Ruins by Peter Kuper is the kind of book that can’t really be rated. There are parts that were a five, parts that were a one, and parts a nice solid three. And even each page really could be given its own rating. The main part that I based my score on is the cleverness of the story. We follow a monarch butterfly as its journey parallels the human couple for their year in Mexico. 
Some things are left up to the imagination in places (maybe some hanky and panky happened between the two who were not married) and others not so much (the married couple tried to have some hanky panky). There are triggers such as death (which is a strong theme throughout the entire graphic novel), as is the corruption of the government and the violence that follows (and not just the violence in the town our main couple is living in), plus there are several sexual situations, and one case of really bad shrimp. Yet, somehow they actually add to the plus parts of things. It really opens you into where the author wants you to go. And like George (who does not like to drive) you are made to go on the ride with no stop signs, lights or unclogged roads. 
Of course, sometimes things were not needed in the exact way presented, I felt, and the sex and violence could be a bit gratuitous, yet, as they say early on, Oaxaca, Mexico ain’t Kansas. These contradictions just add to the overall “muchness” of things. The artwork is simple, busy, contradictive, colorful, black and white, highlights areas, other areas lack anything. It is an experience read with its predictably unpredictable (and unpredictably predictable), no two people will experience the same book. Also read the authors afterwards for a few personal touches.