LOW ORBIT

Queer teens navigate their relationships to family, each other, and themselves.

Malaysian American Azar Sharif, a Muslim girl from Brooklyn, just moved to Ashford, Vermont, for her mother’s job. Her father has stayed behind to sell their apartment. Through proximity, she becomes friends with Tristan Wathe, who’s white and nonbinary and the child of Azar’s family’s landlord. Tristan shows Azar how to get around town and becomes someone she can talk to about the secret she’s keeping from her mother—her own queer identity. The two teens bond over difficult situations with their respective parents. When Azar ends up hospitalized following a serious accident and has a big fight with her mother, she goes upstairs to stay with Tristan and their dad, Shannon, a science fiction author. There, despite Tristan’s dad’s issues, she finds connection and acceptance. Throughout, Azar reads Shannon’s epic novel; text excerpts from it are differentiated from the dialogue by a different font and interspersed between scenes. These interludes can be jarring because the passages from the novel don’t directly connect to Azar’s story arc and the small snippets don’t give a full enough sense of why Azar loves the work. The illustrations are clear and focused on the characters’ faces and emotions. The muted color palette used throughout emphasizes the pervasive feelings of loneliness.

An uneven but moving journey of self-acceptance.