Navigating With You
The heartwarming queer romance Navigating with You by Jeremy Whitley and Cassio Ribeiro is one of my favorite 
graphic novels that I read this year. Meet Neesha Sparks, an outspoken yet guarded teenager from Queens. Florida surfer girl Gabby discovers how to win Neesha over with persistence, an upbeat attitude, and vulnerability. Both girls are new to their high school in Durham, North Carolina. They quickly connect over a manga series that they each read but never finished and form a book club to re-read and, this time, complete the series. The problem is that Super Navigator Nozomi is out of print and ordering a set of the books online is quite expensive. Gabby proposes a competition to find the seven books of the series and Neesha accepts.
Navigating with You has phenomenal representation that plays out naturally in the story and art. Neesha has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, so she uses assistive devices such as leg braces. She confronts ableism and discrimination, such as when vehemently explains to her new principal that just because she is disabled, it does not mean he should re-assign her from Advanced Placement classes to Special Education classes. Neesha is Black. She has dark skin and wears her hair in braids. We see Neesha stumble and fall, and we see her sew fabulous costumes, drive Gabby around, and visit the farmers market. She typically wears long skirts or pants that conceal her leg braces. Gabby is half Puerto Rican and half Mexican. Her mom died and she lives in an apartment with her dad and two brothers. Gabby is bisexual and has a toxic long-distance boyfriend who does not validate her sexual orientation. She suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which triggers flashbacks and panic attacks related to her mom’s death. Ribeiro deftly illustrates one of Gabby’s flashbacks by alternating between each girl’s viewpoints, so we see Gabby’s memories unfold as Neesha observes and tends to her girlfriend.
Pages from Super Navigator Nozomi intersperse the main story, so the reader can enjoy the manga alongside Neesha and Gabby. As the manga sections are in traditional black and white with a cartoony style, and the rest of the story is in rich earth and jewel tones, it is easy to distinguish between the two.
This unpaged volume contains wonderful characterization with a sweet romance. Whitley unspools each teen’s backstory as they become better acquainted with one another. By the end, the protagonists feel real and their romance feels hopeful. Language, content, and themes are appropriate for tweens and up. Be sure to acquire and recommend Navigating with You!
Navigating With You
By Jeremy Whitley
Art by Cassio Ribeiro
Mad Cave Studios, 2024
ISBN: 9781952303609
NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
Character Representation: Black, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Bisexual, Gay, Cerebral Palsy, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
