From Powells.com
Our favorite books of the year.
Staff Pick
Mia works on a six-person restoration crew in outer space. As she reconstructs beautiful ruins throughout the galaxy, her memories simultaneously reassemble, revealing a tragic, tender love story. Triumphantly queer, heartwarming, and stunningly illustrated, Walden's masterful space epic has secured its place on my favorites shelf! Recommended By Caroline M., Powells.com
Everything Tillie Walden draws into this world is stunning, and On a Sunbeam is no exception. We follow Mia through two timelines, in the present with her chosen family, a group of women and a nonbinary person who travel the galaxy repairing old buildings, and in the past with a love she lost. Themes of loss and heartbreak are paired with themes of acceptance and finding purpose to create a bittersweet atmosphere that slow burns into an exciting sci-fi adventure. Watching as her worlds collide took my breath away and refused to return it until the last panel. It's a beautiful, queer, intergalactic, triumph of a story. Recommended By Brianna B., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
“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.
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
Review
“On a Sunbeam is a rare treat. It’s both a slow-burn romance and a found-family space opera adventure with an engaging cast of characters. But it’s the world building that really stands out, with a blend of SF and fantasy in a gloriously strange setting that is so brilliantly original I have no idea how to describe it. I enjoyed every bit of it.” Martha Wells, author of The Murderbot Diaries and The Books of the Raksura
Review
“Phenomenal... Utterly mesmerizing... A remarkable, stunning comic.” Booklist, starred review
Review
“This masterful blend of science fiction–inflected school drama, road trip, and adventure is nothing less than marvelous.” Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"A stunning interpretation of interstellar life... Bound to be a sci-fi favorite, especially for teens who also appreciated Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay." School Library Journal, starred review
Review
"Walden creates the intoxicating effect of a universe as mysterious as our real one." The Atlantic
Synopsis
"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.
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
About the Author
Tillie Walden is a cartoonist and illustrator from Austin, Texas. Born in 1996, she is a graduate from the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. Over the course of her time at CCS she published three books with the London based Avery Hill Publishing. Her graphic novels with First Second include her autobiographical work Spinning and the sci-fi epic On a Sunbeam. She is a two-time Eisner nominee and Ignatz Award winner who now lives in Los Angeles. When she is not drawing comics, Tillie can be found walking and listening to audiobooks or asleep with a cat.