A review by emusing
A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I just loved it. I read it in one evening, but I think I'll need to go back and revisit some of the more poetic parts at least. The art is beautiful and the coloring is a very cool, shifting monochromatic look in various bright colors. Some of the lettering is hard to read if you don't have good lighting, and I don't know if this is just me, but I had a hard time differentiating Jetta from some of the other characters for the first half of the book. I would be all for reading more about these characters, since many of them have deeper stories behind them, but the ending to the book was satisfying and hopeful. It didn't feel at all unfinished, and I just savored the friendships.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Alcoholism

Minor: Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Toxic relationship

While I think the book deals very well with these dark topics, it portrays the character's struggles in a real and nuanced way that may be triggering for some.