'Water Memory' by Mathieu Reynes with art by Valerie Vernay is about a young girl living in a strange new place and the secrets she finds.

Marion and her mother move in to an old family house that her mother has inherited. It seems like a new start of sorts, and there are lots of things to explore. Marion finds weird carvings on the cliffs and in the caves by the sea. There is a lighthouse, but the lighthouse keeper is kind of a loner. When Marion gets stuck at the lighthouse when the tide comes in, the keeper saves her, but is gruff. What is the secret he holds and why are the townspeople not talking to him?

I liked this kind of slow moving tale. The characters were interesting, and even though I kind of knew where the story was going, I still enjoyed the journey. The art is very nice and in an afterword the creators talk about how they modeled things on real places.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Lion Forge, Diamond Book Distributor, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This book tells the story of a family who has to move to a small village.

The art's pretty, however, that doesn't make the book enjoyable.

I wasn't able to care for the characters or story, everything felt bland.

Rating: 1 star

What immediately stood out for me when I chose Water Memory was the cover. Looking at the cover page, it looked melancholic. This story is about Marion and her mother as they move back into a small town after the death of her grandmother. Marion is an adventurous young girl, she spends her time exploring different areas of her new small town despite getting caught in creepy situations. The comic had a bit of a mystery since there is a curse. I liked how Marion sought for answers concerning the curse. The pacing was just right, though I would have loved to have seen a couple more pages. There is a big revelation scene that left me feeling a little sad with how the events came to play. The attention to artwork was beautiful.

This was a really good graphic novel! I really enjoyed it! It's all about the main character Marion as she begins to find sculptures of bizarre faces around the island, and then she's told have roots in an old town legend about sea creatures and a curse and then gets really, really good from there!

While I LOVED the art and story, I felt like there was more to tell. It started off so strongly but then the ending felt rushed and opened up more questions than gave answers. That being said, the details, coloring and emotions of the characters/art/story were amazing and I enjoyed the book for that reason alone. But I'm unsure who I would give this book to. Overall, I am very happy I was able to read it.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. Marion's Mother is returning to her childhood home on the coast of France. Marion enjoys exploring the beach and befriends the local lighthouse keeper. Underneath the water however there lurks a dark family secret. The artwork is good and fits the story. The story holds you attention but the ending could have been better. Enjoy this easy to read spooky story

Spooky! When something starts with someone moving to a big old house unused for a long time you expect that something's going to happen. And when you have the kid wandering about, even more.
Despite its intentions of being a spooky story, the drawings and the nice people Marion and her mother encounter in town made this comic very warming for me.

Loved this graphic novel about a young girl who stumbles upon the mysterious legend that plagues her village.

The watercolor art of this graphic novel was interesting and new to me. Unfortunately, I found the story predictable and much of Marion's dialogue tells us what she is doing instead of letting the pictures/art tell the story. Not much new here.

I loved the first two thirds of this book: the slow, atmospheric build-up, the promise of ancient familial curses and supernatural forces. These things are great fodder for graphic novels. I even loved the art style. What I didn't love was the final third. It was a bit of a let down. to go from a slow metered release of information to suddenly dumping revelations in a letter felt like a cheat.

It seems like a lot of stories targeted at younger readers start off with a move, and this one follows suit. This isn't a bad plot device because it can speak to the isolation that people feel at times. Water Memory is a little different in that the characters are moving back to somewhere familiar rather than away from something else (albeit the daughter never visited this town before).

I like the emphasis on family that permeates this book. It gives the main character, Marion, a connection to this place and drives her to explore. There is a little mystery that comes along with her exploration. It helps move the story along, but didn't seem overly important to the whole work. Instead, there is a focus on the characters, especially showing how they integrate into this new lifestyle and interact with the people there. The stories that are shared and the attitudes of the characters give it the feel of a small town.

The imagery is wonderful, particular the landscapes and background pieces. I could feel it when the storm hits because of how beautifully the art is done. There is a little bit of the fantastical or supernatural that creeps into the story too. The art helps hold the line on this until well into the book, giving hints of what is to come without showing off too early.

A cute little story with decent art. Marion and her mother inherit a little place on the ocean. Marion eventually comes across a local legend about a cursed family and monsters of the deep. But will she find out the stories are true?

I love a good, spooky story, and if it's a good, spooky graphic novel that I can share with my library kiddos, even better. Marion's mom inherited an old family house. It's got a private beach and overlooks the ocean. It's too good to be true, right? Right. Marion discovers some strange rock carvings and that a chilling local legend may be coming to life. The artwork is beautiful, and the translation from the original French to English is seamless.

This graphic novel was such a joy to read! The art is both mystic and cute, and the story is so captivating that I was on the edge of my seat by the end.

Marion and her mother inherit an old house, complete with a private beach. While they expect to have a good life at their new home, Marion soon finds strange rock carvings, a creepy lighthouse watchman and discovers local legends that seem to be coming to life.

This graphic novel is translated from the French, and Valerie's art is lovely and full of details. The end of the book also includes notes from the author and artist, and sketches of the character design and the world-building after trips to Brittany for inspiration.

Marion is a curious little girl, exploring the area around her house, the stones with faces that were set up, and even trying to go to the lighthouse despite stories from the villagers about the watchman. The story unfolds steadily, and we learn more about the village and its history.

It's a simple overall story, in that there are no subplots and not too many characters to really complicate things. The focus is on Marion and the steps she takes to learn more about the village legends, and in the process we do, too. The book is likely to appeal to middle-grade readers as well as adults interested in the supernatural.

I really enjoyed this. The translation was well done, I didn't even realize it was originally in another's language until the end. I don't know if Lovecraft was an inspiration for the author but the mystical aspects were similar to the kind of maritime lore in his stories. The heart of the story is universal with questions about family past, struggles with breakdowns in families and uncertainty about the future. The art brought the ocean and the town to life beautifully.

wasn't able to figure out how to open the attachment to read this graphic novel.

Water Memory tells the story of Marion, a young girl whose mother brings her to her hometown to live in her childhood home after Marion's grandmother passes away and leaves the house to them. Marion begins to find sculptures of bizarre faces around the island, that she's told have roots in an old town legend about sea creatures and a curse. When Marion befriends the old lighthouse keeper, Virgil, she learns that some curses aren't just legends after all.

This graphic novel has such a lovely and gentle art style, and the story is just one of those short, fun reads that would perfectly suit anyone who likes stories about urban legends and curses.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lion Forge for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The story in this graphic novel was enjoyable enough, though the ending was a bit predictable. The artwork, however, made me think of Lilo & Stitch, which made it seem a little too cute for some of the darker themes presented throughout the story.

Marion and her mother move to the house on the cliff, inherited from Marion's grandparents. Life in a small town seems to be peaceful and happy but as Marion explores the seaside, she finds strange stones with mysterious engravings and a seemingly abandoned lighthouse. Curious, the girl decides to solve the mystery on her own.

I was reall curious about Water Memory and I ended up really enjoying it! I'll start off with saying that the setting itself made me love it, as I dream about leaving on the seaside, like Marion and her mom did. The story drew me in right away, because right from the beginning I felt the atmosphere of some mystery in the air. Small town with local legends and family mystery made for a really engaging book. The plot unfolds steadily with the author dropping new puzzles and hints, leading to the amazing and very bittersweet ending.

The graphic is quite quirky, yet has some familiar vibes. I especially loved full page illustrations and found them the most beautiful, as well us water/underwater scenes. I also really liked the additional material at the end, showing the story begind the creation of this graphic novel. It was interesting to read how the author and the illustrator got an idea for it and the whole process.

To sum up, Water Memory by Mathieu Reynes is a wonderful mixture of adventure and mystery, paired up with beautiful, atmospheric art.