Draft:Navigating with You


Navigating with You
is a graphic novel written by Jeremy Whitley and illustrated by Cassio Ribeiro. It was published on August 13, 2024 by Maverick.[1]

Navigating with You
Page count220 pages
PublisherMaverick
Creative team
WriterJeremy Whitley
ArtistCassio Ribeiro
LetterersNikki Foxrobot, Micah Myers
Original publication
LanguageEnglish
ISBN9781952303609

Plot Summary

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After honors Black lesbian student Neesha Sparks is sent to remedial classes due to her principal falsely believing that her cerebral palsy means she is intellectually disabled, she meets another new kid, bisexual Puetro Rican-Mexican Gabby Graciana. While Neesha is initially put off by Gabby's chattiness and excitability, the two girls bond over their mutual love of the out-of-print manga Super Navigator Nozomi, which neither have finished. After Neesha's father sells her copies of the manga, the duo go on a hunt to find the missing volumes, dealing with growing romantic feelings for each other along the way. The novel deals with themes of ableism and grief, with Gabby dealing the death of her mother.[2][3][4][5]

Reception

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Navigating with You was reviewed positively by Kirkus Reviews[2], which praised the character development and handling of complex topics like ableism, racism, and abusive relationships. Publishers Weekly reviewed the book positively[5]. It also received starred reviews from Booklist[3], which praised Ribeiro's ability to transition from "a North American comic art–style to a manga-art style for pages of Super Navigator Nozomi" and Whitely's handling of Gabby's Latin culture and past trauma, as well as the School Library Journal.[6]

Awards and honors for Navigating with You
Year Award/Honor Result Ref.
2025 Harvey Award for Best Young Adult Book Nominated [7]
Stonewall Book Awards - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award Honored [8]
Great Graphic Novels for Teens Won [9]

References

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  1. Navigating With You Vol. 1. Simon & Schuster. 2026-10-13. ISBN 978-1-5458-3585-2.
  2. 1 2 NAVIGATING WITH YOU | Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews. 2024-06-24.
  3. 1 2 Rahbar, Victoria. "Navigating with You". Booklist. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  4. Levine, Jessica. "LGBTQIA+ Books Fly in the Face of Bans". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  5. 1 2 "Navigating with You by Jeremy Whitley". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  6. Jeremy, Whitley. "Navigating with You". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
  7. "Harvey Awards Unveil 2025 Nominees". Harvey Awards. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  8. "Navigating with You | ALA". American Library Association. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  9. "Great Graphic Novels | Young Adult Library Services Association". American Library Association. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
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