This was a great MG graphic novel, with a good plot, and fun art!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

<i>Grace Needs Space</i> is a pretty cute story about a young girl excited to go on a trip with one of her moms on her spaceship. A story that highlights the intricacies of shared custody, different parenting styles, and parents learning from their children as well as children learning from their parents, this is definitely a graphic novel worth reading.

I really appreciate the themes of the tale, the importance of having those you rely on and love to support you through difficult times and working together to solve unexpected life snags is such a great and heartwarming thing to see in a family tale.

The artwork really helps the story shine through, making this one a book worth picking up and reading with your kids. It’s also a great one to have in depth conversations about.

High quality graphic novel for elementary aged kids. My kids enjoyed it, and asked for a physical copy.

ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

A young girl living on a space station goes on a trip with her mom who makes supply runs between various planets and outposts. Grace expects it to be a great adventure in which she can bond with her mom and help out on the ship, but her mom is so busy and stressed she barely manages to make time for Grace which results in a misadventure on a moon that lands Grace in loads of trouble. While the sci-fi background is fun, I would say this graphic novel is more about complicated family dynamics than anything else. It features two separated moms, one of whom is clearly the primary parent, and a daughter trying to figure out how to relate to and be seen by them. Sweet and full of feeling.

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

Grace is looking forward to a trip with her other parent. One parent is the caretaker of the station they live on and life is boring. The other drives shipments around space and they have plans to visit a planet and lake together, but the trip starts off on the wrong foot when her space delivery mom's delivery isn't going to plan. Grace finds a way to see the sights she wants to see, but at what cost? Any children who feel ignored will relate to Grace. Grace has to find the voice to speak up and she does, leaving the adults surprised, but willing to work with her. A solid read for middle grade readers.

I think this one was calmer and and more reflective than I was expecting. A space story is typically all about adventure and survival. This one just uses space stations and shuttles as a method of Grace interacting with and asserting herself with her parents. Interesting.

A sweet sci-fi coming of age graphic novel. I have no doubt this book will be popular among the Smile, Roller Girl, Real Friends crowd and the sci-fi twist is a nice touch. I like the representation in this novel, seamlessly introducing LGBTQ+ characters into a world that is welcoming and inclusive.

In Grace Needs Space, kiddo Grace learns about relational expectations with her guardians who are near and far from her while she grows up and learns how to experience the limitations and expectations of her world. She takes initiative to get what she wants, testing boundaries of proximity and emotional growth with each parental figure throughout the story. As a so called adult, I am not the audience, but there are some great potential talking points and lessons of life for parents to discuss when it comes to fictional characters dealing with growing up in the world socially and isolation.

I have had this ARC for some time but I am getting caught up on writing my reviews! Thank you to NetGalley for this title.

I thought that this story was just, okay. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. The illustrations are cute and enjoyable but I felt the story felt a bit flat and found myself wanting more.


2.5 stars!

Cute graphic novel about family dynamics and living on a space colony. Lots of interesting facts throughout the book. Solid illustrations throughout the book.

This beautiful vibrant graphic novel is first of all super fun. It’s a gentle and joyful adventure through space with a girl and her two moms who live separately. Despite the word gentle, it’s well paced and holds your interest!
Most appreciated is the natural inclusion of Mx pronouns for Ba and another character as well as diverse body sizes.
The art and coming of age story will appeal to fans of Raina as well as those who like 5 Worlds and HILO but are looking for something more “real.”

Grace is going on a summer trip across space! She is leaving her home space station, and her boring mother Evelyn, to hang out on a ship and explore Titan with her fun mom Kendra.

Grace was such a sweet and relatable character. I was about her age when I started bouncing from house to house after a divorce. But lucky for her, she gets to explore space as well! It was fun to see a relatable story with the science fiction backdrop. I loved that the divorce process wasn’t part of the story; we just have two not-together parents that happen to be moms, and I thought the story handled that situation so well.

The art was super cute, and I especially enjoyed the landscapes of space. The joy shown in Grace’s eyes was everything.

I liked the graphics a lot in this novel, but the story just was not my favorite. I think a lot of middle school students would enjoy this novel, but it just wasn’t for me. I think it has some really awesome themes of reconciliation and making time for people that are important to you.

What a fun middle grade graphic novel! I really loved the art style. I know this one will be enjoyed by young patrons at my library.

The art for this was phenomenal, and I really enjoyed the world(s) building of the cool space exploring society in which the story is set. At its heart, it's a very familiar story about an adolescent's need, simultaneously, for safety and parental attention and for independence and the recognition of their own skills and abilities—particularly in an environment of divorce, or military deployment, or other scenario where one parent may not generally be involved in the day to day care and observation of their needs and simultaneous growing skills and maturity.

Grace Needs Space! is a super sweet sci-fi graphic novel with stunning art that sometimes left me a little bored. It follows Grace, whose super excited to spend some time with her "fun parent" on her spaceship while she makes a delivery across space. Grace quickly finds out that the trip won't be as fun as she hoped, as her mom is busy with work, and she misses the mom she left at home. The representation of a split home. Grace has two parents that clearly love her, but that parent her in different ways, and that's okay. It was really sweet to see them all work together and become a unit that works, despite the separation. I also liked that the parents just happened just happened to be two moms.

The other highlight is the art. The characters are charming and the spacey settings are lovely. There's so much to look at in the scenes that take place outside of the ship. I just wish that there was more happening then Grace moping around the ship. The scenes of space were so stunning but felt so rare, and I felt like they could've been used way more.

Ultimately, this was great, but not a favorite. I think it'd be great for our library, and could give some hope to children from split homes. Also, its impossible not to love Grace.

A charming, moving story about a young Grace who is taking a space trip with her Ba for a few weeks. Going back and forth between parents is most definately hard and emotional. This story surprised me with its authenticity and ability to let the pictures speak volumes in conjunction with the words. I guess that is what graphic novels are supposed to do, and these authors certainly hit the nail on the head!

Also, the illustrations are GORGEOUS.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

"Grace Needs Space!" is a much needed story featuring a queer family handling divorce. Grace's two mom's are divorced, and she is going to spend some time with the mom she doesn't live with most of the time. She's very excited, but things don't go exactly as she hoped. The story is important, and one we don't often see in literature yet. Not only is it a story about divorce and the resulting family dynamics, it is a positive story about navigating those dynamics. There are realistic problems, and realistic responses to those problems. The story is sweet, and the art is gorgeous. This is a book I will highly recommend to middle graders and adults alike.