Low Orbit

I didn’t really know what I was getting into or where the story is gonna lead. Especially after reading many fantasy books lately, after the sci-fi novel became part of Azar’s story, I was sure there was gonna be a twist in there somewhere, like she’s in a coma and then she’ll swim through the world of the novel, which will help her later on in real life...  None of that, haha.    A very non-fantasy slice of life story about Azar, a Malaysian-American lesbian in the closet from her parents, and Tristan, they/them pronouns, has an author as a dad and shouldered with other non-queer-related problems of themselves.  These two basically live in the same house, after Azar and her mom moved to Vermont from New York, where her dad still is stuck, rearranging some things with the apartment. And she has a crush on Jodi, a butch. School is actually okay for her, there’s not really much going on in her life, just basic human stuff.  On a random day like any other, she finds a book under her bed, a sci-fi novel set on another planet tackling racism, written by Tristan’s dad. She finds herself immersed by the story pretty quickly, and let’s days pass while she reads and escapes reality for a bit.    The book may have not turned out to be anything paranormal, but it sure made things roll in her life. In a realistic way.  I found myself immersed into the story similar to how Azar was into the sci-fi novel, just more delicate. The pace, the writing style and the art is tender, never high in contrast, and quite relaxing to read.    It might’ve been confusing and unclear at the start, but that portrays life pretty well – heck, if I were to make a novel about my life, everyone would have a similar reading experience. And that’s not a bad thing. I’m a slice of life fan after all, especially when it’s rather slow-paced and focused on the most normal, ‘boring’ plot-points. I especially loved the panels with an excerpt of the sci-fi novel, where environments were shown, perfectly encompassing the passing of time, as if Azar has placed a camera outside the house, to not miss anything of the outside world, while she’s in another world.    I was surprised by a lot of characters, their developments and the relationship to each other. Tristan was that cool best friend at first, that helps their gay bff to get a gal, but carries actually a lot of weight on their back. Shannon is that cool uncle who feels more of a roommate, open to Queerness and, as an author, fluent in subtext. You can talk to anything about him. (Which was really cool, I loved the uncle-like relationship Azar had to him!) But he too has his baggage. Azar’s mom seemed at first pretty toxic with her subtle gaslighting, but got more development in the end than I expected. Her dad too had some unexpected secrets.    Just like the character designs. Kazimir Lee is not afraid to show hard edges and fat and different/unusual proportions. While some background characters may have gotten the “simplistic” design treatment, making them look picture-perfect sometimes, most look very realistic, in a beautifully ugly way. (Human.)  For example, I may have not had a picture of Jodi first, but I expected her to rather look like the usual lesbian crush. But nah, she’s fat, butch and piercings. And so is our protagonist, except she’s rather neutral in gender-expression, but mostly comfortable fashion style, with wiggly socks and pretty small, sometimes looking squished. No fat-phobia, which is also a plus.  And disability rep with a wheelchair user.    Definitely recommended.  The ending turned a bit melancholic, in a tender, the-future-is-unknown way, which is also a plus, cause I’m a sucker for melancholy. Overall a cozy and happy read, humorous in-between and all in all light-hearted.    ~    Thanks a lot to IDW publishing for an e-ARC.    -09.03.25