigrants.

[Nessa [October Tune] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the review copy!

I thought the concept of this graphic novel was... interesting. A bunch of kids trying to get lifetime passes to a theme park by taking elderly people with them, hoping one of them would die at the park. Not going to lie, I was prepared to hate all four of the teens we were introduced to. Luckily, the story took a turn and I ended up really enjoying it.

The art, unfortunately, wasn't great but that was mostly due to me having a review copy. The finished version will of course have fully coloured art, and I am considering buying myself a copy when it comes out just so I can reread it with the finished artwork. So yeah, didn't take off any points because of that!

Definitely recommend this one!

[AquaMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute idea that would make an excellent movie (I can picture Betty White as Phyllis). And I admit that I did get a little overwhelmed by Feels at a couple points (the whereabouts of the missing cane, the Unicorn Pin). But mainly it was just...meh. The reason: I felt like the length was entirely too short for all the things the author was trying to accomplish. I would have liked to have more time with the characters, would have liked the whole Generational Gap/Understanding Between Teens and Boomers bits to feel more authentic, would have liked the villains to be more three-dimensional. Honestly, this story had so much potential! It just didn't live up.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a super cute graphic novel about a teenage girl who lives with her aunt do to some unforeseen circumstances with her parents. She meets a group of so called friends and they all enjoy going to an amusement park that is in their town. There's a fun fact about this amusement park though, if someone dies there the amusement park gives whoever is with the person lifetime passes for the park. Our main character and their friends get to know some elderly people at the retirement home that the main character's aunt works at. The students all begin to bond with the residents and take them on adventures! I recommend this book to anybody and I will most likely purchase a copy of this book when it is released!

[Elia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I was not sure about this one because the description sounded so dark! A group of teens starts taking old people to an amusement park hoping one of them will DIE so they can get free passes? Gross right? But it turned out to be a touching little story about life, death, aging, time, and even freaking immigration. Who knew?

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for this early digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 Stars (rounded up to 4).

When I originally started this graphic novel I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.

(Sidenote: The eARC I received was in black and white so some of it was a little harder to read and I feel like I wasn't able to completely enjoy the artwork as much as I would have if it were in color. However, I will be purchasing a copy for my collection when this book is released and I can't wait to see the gorgeous art in color, because one of the reasons I requested this book was the cover. I mean look at it, it is GORGEOUS!!!)

The reason I didn't rate this book 4 or 5 stars is because for me it did have a slow start and all of the characters were very unlikeable. Also, their motives for wanting to bring senior citizens to an amusement park with the hopes that one of them would die and then they would receive Lifetime Passes to said park didn't sit that well with me...

HOWEVER, I am so glad that I stuck with it and by the end I feel like this was both a really great story and it was actually really heartfelt. I really enjoyed Jackie as a main character, but my favorite character was definitely Phyllis Adler. I loved learning about her backstory and her connection to the park. I also really enjoyed Jackie and Daniel's friendship and I wish we got to see more of it.

In conclusion, while I did have some problems with this graphic novel I still really recommend it if you are looking for a quick, easy, and heartfelt read! :)

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackie works with her Tia (Aunt) at a Senior Assisted Living facility. She wants to enjoy the summer and has been indecisive about her futures, socially, since the traumatic circumstance, and college education.
She and her "friends" decide to create a 'S.T.O.P.' program, which is to use their seasonal passes to the local Theme Park, Kingdom Adventure, to take the senior residents to the park in the hopes that if one of them 'kicks the bucket', they'll get Lifetime Passes.
Despite the initial idea, Jackie and one of her companions begins to have serious second thoughts, but how can she change herself and her future without Kingdom Adventure? Meet Phyllis. Phyllis is a long-time resident and widow at the facility, seemingly mysterious and cold, but full of stories.

I won't give anything else away. The artwork by Claudia Aguire is cinematic in scope and description and Terry Blas' emotional text and plot provide a very compelling story.
With initially unlikeable characters and plot, it may turn off some readers, but I promise that it does have a happy ending.
It does feature some topics that may be challenging for some including circumstances of deportation, caffeine addiction, death, ageism, racial dysphoria, and sexuality.

The 3 stars are for Phyllis' character and Jackie's arc as well as the fantastic artwork.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure how this book got on my radar but overall it was a solid graphic novel. However, it was the kind of book that I had to remind myself to pick up. I thought the art style was very well done and I enjoyed the ending.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mother worked for Disney during the Depression. They did not let woman become animators. They could be betweenness and paint the cells, but they were not real animators.

This graphic novel is based a little bit on Disneyland and the animation studios that flourished at that time. The only problem is, the impractablilty and impossiblity of a woman somehow keeping it secret that she was animating movies, somehow by herself, but ok, I can suspend my disbelief for the moment of this odd story.

The premise is that this secret animtor grew so popular that her animations made enough money to build a type of disneyland in the 1960s, that is still around to this day.

The second part of the premise is that teenagers love to hang out there every day that they can during the summer. I find that hard if not impossible to beleive, but once again, I will suspend my disbelief over that as well.

The teenagers want to go to the park every day, so much, that they come up with a scheme where they take elderly people for a care facility in the off chance that they might die while there, and the lawyers would give them season passes to hush it up.

The bits I liked where was when we got to meet the elderly people who had, of course, lived interesting lives. What I didn't like were the teenagers who seemed to be so callous and mean.

It is an ok story, even if the teenagers all seem to be caricatures.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I wish this arc would have been in color to really see the piece as a whole, but even black and white was great! The illustrations were simple enough but conveyed a lot of emotion and helped to tell a really beautiful story about identity and family.

The story itself had an interesting premise, though I do think the summary misleads the reader a bit. This book focuses way less on the whole scheme of bringing the elderly to the park than it does on the topics of standing up for yourself, immigration, family, and love. Definitely not a bad thing, but still a little bit misleading.

I liked the characters well enough but none of them really stood out to me. I enjoyed the writing style and how it complemented the themes/lessons in the book as well as the artwork and the primary setting. There were fewer funny parts than I'd imagined but also a lot more substance than I'd imagined.

This was a very fast and entertaining story that isn't afraid to tug on the heartstrings and approach some darker realities. Overall an enjoyable read!

[Eule Luftschloss · Rating 5 out of 5]

trigger warning
trauma, deportation, grief, mention of racism and antisemitism and bullying

The plan is simple: Take old people to a park, and if one of them happens to die, all of them will get lifetime passes. Simple means nothing can go wrong, right?

It starts out as dumb shit teenagers would do, and moves on to multigenerational friendships, a theme I really like. The oldies, who live in the residence the protagonist's aunt works in, and the young people befriend each other, get to know each other, and are able to help with different problems.

The characters are three dimensional people, apart from two of the four teenagers but they are very shallow people, so it could be that. There just isn't more to them for the time being.

I liked this very much, especially the resolution at the end appears perfect.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel might be better described as heartfelt than darkly comedic, but I can certainly see why a comic about teens trying to get lifetime passes to their favorite amusement park through a loophole involving party members dying would be described that way. And while that premise may sound a bit off-putting, the graphic novel is an absolute delight. I'm soft for the young / old friendship trope anyway, and the ways in which these characters find true friendship and belonging while doing something that starts off quite selfishly is really very sweet. It definitely had me tearing up by the end.

The story does deal with deportation, grief, and death, though the overall message is very uplifting. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading more from this new imprint and these two talented creators!

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this only knowing a slight bit about the synopsis, but ended it so pleasantly surprised.

I thought the character’s motives were a little vain, so when it comes to be that Nikki and Daniel are nothing like their awful friends, it put a huge smile on my face.

I loved the immigration backstory for Nikki and Phyllis’ life as a costumer for movies in the 50’s. This definitely helped define them as characters and cement my love for them both.

I did NOT see the ending coming, so maybe that made my experience that much more enjoyable.

[Danika at The Lesbrary]

While the blurb can sound a little dark, this is actually a heartfelt story about finding yourself (and about asshole friends). It touches on immigration, deportation, adoption, racism, and more. I enjoyed the intergenerational friendships.

I misunderstood this imprint, though: I thought this would have a queer main character. There's a queer secondary character and a suggestion the main character could be queer, but it's definitely not the focus. Which isn't a fault of the book, just of my expectations!

[Guylou (Two Dogs and a Book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The graphic novel LIFETIME PASSES by Terry Blass and Claudia Aguirre is a fun story about trying to get lifetime passes for an amusement park. At first, the intent of the group of teenagers was selfish, but they soon discovered that their plan was egotistical and had a change of heart. I love the interaction between the teens and the seniors. The art style is vibrant and expressive, perfectly capturing the whimsy of the amusement park setting. LIFETIME PASSES is a fun and uplifting read that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

#bookstadog #poodles #poodlestagram #poodlesofinstagram #furbabies #dogsofinstagram #bookstagram #dogsandbooks #bookishlife #bookishlove #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookaholic #readersofinstagram #instaread #ilovebooks #bookishcanadians #canadianbookstagram #bookreviewer #bookcommunity #bibliophile #lifetimepasses #terryblas #claudiaaguirre #abramsbooks #graphicnovel #bookreview

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Abrams ComicArts - Surely for giving me access.

WOW. While good, this is definitely a twisted and interesting way of getting lifetime passes to an amusement park. We follow Jackie, who can no longer afford her season pass to Kingdom Adventure. So she devises a plan with her friends to take the elderly to the park in hopes on will kill over while they are there so they all can receive lifetime passes.

Now, if that has you turn off from wanting to read it, there is more to the story than just that. Jackie starts to grow and befriends one of the elderly, Phyllis. As they bond and get to know each other, Jackie realizes this isn't what she want and gains a conscience. What starts out as a greedy way to get free passes, turns into a story about growth, friendship, and love of lost ones alive or deported.

[Maja Brixley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 wholesome stars

This is a book a group of friends who loves going to an amusement park, and they decide to try get lifetime passes to go there.

First of all, I think that the marketing for this book is completely wrong. Its advertised as a darkly comedic ya graphic novel. And while the ya team fits, I don't think it had a lot of dark elements to it. But that being said, I think the story was cute, but I just wish that we got to see all the characters more flushed out. I loved that we got to see and read Phyllis and Allen's backstory.

Also the arc copy I got was very bad quality and it was very difficult to see the pictures sometimes.

I wouldn't recommend this if you are looking for a dark graphic novel, but if you are looking for something cute and kind of wholesome, this is pretty good.

Thanks to Netgally and the author for a arc of this book, in exchange for an honest review

[Sara I · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story! I was initially drawn in by the rather morbid premise and I am so glad that I was! Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for grandparents and romantic notions about gleaning wisdom from our elders, but this book was so beautiful to me. I don't even have a particular attachment to theme parks or the like, but through the storytelling and beautiful panels it was easy to understand the emotions that the characters had tied to Kingdom Adventure. I got teary at the end when things were tied up so nicely. I was amused just pages before but the ending managed to be moving and satisfying while emphasizing the bigger life lesson that the story overall illustrated. I also love the casual and wonderful queerness and latin-ness of this graphic. It is one that I will probably buy and most certainly read future works of the author and artist!

[Paul Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I've really enjoyed Terry Blas's stories. Hotel Dare is wonderful and so is his run of Reptil.

This book plays with some teen tropes in a fun way. The friend group includes a blonde who is upbeat fandom obsessed, a jock YouTuber, and a twink. The amusement park shown in this story is a fun take on properties you are already familiar with.

The group creates STOP or the Senior Time Outreach Program with the goal of getting a pay-out when one of their party members dies in the park.

This story shows teenagers connecting with the older generation. Both groups learn each others motivations and better understand each other by the end.

I give this book a 5/5. This is a story about finding friendship, mourning, and growth.

[Amy Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Lifetime Passes, Jackie Chavez unhappily faces the prospect of a season without a pass to her beloved Kingdom Adventure. Then she hears a rumor: if a member of your party dies while at the theme park, the company gives the rest of the group … wait for it … LIFETIME PASSES! How convenient that her Tía Gina works at Valley Care, a senior living facility. What harm could possibly come from a resident taking a little day trip to a local attraction? Bright artwork meets dark humor in this unexpectedly touching graphic novel, also featuring one of my top tropes: intergenerational friendship! 🎡 🎠 🎢 👵🏻

[Colleen Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I scooped this book off the shelf as soon as I heard the daring, hilarious premise: Lifetime Passes to Kingdom Adventure (cough, cough, DISNEY) if someone in your party dies while you are there. What wouldn't a desperate group of friends do? I laughed when I read the synopsis, but I cried when I finished the book. What I thought would be a cheeky, quick graphic novel turned out to be a moving story about so many things: aging and dying with dignity, toxic friends, coming out, family trauma, immigration...seriously so many heavy topics are woven into this book, but all without making note of themselves.

Five stars for my favorite graphic novel of this year thus far.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackie Chavez and her friends are in quandary regarding Kingdom Adventures passes. So Jackie works out a deal with the elder care facility her aunt works at that she would coordinate activities for care facilities which would include outings to Kingdom Adventures theme park. Their scheme was built on the premise that if one of the older folks dies thee, everyone in the party gets lifetime passes. But as Jackie and Daniel spend more time with various elder folks and hear about their past lives, their attitudes change. A nicely structured and twisty story that comes through a dark place with a positive ending. Plus the art work is great and sets the mood for the story.

[Shayla Moffatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I'm glad I got to read it early through netgalley. It was not quite what I expected, but in a good way. The main character has a well throughout character arc, as do her friends, and I really enjoyed her friendship with Ms. Adler. It had good messages represented throughout it and discussed some topics that are important to talk about, especially in a way that is easily accessible, like deportation, anti-Semitism and racism. I think people should pick up this book, as it's not only enjoyable but informative in a way as well.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

About a teenager who is a DACA (her parents have been deported), her aunt that she lives with, her friends, and the residents at the assisted living center where her aunt works.

The teenagers come up with an idea to get free lifetime passes to the local amusement park (a very thinly veiled Disneyland). The idea is that they'll take a new senior citizen with them daily and hope the senior dies while in the park.

Instead, 2 of the teens become close to the seniors and learn how to stand up for themselves, recognizing who is a true friend to them and who isn't.