Such a heartwarming and darn cute graphic novel!!!!

In Navigating With You we are following Neesha and Gabby, the two new girls in school. The become fats friends and bond over a manga.

Charming and Q there were a lot of important topics that were portrait we have a POC character also has CP so we have representation for people of color, disabilities, PTSD, and the LGBTQ community. These are a lot of important topics that representation and this book was able to do it in the best way possible and you would think these are a lot of topics to cover graphic they were beautifully represented. They were such a unique and charming just so enjoyable.

Thank you for to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange honest review

5 stars!

This is honestly such a cute graphic novel. The characters were great, the plot was very sweet and the art fantastic. If I had to nitpick there is an occasional pacing issue and a few times where it seemed the speech bubbles weren’t ordered correctly, there’s also a couple lines that should have been rewritten like the ones concerning weight gain.

It was an adorable story about two new kids in senior year who start a friendship over their love for a manga series and eventually start a book club reading them all. It was nice that they included the manga chapters in the book as they gave context to what they were reading as the manga was a big part of their story and their conversations. I loved and appreciated the disability and sapphic representation. I would recommend it for young readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow this graphic novel was wholesome. And it just got better and better as it went on. The art was beautiful and it really complimented the story well. The story of Neesha and Gabby falling in love was priceless. They are the cutest couple! I adored everything about it and when it comes out you must jump at the chance to read it. It is sweet and cute but also deals with serious topics PTSD and biphobia. The romance was really cute and Neesha also had Cerebral palsy so A+ for representation.
I LOVE finding a 5-star read!!!!!

Navigating With You releases August 6, 2024.

4.5 stars rounded up.

This was such a lovely comic and SUCH a breath of fresh air. Super cute, animated art combined with geeky and intersectional writing? Absolutely up my alley. I enjoyed how the comic made full use of its comic format (such as the texts and the manga pages). I truly felt like it was written by someone who has a genuine appreciation of manga and all things geeky. I enjoyed that this comic highlighted how comics can shape and affect our lives in small and big ways.

The growing relationship between Neesha and Gabi is so sweet. It felt very realistic and well-paced, and I genuinely felt that these two were healing for each other. The consideration both girls show each other is so lovely.

I would absolutely recommend this to younger readers as well, so that's a plus. Often I find that media aimed at teens doesn't quite stick the landing and ends up sending the wrong messages, but I found this comic combined real, sometimes messy lives and decisions with healthy communication.

Though the pacing was a little fast at times, I honestly didn't mind and my mind was able to fill in the gaps just fine. I'd say the only part I really had issues with was when Gabi talks about feeling like she gained weight after being body-shamed, and being met with reassurance that she's hot. This sort of implies that fat bodies aren't hot, but I don't think this was meant this way and I'll give it grace since... hey, teenagers aren't always good at super-duper intersectional reassurance even if they're marginalised themselves.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet, sapphic romance.

I really hope there’s volume two and Neesha and Gabby! Seriously, I would love this to continue into a series. Their relationship is adorable and I’m so glad I got to read this. I loved how we got to see a healthy relationship form and blossom into something very wholesome.

I also love how the author provided resources at the end of the book, for those who are struggling and may need help.

I do not think this is the authors fault at all but because of the way the format of the ebook version was I really really struggled to follow the book, I would advise for comic arcs to have one page per page rather than 2 pages showing on one page of the file as it was hard to follow.

A sweet story about two high-schoolers. The art was cute and the story was funny and very endearing. Great characters, with witty lines, and believable motives.

* Thanks to the publisher Mad Cave Studios via Netgalley for the e-arc!

On the first day of school, two new students meet for the first time. While one is determined to make friends, the other is adamant to keep to herself. But how long can one really hold up against the ever optimistic Gabby! So they bond over their favourite manga, mutual love and food.

This warm read doesn’t shy away from talking about important issues like loss, the trauma and guilt that comes with it, the struggle of living with disability, how hard it is to trust once you’ve been taken advantages of. And for that it deserves the praise.

There is this one line that stood out to me the most- “I haven’t really talked about her since she died and I really hate that, because she is such a part of me.” It stood out to me because my grandmother died more than two years ago and I still can’t talk about her. I have not once talk about her. It’s too painful and I feel so guilty because I think about her all the time. She deserves so much better. And I felt so seen reading such a seemingly insignificant line.

Saying that, it isn’t the most beautiful thing I ever read and it does have some issues I am hoping the author and people working behind it will pay attention to.

The first thing that comes to mind is in one conversation Gabby says to Nessa that she(g) has put on weight and refuses to eat. To that Nessa replies, “are you kidding? You are ridiculously hot”. They weren’t talking about if Gabby was hot or not. Nessa concluding putting on weight as the opposite of hot and thus reassuring her that Gabby is in fact hot seemed a little tone deaf to me. Specially when just few spreads ago Gabby’s then boyfriend tried to body shame her and imply she isn’t hot if she puts on weight(which by the way Nessa wasn’t aware of. So bringing up hotness doesn’t sound okay to me). So in my humble opinion the exchange between Nessa and Gabby should have been dealt more maturely.

Another minor mistake I noticed by the end is Gabby say “Radical honestly really confuses parents” and wouldn’t it be ‘honesty’ instead?

But the thing that bothered me the most was sometimes conversation or a scene would end abruptly. I had to check multiple times if I was skipping through pages.

Saying all that, do I recommend this book? I do. It is an enjoyable read and often times really sweet. If one doesn’t have problem with the issues I pointed out or if they are resolved, it would easily be a 4/4.5 ⭐️ read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios/Maverick for sending me the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. It was a joy finding it on my digital shelf.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

I love it!
If you want something cute, fun, light and good to read this is perfect for you.
I love the characters, the vibe and the whole plot.
Even the manga panels was a nice touch to read.
Highly recommend!

Love the relationship between the girls show the highs and lows of relationships and figuring out how to love in a healthier way. Great lesbian representation and I love that the love interest was a person of color. Fast and fun read.

Navigating With You is a graphic novel about two girls who are new to town and decide to start a book club together.

I loved how disability was represented in this graphic novel! I have very rarely seen cerebral palsy represented in books, and I was so excited to see a main character with it. The way people treat her and infantilize her because of her disability is extremely relatable. I love how we see both the treatment she receives from others, and the way she reacts and feels about it. I especially enjoyed the scene in the church thrift store.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel and will be reading more from this author in the future!

Netgalley review, possible plot points mentioned below.

Holy shit. I feel like I haven't read a graphic novel that fucking good in a bit. The style, the story, the characters 10/10

I feel a loss at words, this story pulls at your heart. The deep connection between Gabby and Neesha and how their stories parallel between Kazane and Nozomi is incredible. I was so deeply invested in the different paths they were lead on to find the next book.

The art style was so cute, I love each outfit Neesha and Gabby wore through out it.

I've read some graphic novels previously that were horrendous in the way disabilities and mental health were depicted, they were very ignorant in the way in which they were written. This book is so far from that, we see boundaries being respected between characters, asking questions that aren't invasive or inconsiderate, educational moments at times, they aren’t used as a way to ridicule, and so much more.

I dearly loved this book, I thank you for sharing such a beautiful story.

I thank the authors and netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

super cute and short read! both mc’s are super cute too!! i enjoyed this and wanted more. very cute art style and super engaging story! very diverse representations throughout.

This was such a fun read! I absolutely adored both characters, and I thought they had a sweet dynamic; the mixed media was fun too, and I liked that the characters all sort of paralleled each other in a way as the story progressed. I loved the way Gabby and Neesha interacted with one another when it came to their hobbies, and how thoughtful they were to one another. I can't speak for the disabled or mental health rep, as I don't have experience in either of those, nor can I talk about the POC rep, but I'm sure people who do have those experiences will hopefully be able to enjoy seeing themselves represented in such a sweet story.

This is one really cute book, thank you so much for giving me the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book! The plot is cute and easy to understand. The characters are easy to like and they have a good backgroundstory that gives them a good depth. It really reminds me of the book "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell, and I really liked that book!

The artstyle is cute, but some of the faces and expression in some of the drawings dont get me. They just look out of place, but overall the artstyle is ok.

I actually wished it was a little longer because I enjoyed it so much, and I think maybe it would have benefits the character with some pages extra and some more pages about the PTSD and stuff.

I absolutely adored this book! It had the perfect balance of serious topics and cute, fluffy moments. I loved both Gabby and Neesha so much! Seeing disability representation in graphic novels in general, but especially sapphic ones, made me very happy! While I don’t have the same condition as Neesha, it made me feel seen as a disabled sapphic person myself! I thought the mental health aspect with Gabby was also great and handled well. Overall, this was a fantastic book and I would definitely recommend!

4.5*

These two are so cute! I loved their shared interest in manga and how it drives the story. The series they're reading (which appears between chapters) is quite silly, but the flavor of 90s manga and anime is a familiar and adorable one and softens the story in a way that will appeal to queer nerds such as myself.

Both of the main characters are dealing with some big stuff, to tw's for loss, grief, PTSD episode, and verbal abuse from a partner. I loved both of these characters and think they were a delightful compliment to each other. While parts of the story are quite heavy, there's a lot of lightness and fluff as well. It was really cute. I cried.

Maybe not relevant to most readers, but I just happened to read this book back to back with Shiny Misfits, which features a main character with CP. "Navigating With You" is written for a YA rather than MG audience, but at least for me it was interesting to see how each book approached and visual depicted this experience in different ways. I know that Shiny Misfits is #OwnVoices in that regard, although I don't know about the creator(s) of this book. Anyway, I think it's handled very thoughtfully here, and wonder how readers with CP will feel about the rep.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book as an ARC!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5⭐️

A heartwarming story of love, acceptance, friendship, and understanding.

There’s something so tender and wholesome about sharing niche interests with a stranger, who becomes a friend (and eventually, girlfriend but we’ll get to that later!).

Through this story, Neesh and Gabby get to grow alongside each other, learn to overcome trauma, geek out over the manga they’re reading together, and support each other through it all.

I really appreciate that young queer latinx and POC kids get stories like this. I would’ve loved to see such sweet relatable content growing up.

There were a few panels that felt disjointed and had me question if I was reading in the correct order or missed a page. Besides that, my heart was full of love reading this.

Also, the “breaking up with your manipulative, shitty boyfriend” plot was well-done and terribly relatable. Adored reading Gabby and Neesha providing comfort, support, and limitless love for one another. (I.e. “My girlfriend loves me and trusts me to push her chair!”)

Navigating with you was a great story. I was intrigued by the idea of two friends that were on this journey to find this manga that they both had started but never finished. The concept of a manga within a manga was great. Two stories were happening congruently and the overlapping stories really meshed. While the young engineer was finding herself and realizing how much strength she possessed, Neesha and Gabby were navigating friendship, grief, love, and all the other things that life throws at a teen. It was so great to seeing a story written for the BIPOC queer girlies like myself. I also really appreciate the real conversations that Neesha and Gabby had about Neesha’s disability and Gabby’s PTSD/Anxiety.

Overall I think this book was amazing and everyone should read it!