If Rowan passes their ranger test, they’ll have to carve their name into an ancient doorway alongside those of all past pegasus rangers. But they’re worried that they will have to carve a name that they no longer use: a name that isn’t “Rowan.” After a rash decision endangers their pegasus, Rowan is reassigned to the slower, less glamorous task of helping a violin-playing sheep herder, Leone, with wool deliveries. Leone’s own nonconformity starts Rowan on a personal journey that requires as much bravery as becoming a ranger.
Eisner Award-winner K. O’Neill always delivers tender, introspective narratives accompanied by breathtaking illustrations, and A Song for You and I is no exception. Dialogue is effectively spare throughout this graphic novel, with long stretches of pages that feature only panels of beautiful scenery or expressive depictions of the protagonists. Even without O’Neill’s lovely letter to readers in the front matter, the gentleness with which they approach the topic of identity in A Song for You and I gives the story a deeply personal feel.
All that anyone wants is to be taken at their word, especially when it comes to trying to express who they are. Leone proves that they will do that for Rowan, just as O’Neill promises to do that for readers of A Song for You and I.
