Reviews tagging 'Blood'

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

74 reviews

aus10england's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

This was an exhilarating read! Honestly, I only barely grasped the story, but the art style engaged me enough to keep me coming back for more. 
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lolajh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

5.0

PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT! Heartbreaking and soulful and full of lesbians in SPACE. And the fucking art? Oh my god just so incredibly beautiful. 

I love this setting and the story. Found family through a job on a spaceship is really beautiful, especially because of the diverse range of people in it. Asian, Black, other poc rep, lesbians, a nonbinary character (their backstory and character arc makes me cry), plus KINDA OLD lesbians. Adult lesbians in love I am a sucker for, like they’re just two cheesy wives taking care of their kind of adopted queer kids who work with them. They for real act like the mums of the group as well as their fucking friends? Oh my fuck?

Also the ending made me cry. This whole fucking book made me cry actually
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frantic_vampire's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is one of those books that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it. It’s like a Studio Ghibli movie mixed with a space western. And I’m absolutely in love with it.

I loved that this is a love story, an adventure story, and above all else it’s the story of a found family. I also loved that the characters are flawed and have their issues, but that doesn’t stop them from loving each other and sticking up for each other.  Especially against homophobes and transphobes. Elliot deserves all of the hugs in the world! Mia and Grace, Elliot and Jules, Alma and Char, all of them are just so amazing and I would love to see more of them.

On a Sunbeam is a truly immersive reading experience. I could almost see this book playing out as a movie while I was reading. I want to be wrapped up in the pages of this story forever. I’m just flabbergasted by the writing and the way that the images completely captured my attention. On a Sunbeam is getting a solid five stars. And you should definitely read it!
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anniefwrites's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed this. I absolutely love Tillie Walden’s art style, and those intricate details and sweeping scenery were so well-suited to a space story. I’m not usually a sci-fi fan, but the characters’ emotional journeys were at the heart of the story and we’re so well captured. A really beautiful graphic novel in many ways. 
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melaniereadsbooks's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-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

Ya'll, I am in love with this graphic novel.

First of all, the illustrations are absolutely beautiful and really striking. I love the way the colors change depending on the time period of the book. It is so spectacularly and beautifully done. 

The characters!!!! The found family is absolutely everything! I love it so much. The friendships between the characters are amazing. I love the plot. I love everything. I want more of these characters and this story and I am in love. 
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librarymouse's review

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adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is the second time I've read and loved this book. The first time I read it was a week before I got a concussion. I don't remember a lot of details about that summer and I didn't remember much about On a Sunbeam prior to this read through, except for the feeling of how much I loved it. This was one of the first books I've read that is actively, lovingly queer. The queerness in this story isn't a controversy or a point of being othered. It just is, and it is beautiful.
That being said, it doesn't downplay the impact of issues like misgendering and the need for mutual respect. Tillie Walden does a wonderful job with Jules's righteous anger at their temporary boss's disregard for El's pronouns and her viewing El's selective mutism as an act of insubordination.

Romance isn't a genre I normally gravitate to, but Mia and Grace's love story circumvent most of the romance genre's tropes that disinterest me.
Mia and her found family being willing to risk their lives for the possibility of Mia being able to see Grace again, if only to say goodbye, redefines the limits of what someone would do for the one they love.
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winterteufel's review

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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? Yes

4.5

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atlas_shruggs's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious relaxing sad 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

4.25

I feel like On a Sunbeam was a very nice book. It was a heartwarming story with a beautiful found family, an absolute power-couple, and some fun characters and whacky worldbuilding. But I don't feel like it was a five star for me. I just didn't mesh with it in the way that some people seem to, and that's fine. It was a beautiful book that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a comic that can transport them to outer space, and I especially enjoyed the parts where the crew was restoring space monuments. It is very character driven I would say, but the plot is interesting enough to keep the reader's attention.
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criticalgayze's review

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

First, absolutely gorgeous. I mean STUNNING illustrations. I want prints of some of the full page illustrations as posters.

Second, a world without men? Iconic. (Although things are still awkwardly gender-emphasized in a future where only one "gender" exists.)

Now, let's try an actual review of the story:

My biggest takeaway: I want either more, or I want an adaptation.

There is so much that is stellar here. The universe is beautifully rendered and incredibly interesting, the sociopolitical setup seems well-structured, the characters are icons and legends all, and the story is filled with wonderful mix of fun and mundanity and drama and adventure.

The problem? I need more. I need more character backstories. Besides Mia and Ell, we don't really get extensive looks at the crew's backstory, and I need to know why Char is such an expert navigator and fighter. I need more information about The Staircase. I mean, what's up with the spirit fox and the iconic mapmaker? Also, I want more queer ladies and enbies renovating houses. Get them their own animated HGTV show stat.  Everything Walden gives us is so intriguing that I just want to know more about everything and to spend more time with everyone. Even a more serialized run of comics would be welcome, in my opinion.

This has all the makings of an AMAZING adaptation, and I really don't know how Netflix hasn't scooped it up when we have to deal with a live action Cowboy BeeBop.

Quotes:
"I've read that life experience helps with the authenticity of your prose." (Page 68)
"I should've done more drugs ... kissed more girls ... eaten spicier foods ... My obituary is gonna blow ... Here lies Jules, that girl who punched some ice skaters and worked on buildings that no one cared about ..." (Page 387)
"I don't know what the poverty line is in this game. I'll look it up." (Page 511)
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humanmessofaperson's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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

5.0

Fantastic, masterful, and simply wonderful.
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