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hflh's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This is an incredibly cozy, tender story about young love and found family in a beautiful, unique world. All the characters are women and nonbinary folx and every relationship featured is queer (yay!). The art, colours, and paneling are all amazing (but might be good to read in ebook format if you struggle with smaller text).
Readers follow Mia between her present work restoring ancient sites in space and her past time meeting and falling for a girl, Grace, at her school. The chapters following Mia's time at school and her relationship with Grace are perfect and well worth the read, especially if you're a queer person who didn't have the chance to comfortably explore your sexuality in grade school. These parts are also framed really well by the little moments in Mia's present where she bonds with her work team.
Where I struggled is the present-day plot as the book progressed. The present-day characters felt surface level or caricatured at times which was fine at first as it worked as just a framing narrative, but was harder for me in the latter half of the book when they became the focus. A few characters are given backstories to drive the plot and they either feel more 'telling vs. showing' or feel random and underdeveloped.
The setting in the last act is beautiful and different parts of it are highlighted through the plot, but it was harder for me to get into as it felt thrown together in order to show a cool world and get to a specific endgame. The endgame setting itself also felt purely created to introduce a key plot point in the past story and, with it being featured so much at the end, I needed way more development to get into it. This works since the focus is on the relationships and not a concretely developed world, but I needed a bit more to keep me grounded in the story.
That being said, I really likedthe maturity and realism in how Mia and Grace's reunion went at the end.
Readers follow Mia between her present work restoring ancient sites in space and her past time meeting and falling for a girl, Grace, at her school. The chapters following Mia's time at school and her relationship with Grace are perfect and well worth the read, especially if you're a queer person who didn't have the chance to comfortably explore your sexuality in grade school. These parts are also framed really well by the little moments in Mia's present where she bonds with her work team.
Where I struggled is the present-day plot as the book progressed. The present-day characters felt surface level or caricatured at times which was fine at first as it worked as just a framing narrative, but was harder for me in the latter half of the book when they became the focus. A few characters are given backstories to drive the plot and they either feel more 'telling vs. showing' or feel random and underdeveloped.
The setting in the last act is beautiful and different parts of it are highlighted through the plot, but it was harder for me to get into as it felt thrown together in order to show a cool world and get to a specific endgame. The endgame setting itself also felt purely created to introduce a key plot point in the past story and, with it being featured so much at the end, I needed way more development to get into it. This works since the focus is on the relationships and not a concretely developed world, but I needed a bit more to keep me grounded in the story.
That being said, I really liked
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Bullying
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Death
solybugs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm usually not a big fan of graphic novels but I got assigned this as part of my Advanced Reading class and it was beautiful. Absolutely stunning artwork, loveable and realistic characters, and a big climax towards the end that turned the whole last half of the book into a page-turner. The flashbacks of Mia's past relationship were also adorable. The twists were hard to guess and caught me by surprise but still added to the plot at large. Even though it was around 500 pages, it felt way shorter because of how engaging it was. Easy 5/5, my favorite graphic novel I've read so far.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Death, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, and Murder
Also, there is misgendering directed towards a non-binary character although it is not intentionally discriminatory.anniereads221's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
aishallnot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars
this was so freaking cute 🥺
I'm not really a sci fi girlie but I loved the atmosphere of the story and reading this graphic novel helped a lot with the imagery (I mean Tillie is definitely talented with the artwork). The story did start of kinda slow but everything started to pick when we learn more about the mc. My only other critique I wish we got some worldbuilding within other worlds. I'd definitely recommend reading this if you like graphic novels, looking for a sapphic story, or both. also reading this at (the middle of) night was definitely the vibes
this was so freaking cute 🥺
I'm not really a sci fi girlie but I loved the atmosphere of the story and reading this graphic novel helped a lot with the imagery (I mean Tillie is definitely talented with the artwork). The story did start of kinda slow but everything started to pick when we learn more about the mc. My only other critique I wish we got some worldbuilding within other worlds. I'd definitely recommend reading this if you like graphic novels, looking for a sapphic story, or both. also reading this at (the middle of) night was definitely the vibes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Transphobia, and Bullying
Minor: Animal death
skudiklier's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really liked this! I was super invested in what happened to the characters, and the art was gorgeous.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Violence
Minor: Transphobia
tiredcreature's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Light, airy, dreamlike, and so alive;
Traditional art with digital clean-up; monochrome base with limited colour palette for details and mood; especially loved the landscapes;
The space fish space ship is everything
Traditional art with digital clean-up; monochrome base with limited colour palette for details and mood; especially loved the landscapes;
The space fish space ship is everything
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Transphobia and Ableism
One of the supporting characters, Elliot, is non-binary and selectively mute - there is one brief instance of a minor background character misgendering them, and complaining about their "refusal" to speakverysillygoose's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, and Transphobia
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Death of parent and War
ezwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolutely lovely, beautiful, whimsical.
Very much queer, found family in space. I loved all of the characters (Ell is my favorite to be honest though). And the design of the ships was incredibly cool.
Very much queer, found family in space. I loved all of the characters (Ell is my favorite to be honest though). And the design of the ships was incredibly cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Bullying
Moderate: Physical abuse, Transphobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
displacedcactus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This is a great science fiction graphic novel (previously published as a web comic). The story has elements of coming-of-age and found family. I found the artwork really beautiful, with an interesting use of limited color palettes for each scene/chapter.
There are a few action and peril sequences, but due to the nature of the artwork, even when someone is seriously injured, it doesn't appear too graphic on the page. There's also a romantic plot, and other characters are in an established relationship, but it's limited to on-page kissing. There is the occasional f-bomb, but otherwise I don't think there's anything in here I wouldn't be comfortable sharing with a teen or mature tween.
My only real complaint was that sometimes when the speech bubble were especially small, I found the hand-lettering a little difficult to read.
There are a few action and peril sequences, but due to the nature of the artwork, even when someone is seriously injured, it doesn't appear too graphic on the page. There's also a romantic plot, and other characters are in an established relationship, but it's limited to on-page kissing. There is the occasional f-bomb, but otherwise I don't think there's anything in here I wouldn't be comfortable sharing with a teen or mature tween.
My only real complaint was that sometimes when the speech bubble were especially small, I found the hand-lettering a little difficult to read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing and Violence
beaniebabyidiot's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence