In the graphic novel On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden, Mia has just left school and is now joining a crew on a spaceship, which travels from place to place on construction and restoration jobs. The more she travels with them, the more she learns about the galaxy—and also learns of a way to potentially reunite with her former girlfriend, Grace, who she got separated from unexpectedly, five years previous. However, her quest to find Grace might endanger herself, and her new crew.

This was quite an intriguing story, definitely for fans of Becky Chambers and Firefly (if Firefly was queer, that is).

The universe this is set in is cool, full of various terraformed planets and swirling space storms. The visuals of the landscapes and of outer space are beautiful and atmospheric. However, I think some of the ways that the characters were drawn weren’t consistent; sometimes I had a hard time distinguishing and/or remembering who was who.

I also found some of the backstories and world-building to be a little confusing. I think it took too long to get some of the stories, particularly about the place called The Staircase, so I was a bit baffled for at least half of the book. I did like Mia as a character, and her relationship with Grace was very sweet. The way the two timelines were interwoven was well done, and I liked that the color palates were kind of different, so there was that visual cue to separate them.

I enjoyed the adventure to go find Grace, but again, I think that the explanation for where she is from should have come sooner, so that we could have started this heist-like quest earlier. That said, it was nice to see how Mia’s spaceship crew immediately rally around her to help. That’s where this book really shines—the interpersonal relationships. The themes of love and found family are delightful.

In the end, while I liked On a Sunbeam, I think some of the pacing needed to be changed, and the world-building wasn’t the best. And it took a while for me to figure out who was who, due to the art style of the characters. So while the adventure and themes were great, I really wanted this to be better overall. However, I can see a lot of potential, and would definitely be open to reading more of Walden’s work in the future!