From Powells.com
25 Best Sci-fi and Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
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
When I first read On a Sunbeam, a graphic novel about a girl who travels across the universe to find lost love and a space crew that restores crumbling, alien architecture, it was with that wide-eyed, hungry wonder you always chase as a reader. It’s an expansive, beautiful book, with carefully rendered characters that are as intricate and lovely as Tillie Walden’s illustrations of distant planets and cathedral-like ruins. On a Sunbeam contains so much: it’s a queer coming-of-age story, a story about salvaging (love, relationships, former civilizations), a love letter to found family, a romance, a space opera, and... the list could go on. This book is lush and generous and big and gracious. I am so grateful to Walden for bringing it into the world. Recommended By Kelsey F., 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.
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
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
“On a Sunbeam is an intimate, cosmic, and sometimes deeply funny work of art that is hopefully not the last glimpse of Walden's science fantasy world.” VOYA Magazine (Starred Review)
Review
"Both gently romantic and heartbreaking, the story ultimately celebrates love and the importance of chosen family. An affirming love story." Kirkus
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.
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
About the Author
Tillie Walden is a cartoonist and illustrator from Austin, TX. She is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies, where she now teaches. As of 2022, she has published three graphic novellas with the London based Avery Hill Publishing and three with First Second Books, including her Eisner Award-winning memoir Spinning. She currently lives in Lebanon, New Hampshire with her cat Stan.