Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

I liked this, but it wasn't super easy to understand. I don't mind working to get into the content of a good book, but being that this took place in space and there were multiple types of people and locations, I felt it needed a bit more background. It took me until 75% through to understand the different groups that the characters were in and trying to understand why they're falling into these groups.

With that being said, I loved the cast of characters. It was diverse in all ways without it being a stunt. It felt authentic and honest. We were able to learn about the characters and their personalities through their interactions. I also loved that personal discovery was happening without it being the only focus taking place.

The drawings and colors were also wonderful. I felt the illustrations really brought you into the story and showcased the world they were living in. There was a lot of text to balance out what was happening to and to try and explain the ways of their worlds.

I'd probably read a sequel if it came out, just to see if I liked it more now that I have a better understanding of the world. But I did feel this left some room to be explored by the author.

This graphic novel is one of the best I have read in awhile. The story is fast-paced, the illustrations are bright and engaging and the characters are amazing. This is one I will be putting in my school libraries.

Across a Field of Starlight is a face-paced, science fiction graphic novel with two non-binary characters at the center, Fassen and Lu. When they were younger, they met after Fassen’s ship crash-landed on a planet that Lu (and others from their community) were exploring. Although it was forbidden to talk with each other - Lu lives in a passive society, and Fassen fights against the Empire - they became fast friends.

Fassen wanted to get back to their people to help fight, but they were from a different solar system, and if Fassen left, they would never see each other again. From a crashed ship, Fassen found parts they needed to contact their word, and Lu figured out a way they could stay in touch as they grew up. But their communications needed to remain a secret, or the Empire would find Lu’s home and take it over as it has done with so many others.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. The artwork was some of the best I have seen. The graphics were very detailed and helped advance the story, but sometimes I did get lost in what was happening with some frames. There was so much detail that I didn’t know what ship I was looking at or where in space I was. The fight scenes were some of the best, though.

I am a huge Star Trek fan, and I am not sure if Delliquanti used the Next Generation as inspiration, but I did get a sense of the Empire being the Borg. When you read, let me know if you felt the same. The story itself poses many political and moral issues. Many I continue to ask myself days after reading. Would I want to fight against an unjust entity like the Empire or live in the passive world of Lu and her family/friends. As I write this, for me, both are true.

Random House calls this book a romance/sci-fi fantasy, but I would not. Sci-Fi, yes, but not romance. The two main characters may, one day, become romantically involved, but this book wasn’t it. It was more of a friendship, which I think is excellent. If it had gone more into the romance/love area, it would have hurt the story since they knew each other for less than a couple of hours before they went their way. They built their friendship and became closer by the end of the story. I was also thrilled to see a book with so much diversity. It was refreshing to have a story with so many people living who they are without the negative stigma that we usually see in reality. This is the world I want to live in, and I think most people do as well. So, yes, I recommend this book highly - even though some parts confused me. The graphics, the storytelling, and so much more will make you want to see more from these characters and Blue Delliquanti.

I don't know that I completely understood the overarching plot/science. What I do know is that the characters were amazing and the art showed so much diversity that it's impossible not to love this.

Beautifully illustrated, this graphic novel is a classic sci-fi story in the vein of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle, exploring themes similar to The Dispossessed and to The Left Hand of Darkness, but with a lot of colorful, kinetic action. What makes a person? What do people deserve? The political and moral questions are advanced, but the reading level is not, and the story is fast-paced and never dry or too dense (much like a great quickbread). I absolutely loved it.