In a small French street a young woman suffers a terrible loss when her child is stillborn. Weeks later she begins to act oddly, cradling a invisible child, believing that her lost girl has returned. She calls the child Lydie. While initially taken aback, her community rallies around her, supporting her and joining in her belief that Lydie is still among them. It's a touching story of grief, loss and solace as well as the power of a community. The illustrations are beautiful, perfectly complimenting the poignant story. And yet, there was something slightly unsettling about the idea of the charade in such an important matter, the small hints that Lydie is perhaps not quite completely imaginary don't quite dispel this.

This was ... weird. Also very very sad, especially because the very first couple of pages show not only a woman losing her child but also a man drowning an entire litter of kittens, which is super freaking disturbing.
The art is quite beautiful, and very very French, since of course the artist and author is Zidrou, so how could it not be.
Still, at heart this is a sad but lovely story about a community that bands together to make all of its citizens, even the ones who are a little "different" feel welcome.

A heart-warming story about a whole community of people going along with a young woman’s delusion that her still-born baby was returned to her. Lydie is mostly a touching story about people not wanting to cause undue pain, with a little bit of paranormal thrown in. When Camille first sees her child back 2 months after her death, most of the town doesn’t know what to do with it. An older woman jumps to reassure her when she is being bullied by kids over her dead child and that’s when the whole town’s concerted effort to play along truly begins.

For Camille’s sake, they pretend Lydie exists, even including her in every normal child activity – just to spare her the pain of realizing that it is not true. Heck, even the children of the neighborhood play along. But over time, the story shifts from the point of view of the reader. There are signs that Lydie is there, in a way, always, and the book leaves us with proof that maybe she was, or their efforts in making her real for Camille truly made her so.

The highlight of the book is of course the story – a sweet story like this is meant to be moving, obviously. The other is the art – it is beautiful in its own way, with dynamic scenes and good artwork. Coupled with that, the story being narrated from the point of view of a statue of the Virgin Mary adds another supernatural element to this story.

In short, a beautifully drawn story that will move you, and have faith in humanity.

Heartwarming but a little creepy. Perfect for reader who like a touch of the macabre. Art is beautiful. Leaves you feeling just a bit off kilter.

A heartwarming short story about a feeble-minded young woman who gives birth to a stillborn child. (I know it sounds horrific, not cute. Just stick with me.) Two months later she is still pretending her daughter is still alive. (Don't worry, the child is imaginary, not a corpse.) The tight-knit neighborhood slowly comes around to entertaining her delusion while Camille raises Lydie to adulthood.

Jordie Lafebre's art looks like it stepped out of a quaint European cartoon. It's beautiful.

This graphic novel had me in tears at several points. The illustrations worked beautifully with the story creating an engaging and emotionally charged storyline.

'Lydie' tells the story of Camille, a young French woman who is described as being "meek minded". Ordinarily, such a term would make me mad and defensive, however, it is given a historical context and rather than being mocked by her peers Camille is wrapped in their figurative embrace and sheltered by the whole town.

While this was a tearjerker, for me, I read the last page with a smile on my face. A beautiful, sweet story. Well worth a read!

This is a fascinating story and the art is good too. I think it shows what happens when people come together and help each other.

After I finished this sweet story I kept thinking if it's a book about loss or a ghost story, but in the end, Lydie is a book about people coming together to help someone through pain and loss.

The narrator of our story is a statue and she tells us about Camille and her stillborn baby, that turns up two months after it was buried. But is Lydie a ghost? A figment of her mother's imagination? An invisible child? It doesn't matter, what's important is that Camille has joy in her life again and the entire neighborhood are going to play along because why ruin someone's happiness.

It's a charming little story, of people coming together, being kind and helpful. Plus you are always wondering how real is Lydie?

The art is gorgeous. The characters are really expressive, different and natural. Absolutely loved it!

Belgian/French BDs are really something. I don't think I've laid eyes on a single one that hasn't stayed with me or stood out in some way, even the one's I didn't like so much. Lydie's a wonderful story, albeit too short to get me emotionally invested, but I'd like to particularly praise how expressive Lafebre's art is! I wish I could use perspective and create distinctive faces as well as he does. Not to mention the panels! I should take notes.

A delicate tale of a small town narrated by a statue of Madonna about the people of this town and a woman who had a stillbirth but believed that her child came back to her.

I just see the parallel with Madonna now, why she could be chosen to do the narrative as Madonna's child (Jesus) came back alive it is shown that Camille's child (Lydie) also came back alive! In both cases, you cannot see but CHOOSE to believe it whether it was to bring solace to yourself or to a grieving mother. Mind Blown?!

Can we take more than a moment to appreciate this gorgeous art style, the palette of the colors used and how beautifully the artist has drawn every face and every expression to perfection? So Gorgeous! It sets out the tone of this book. It lets you think about those small acts of kindness that could mean so much for someone else, about the spirit of community, the thin line that is between love and grief & joy and sadness. This one deserves to be made into a short film and drawn preferably by the same artist.

How can a book be so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time?

This was such a unique and make-you-sit-down-and-still-think-about-it-days-after-story. As you read the book, you are exposed to happiness and melancholy in equal measures. It is short enough to read in a few hours but lasting in its after effect. It is beautiful in its message - Why give someone pain when you can bring them joy so easily?

I thank NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I would not have been exposed to this gem of a story otherwise. Everyone should read this.

Fascinating story. Beautiful illustrations. Overall, this story was very unique and intriguing and between the images and the text, it was hard to put down!

This is such a unique story. I found myself immediately wrapped up with the characters stories, and although I was certainly confused at times, I felt the ending was perfect. Partially a story of mental illness, family relationships, and coming together to heal and grieve. But also partially a story about ghosts? If that doesn't intrigue you, I don't know what will! Haha! The illustrations were simply stunning. I fele that the artwork was divine with warm colors to help set the mood of the story. I will definitely be recommending this book.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel takes place from the perspective of a Madonna statuette. In a small neighborhood where every family knows each other, a tragedy befalls a family. There is a stillbirth, but weeks later the mother believes her baby daughter has returned to her. The community supports this woman.



There are some quirky characters in this book and I love them. It seems so peculiar, yet realistic. Different views on religion are portrayed. I enjoyed the various perspectives presented.



I give this sweet, emotional story a 5/5. The art is great. It is so well written. I highly recommend this book to those into quirky, emotional graphic novels.

Lovely art adds a warmth to the story, making it sweet instead of strictly depressing. The community of neighbors is delightful, and every person is really given their own personality. The story reminds me of people who seem to live in fictional universes, through books or other media, and it has a rather hopeful tone. Not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story of Lydie will leave readers to think of what could be real or not, especially the ending. While reading the unfortunate story of Camille, I can't help but sympathize with her loss. I could be just like her neighbors who tried to understand her situation and just let her believe that her baby came alive. They were not making a fool out of her by trying to act as if what she was saying is true, hence, they thought it is the only way to make Camille at least be happy and still go on with her life.

Lydie is a graphic novel that will teach us about empathy, love, friendship, and faith. Lastly, the mystery in the ending is another great way to end the story of Camille and the people of Mustachioed Baby Court. It is quite thought-provoking and will make you think of who is really the sane one and what is the truth.

'Lydie' by Zidrou with art by Jordi Lafebre is the kind of graphic novel I love to stumble upon. It's also the exact kind of evidence I would give to people who think graphic novels don't have rich, interesting stories to tell.

The story is told by the madonna statue that oversees the residents of a cul-de-sac named after a defaced billboard. A young woman gives birth to a stillborn baby. She lives with her father, and we never find out who the babies father is. Months later, she believes that her prayers have been answered and the baby lives. No one can see it but her. Initially, the residents think she is crazy, but they haven't the heart to tell her, so they play along. The life of this invisible child is told through the kindness and grace of the people of the neighborhood.

This story was so beautiful and had such rich emotions. The kindness of playing along shows such love to this young woman. We learn that she's probably not able to care for herself, so the way these people take her in is moving.

The art is really beautiful. The colors stay muted and the expressions on the characters faces run the gamut of emotion. I absolutely loved this story.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

A fantastic graphic novel! Beautiful artwork throughout and a lovely story.

Script by Zidrou, Illustrations by Jordi Lafebre (translated from Spanish)
English publication date Mar 21, 2018

Description:
On a forgotten cul-de-sac in a nameless city, a child is born. It doesn’t take long for the charming little girl to work her way into the hearts of all the residents on this cozy little street. Does it really matter that she’s invisible? The child’s mother delivered a stillborn, fatherless baby. Two months later, she becomes convinced that her child has returned from heaven. The neighbors don’t have the heart to tell her otherwise, and so they play along. After all, “why bring somebody pain when it's so easy to bring joy instead?” ...But is Lydie really a figment?

My Thoughts:
My first question - Is this graphic novel with the old fashioned sepia toned cover and the disturbing scene with the man killing the litter of kittens for middle level readers?

Perhaps that is not the right question. Perhaps the question is which middle level reader is this graphic novel for? This is for the reader who embraces magic realism and who can embrace some of the ugliness in the world in order to understand where beauty comes from in communities and in people. This is for the reader that will eventually make their way to other magic realism stories and movies like Big Fish, Amélie, Scott Pilgrim versus the World, Beasts of the Southern World, my favorite, but definitely not for middle school Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate and my sister Becky's favorite Pan's Labyrinth.

So this is for Becky, who by middle school was the only child left at home with older parents. This is for Becky who found that the world in books did not need to be a reflection of the world outside of books, but more of a door and a window to possibilities and alternate universes.

I am drawn to this story of a ghost baby that is not a ghost baby, not for my own loss, but for the window and door it opens to a way in which a community can let go of logic and create a more magical truth.

This advanced digital copy was made possible by Europe Comics and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Camille, a young woman, gives birth to a stillborn child. The pain is enormous, inconsolable, and the only way to overcome it is to ask for a miracle. Two months after the birth Camille sees her daughter Lydie, back from heaven, but she is the only one able to see her.

Her neighbors think she has lost her reason, but what evil can do a nice gesture? Everybody begin to indulge Camille behavior and Lydie's presence fills the neighborhood.

A delicate, beautiful story, both for the plot and the drawings.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me the copy necessary to write this review.