Low Orbit by Kazimir Lee. Top Shelf, 2025. 9781603095525. 336pp.
Azar lives in Vermont with her mother, in an apartment inside a house where her friend Tristan and his father Shannon also live. Azar’s father is still in New York trying to sell their old apartment, but Azar thinks something else may be going on between her parents. She doesn’t quite fit in at school and has a crush she can’t quite bring herself to act on. The way her mom keeps misusing Tristan’s they/them pronouns, and the fact that she thinks Tristan is too young to make such decisions about themselves, keeps Azar from coming out to her mother.
One night, Azar finds a science fiction novel under her bed; it’s The Exiles of the Overworld, a novel Shannon wrote. Tristan seems unimpressed by his father’s work, but Azar can’t put it down. And from the way Shannon’s agent, Howard, keeps trying to get in touch with Shannon, it seems like others are very interested in his work, too.
When Azar needs some space, Shannon and Tristan are there to support her. The town’s abandoned mall and the secrets everyone is keeping play a part in the story. Minor spoiler: Several of the characters end up at a science fiction convention in New York that highlights much of what I love about fandom, especially the folks who cosplay.
This is a beautiful, character-driven graphic novel about growing up and coming out. I loved everything about it, and I know several people I’m going to buy copies for this year.
