On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

Summary from Goodreads:

An epic graphic novel about a girl who travels to the ends of the universe to find a long lost love, from acclaimed author Tillie Walden.

Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As Mia, the newest member, gets to know her team, the story flashes back to her pivotal year in boarding school, where she fell in love with a mysterious new student. When Mia grows close to her new friends, she reveals her true purpose for joining their ship—to track down her long-lost love.

An inventive world, a breathtaking love story, and stunning art come together in this new work by award-winning artist Tillie Walden.

Review:

A LGBT adventure/love story set in space? Yes please! I wasn’t sure how’d I feel about this one because I have mixed experiences with past graphic novels by the author. However, this called to me. And I was so ecstatic to get this one for review.  I also went from one giant book to another giant book. Though, this went super quickly, as graphic novels tend to do. And it was enough of a genre shift for me to fully dive in.

Hands down, this is my favorite book by this author. It’s one of my favorite graphic novels, period. The art kind of reminded me of the art in Scott Westerfeld’s Spill Zone. It was just as dark, strange, and eerie. However, the art was also simple and often in just two or three colors. It really moved the story along in a unique way. I’m normally not a huge fan of books that are filled with flashbacks/time jumps. However, here, it all worked. It was always clear (by color scheme) to me when we were in the past and when we were in the present. I liked this.

I found the concept of Mia’s crew to be unbelievably fascinating. They had a sort of Firefly feel. They’re a group of highly intelligent and kind-hearted misfits. They stand up for gender rights, and love. This wasn’t a book with just one LGBT couple or person. This was a book where every main character was LGBT (I think). That in itself would make this stand out in a positive way for me. I loved this. I loved the love story at the heart of everything. But, I also loved all the side love stories on the ship. Each character was interesting in a way I’m not used to seeing in graphic novels. Basically, this was a graphic novel with exceptional character development.

The adventures, missions, and eventual rescue plot-line, kept me turning the pages late into the night. I had to know if Mia would find her lost love. I had to know how Grace would respond to everything. I had to know what would happen to other characters.

So, I guess this book kind of had everything….It’s a page-turning, suspenseful story. It has great characters. It has a fantastic ensemble of LGBT characters. The art is amazing. The love story is wonderful. It’s all set in abandoned buildings on random planets, and on a space ship, with some flashbacks to boarding school. And well, I ate it up. I give it a 10/10.