Navigating with You
Volumes 1 & 2
Written by Jeremy Whitley
Volume 1 Art by Cassio Ribeiro
Volume 1 Lettering by Nikki Foxrobot
Volume 2 Art by Felia Hanakata
Volume 2 Coloring by Linden Cahill with Juancho!
Volume 2 Lettering by Carlos M. Mangual
Simon & Schuster / Maverick Comics
Volume 1 is available now
Volume 2 is available November 24, 2026
Publisher’s Summary:
A charming POC-led WLW romance where two new friends hit the road in search of the missing volumes of their favorite manga.
Neesha Sparks is a disabled, vocal community activist with a passion for costume design. Gabby Graciana is an optimistic surfer – and, like Neesha, a new kid at school. When the two girls discover that they like the same manga series, Navigator Nozomi, they become more than just fellow new kids. But it was more than just having read the same book series–neither of them had finished it! Soon, they become new friends on a mission – to track down the remaining Navigator Nozomi books. This slice-of-life romance follows the two girls as they adventure across North Carolina to find each book, with their story intercut with the tales of Navigator Nozomi. Neesha and Gabby find more than just the books though—they find acceptance, friendship, understanding, and love.
Preview:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Review:
If you follow along with comic news, then you might not be surprised to hear that they are often on Banned Book Lists. Banned and Challenged books are criticized for having the power to “turn” young readers gay or tolerate people who are from different cultures. The arguments that queer characters “turn” people should always be met with logic: How does knowing that other people exist in the (real or fantastical) world hurt your child? Also, if you don’t want to child to read something, be your own parent, but don’t define what other kids can have access to.
I bring this up because JEREMY WHITLEY has written other comics which have ended up on Banned and Challenged Book Lists. The latest is so incredibly innocent that arguments regarding “sexual content” are absurd. There’s nothing in the banned book, THE DOG KNIGHT for example, that has anything to do with having intimate relations. It’s about discovering who you are.
Whitley and the talented teams listed above for NAVIGATING WITH YOU created excellent examples of disabilities, micro-aggressions, open harassment, PTSD, queer representation, biphobia, and toxic relationships. The title makes even more sense when you get into Neesha & Gabby’s shared fandom about a space captain and navigator.
By Volume 2, representation is expanded even more. The characters have aged and grown. Gabby and Neesha are thinking about college and internships. Their relationship has a natural flow for this period of life when people begin to find their own paths.
I’m not personally around kids this age to know how speak and handle such life-changing decisions these days. I found it hard to believe that people are this mature. It’s something noticeable in how Neesha differs from Gabby. Neesha, much to her mother’s credit, is used to thinking through decision-making processes and then communicating what she wants and needs. It’s something she’s had to learn as a disabled young woman of color. She’s remarkable at public speaking and conveying her side on a issue.
Gabby has a completely different kind of traumatic past. The only time she feels truly at peace is surfing which is something she can’t do with Neesha. Instead, Neesha learns about the most anxiety-ridden side of Gabby.
While I have no idea if teens are this mature about getting in and out of relationships, I know there are some remarkable young people out there who make for great role models. As a book for young adults, I believe the readers can learn a lot about communication, consent, identity, and safety from the collection of NAVIGATING WITH YOU by Jeremy Whitley, Cassio Ribeiro, Nikki Foxrobot, Felia Hanakata, Linden Cahill, Juancho!, and Carlos M. Mangual.
Rating: 5 stars
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.