Navigating With You

by Jeremy Whitley, Cassio Ribeiro, Nikki Foxrobot

Genres: Graphic Novels, Romance
Pages: 220
Rating:

Synopsis:

Neesha Sparks is a disabled, vocal community activist with a passion for costume design. Gabby Graciana is an optimistic surfer - and, like Neesha, a new kid at school. When the two girls discover that they like the same manga series, Navigator Nozomi, they become more than just fellow new kids. But it was more than just having read the same book series--neither of them had finished it! Soon, they become new friends on a mission - to track down the remaining Navigator Nozomi books. This slice-of-life romance follows the two girls as they adventure across North Carolina to find each book, with their story intercut with the tales of Navigator Nozomi. Neesha and Gabby find more than just the books though—they find acceptance, friendship, understanding, and love.

Jeremy Whitley and Cassio Ribeiro’s Navigating With You is really cute: two girls meet, both new to the school, and end up bonding over a manga they remember reading. We get excerpts from the fictional manga (albeit read left-to-right like a Western comic) as the girls find the various volumes and get back into the story. Unsurprisingly, the lessons learned in the manga they’re reading parallel some of the stuff they need to grow on.

I loved that a lot of thought went into their backgrounds and how to bring them across, particularly for Neesha (who has a form of cerebral palsy). It strikes a balance between showing us the wholeness of who these people are and doing an Educational Bit about food from their culture or how Neesha’s mobility aids help her, etc.

The relationship that forms between Neesha and Gabby (and their families!) feels natural, and their growing support for each other was a really nice read. It’s not all feel-good — Gabby has some serious trauma to work through, while Neesha hasn’t exactly had it easy either — but I loved the journey. The character designs and art are nice, too, and the manga-style sections are reasonably convincing.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)