Tillie Walden

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.

On a Sunbeam

the art is very beautiful and the beginning half had me absolutely hooked; the dual timelines were well-done and our characters’ personalities were established immediately. I think I needed more from the last like quarter because the plot became a bit more incoherent there, but I overall loved the story! and I kind of need a sequel!

fris🐝

maitha mana

This was a light read, full of lovely illustrations that take place in a celestial boarding school. The ending had me in tears.

chloe rae

Wow. I LOVED this. Not only was the art positively STUNNING, but the story was rich and sweet but also so interesting and heart-wrenching. Oh, wow. This might even be a new favorite graphic novel of all time? So stellar. God, I want to go to space.

Francesca Starecheski

For all its wonder, crests and troughs, this book was far too short.

sci-fi lgbtq comic novel, set all over space within different galaxies and planets. found family, girlfriends, non-binary representation. great world-building + a heartwarming story! amazing art as well. the story starts off flat, but picks up and gets exciting halfway through (around chapter 10-11).

Alyanna

sci-fi lgbtq comic novel, set all over space within different galaxies and planets. found family, girlfriends, non-binary representation. great world-building + a heartwarming story! amazing art as well. the story starts off flat, but picks up and gets exciting halfway through (around chapter 10-11).

writing/prose - 3 

plot - 4

characters (diversity, relatability) - 5

dynamic - 4

overall - 3.5-4

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.

ophi

The edition I purchased is missing two panels from Chapter 2 Page 5, where <spoiler>Jules says "this is so dumb", and Alma replies "what did you say?"</spoiler>

“Tillie Walden is the future of comics, and On a Sunbeam is her best work yet. It’s a ‘space’ story unlike any you’ve ever read, with a rich, lived-in universe of complex characters.” —Brian K. Vaughan, Saga and Paper Girls Two timelines. Second chances. One love. A ragtag crew travels to the deepest reaches of space, rebuilding beautiful, broken structures to piece the past together. Two girls meet in boarding school and fall deeply in love—only to learn the pain of loss. With interwoven timelines and stunning art, award-winning graphic novelist Tillie Walden creates an inventive world, breathtaking romance, and an epic quest for love. LA Times Festival of Books 2018 Book Prize Winner, Graphic Novel/Comics A Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2018 One of The Washington Post's "10 Best Graphic Novels of 2018" A School Library Journal Best Book of 2018 A YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel A 2019 Hugo Award Nominee, Best Graphic Story A Harvey Award Nominee, Book of the Year A Harvey Award Nominee, Best Children's or Young Adult Book

rumbledethumps

This book was so unlike anything I've ever read. Graphic novel, SciFi, LGBTQ+ love story, YA (maybe?). Whatever else it was, it was really good. The art was fantastic, the story was timeless, the world the characters lived in was wholly original. Tillie Walden is an author I'm going to be paying attention to.

Nessa Luna

I thought this was a really cute graphic novel with one of my favourite tropes ever (will put it under spoiler tags, just in case idk) (view spoiler)[found family eyyyyyyy! (hide spoiler)] I did start to lose interest a bit towards the end and I wish some things had been explained a bit more, but overall it was a nice story. The art is gorgeous anyway!

Cloudface

This graphic novel had gorgeous, atmospheric artwork and a heartfelt story about found family and how far we, as humans, will go for those we love. I wish the pages had been printed a little bigger so I could get a closer look at the detail in every panel, but there was something kind of beautiful about how small the drawings of a vast galaxy were. 
The story got a little confusing by the end, but overall I enjoyed this and would highly recommend it.

coriander

5 for the illustration, 4 for the characters, and 3 for the story—I wanted some more depth and background on the universe of the story.

Joycelyn Ghansah

Art work, story, relationships and flow was phenomenal. Loved the development of the characters but sometimes the story....dwindled? Sometimes I was engaged and excited and other times...not at all. Still great sapphic love story.

Ary Dias 

Izza

5 stars | This is easily one of the best graphic novels I have ever read. 

Note to self: non-specific ship/fandom but same feels as when I read a good AU fic.

Abbie Harrison 

A really beautifully written book, I did feel like the final 2 chapters were ever so slightly rushed but still an excellent read overall

Isabela H 

This whole book feels like a dream, just with the art style and the plot. 
I absolutely loved how color was used, both to show the difference between the past and the present and then to show when the past and the present were finally meeting.
I am also a complete sucker for the found family trope, and seeing this group of people be so comfortable and so familiar with each other, and the development?? The end to their found family arc was amazing and I loved it. 
Honestly, my only two complaints are that I really really really don't like the character of Jules, and I feel bad for saying that because you're obviously supposed to like all the characters, but she never really became more than a whiny and obnoxious character (which is totally her right, I just don't like it). I also didn't really feel satisfied with the ending of Mia and Grace's arc, just because it felt like it fell flat just at the climax.

Ella Evans

I cannot begin to explain how this book made me feel. The drawings were beautiful, not only for the wonderfully selected color palette but the detail in every drawing. I really did love the smallest things you could find and each character had their own complex world. The lgbtq relationships were amazing and I felt accurately portrayed them and didn't play into too many stereotypes.
 I loved the storyline and found it generally easy to follow while also being super interesting, with the amount of switching from past to present. it also showed us how much the character can change and how they mature. 

//rest of review contains spoilers\\

I definitely found it pretty easy to follow although sometimes I didn't forget who exactly the character were based on just pictures, mainly towards the end of the book when they are in the staircase. with all the fighting going on I was able to tell who Ell were, but I got a little confused when everything was happening, but that could just be me with my bad memory + reading it over the course of around a week.

Kailey Rios

my heart!!! this was such a cute and unique story and i really loved the art style as well.

Delaney Woods 

this book was so so good and really cute. my complaints are mostly towards the end when problems seemed to just go away without any reason. would definitely recommend tho

Maggie Gordon

Walden creates an absolutely amazing world in On a Sunbeam. The narrative is a bit all over the map (but far stronger than her recent Spinning), and I preferred the initial half about the girls at school, but this is an artist to watch out for. She's going to be a tour de force with imaginative worlds and stunning art like this! Flying fish ships! Isolated and weird planets! Adorable friendship/family stories!

mighty dragon 

the art is so fucking beautiful. it's a brilliant story that is both heartbreaking and wonderfully hilarious. goddddd i love this so much

georgia greenway

a warm hug from someone you love. that’s what this book felt like.

Jacob Atchison

Fraser Simons

Ahhh pretty fantastic. I did not expect it to go to those places but it did. Queer found family. Queer love story in transhumanist, weird future space time. Flying fish and a crew of people who restore dead things, struggling to make decisions while always being to each other, even when it’s hard. It’s all very good and shit gets wiiild in the final quarter of the book.

Ken Yuen

Hmmm, kind of nice if you like a slow paced story that's set in space. Not really a fan of the world building here. You get glimpses of an interesting world and history, but it feels like I have a lot of questions about how the world works that the story isn't interested in answering.

Which is probably just as well, the main focus is on the characters and their relationships with each other. All the characters are pretty good, except the bully who gets a quick and dirty redemption and Ell who I wish we knew a little more about.

I feel like we learn about Mia's motivations way too late, but given the two timeline storyarc, I don't really know how else they could have set it up without just having the story unveiled chronological
ly.

The book is big! I ultimately like where all the characters end up, but I kind of wish the story had been more tighter or slightly faster paced.

On a Sunbeam

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