In the wasteland beyond Oasis City
Oasis
by Guojing
New York: Godwin/Henry Holt, 2025
$19.99 / 9781250818379
Reviewed by Zoe McKenna
*
In Guojing’s Oasis, two children wait for their mother in a desert wasteland.
Guojing is the author of several picture books and graphic novels. She was born in Shanxi and notes life under China’s One-Child Policy as inspiration for her first novel The Only Child, which was named one of The New York Times’ Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2015. Guojing now resides in Vancouver.
Oasis is set in a grim future. JieJie and her little brother, DiDi, wait for their mother to return from work. Unlike many parents who may leave for a few hours a day, JieJie and DiDi’s mother has been away for weeks. JieJie and DiDi live in a menacing desert. They have no neighbours, the dunes seemingly barren of all other life.
Guojing’s art style makes the setting seem both claustrophobic—one can almost feel the sand rubbing uncomfortably against their skin—and infinite. In spite of this, the siblings venture daily into the dunes to find water and call their mother in Oasis City.
JieJie is a diligent older sister. She takes care of DiDi’s basic needs, maintains the household, and keeps her little brother’s panic at bay. Though she faces this role valiantly, JieJie is just a child herself, and the work weighs on her. DiDi is barely more than a toddler and feels his mother’s absence deeply, making JieJie’s role even more difficult.
When their mother misses their scheduled phone call on DiDi’s birthday, the little boy is distraught. Upset, DiDi flees from his sister’s side and stumbles across a decommissioned AI robot in the nearby landfill. Though JieJie is nervous (rightly so, as robots rule Oasis City, where their mother is forced to work underground night and day), she allows DiDi to bring the robot home as a means to mend his sour mood. Through wisdom beyond their years, JieJie and DiDi repair the robot. A charming, if atypical, ‘found family’ is born.
Oasis is inspired by “the left-behind children,” those who stay in rural communities while their parents go to urban centres in search of work. This, paired with the bleak, futuristic setting, has all the makings of a sad or disturbing story. Guojing leans into this presumption, using a largely monochromatic art style that plays with shadows and light to create a landscape that is both beautiful and unsettling. As I read this story in public, a passerby commented that the art looked “haunting.”
Yet, Oasis is anything but dire. JieJie and DiDi demand to be adored. Though the landscape is harsh, the siblings are not. They love each other with a fierceness that cuts through the sandstorm blackouts. Though marketed as a middle-grade novel, Oasis will resonate with many adult audiences, too. Not only is the art style captivating, but the story has a level of simple sophistication that lingers like an affecting dream.
Unlike other dystopian novels, where children become violent and solemn due to unforgiving circumstances, JieJie and DiDi remain soft and kind. As our once-distant dystopian future seems to draw nearer every day, many books and films eagerly portray the inevitability of disaster. Oasis is set apart by the bravery to hope for the best. In Oasis, Guojing dares us to push back on the seeming certainty of that dark future, showing how love and kindness bring us together and propel us forward, even in the worst of times.
*
Zoe McKenna received a MA from the UVic and a BA from VIU. Her research focuses on horror writing, with a focus on stories by women. She was the Assistant Editor of That Witch Whispers and her writing has also appeared in Black Cat, Malahat Review, and Quill & Quire. When not at her desk, Zoe can be found haunting local bookstores and hiking trails. Zoe gratefully acknowledges that she is a guest on the traditional territory of the Puneluxutth (Penelakut) Tribe and the hul’qumi’num speaking peoples. Find her on Twitter. [Editor’s note: Zoe McKenna’s recent reviews for BCR include Deni Ellis Béchard, W.K. Shephard, Ron Prasad, Peter Darbyshire, Richard Van Camp, Nalo Hopkinson, Marcus Kliewer, Ivana Filipovich, Giselle Vriesen, and Scott Alexander.]
*
The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an online book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
“Only connect.” –E.M. Forster