Book Review: On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

On a Sunbeam 

by Tillie Walden

Finished reading: 20/2/21

My rating: 4/5 stars

On a Sunbeam is an LGBT space-opera graphic novel. The story follows Mia as she boards a goldfish-shaped spaceship to join a crew of misfits who are contracted to rebuild beautiful old buildings in deep space. But Mia’s mind cannot help but wonder to her boarding school days and it turns out the crew are all connected to Mia in more ways than she thought.

The concept of this graphic novel is so imaginative and whimsical. I could really imagine this as an anime TV series or even as a Studio Ghibli film at times. It sparkled with ingenuity from the world-building, to the characters, and even to the fictional games invented. I liked that it also had a grittiness to it as the story unfolded. It managed to create whimsey without the warmth and softness but with darkness and prickles. I liked the combination of mythology and the space age. It reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who as I could imagine River Song among the crew and the Tardis turning up out of thin air. The boarding school parts also had nods to Hogwarts which I absolutely loved. I really appreciated how Walden used these sorts of inspirations and weaved it into something entirely new and fresh.

This novel is also such a gorgeously stunning piece of art. I think the use of colour is the strongest element of all. It captured the darkness and vastness of space but also highlighted the other-worldly vividness of solar storms and cosmic plants. I could really see each page as a retro-style space age print. I loved the contrasts in colours between locations and time periods and characters, it worked really well to bring all the strands of the story together. It was so unique and clever how the frames sometimes melted into the next to show how all the parts were connected.

Despite drinking up the concept and the artwork, the plot and dialogue held me back from loving the novel whole-heartedly. The pace felt a little off for me at times. The ending specifically felt too quick, it was hard to keep up with all the characters and what was going on frame to frame. It felt very thrilling and action-packed, which I loved, but also lacked the clarity and emotion that the rest of the book had. I admired all the strands of story, but they were brought together a little messily. I think this is partly due to the characters’ motivations being convenient, but not entirely convincing. The dialogue also felt a bit clunky at times, it could have been a little more concise and natural.

But having said that, the characters definitely made up for what was lacking in plot. I specifically liked Elliot’s character and back story, as well as really appreciating the non-binary representation. I also really liked Jules’ fiery personality which added a necessary comic relief. Although I felt there were still a lot of questions left unanswered about these two characters which was a little disappointing. The same goes for Grace’s side of the story. There were just too many things left open-ended. I hope Walden considers writing a follow up novel to resolve this as there is still much to be tied up in the world itself.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read! I really admire the creativity and imagination that has gone into the artwork and the story, truly stunning!