<i>Waves</i> is an autobiographical graphic novel by Ingrid Chabbert about her struggles to get pregnant and the devastation of her miscarriage. The novel is devastating and heartbreaking in its simplicity and sparseness of words. The artwork by Carole Maurel is gorgeous. There are some panels that are just stunning.

Thank you Archaia and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I absolutely adored this story. TW: miscarriage

It feels weird to rate it, because it is such a personal story for the author, but I gave it a 4.5/5 stars

The metaphors in this story are what really blew me away. The story was raw and emotional, but the parallels that the author draws between writing and coping and healing is just extraordinary. Adding in those panels made it magical. The boat, and the waves of paper, and everything was just so beautiful. I implore you to read this if you can handle the subject matter.

A truly beautiful and moving biographical graphic novel about the writer's own fertility struggle including her and her partner's long wait to conceive and the complete, shattering heartbreak of a stillborn child. Beautifully illustrated, there is a gorgeous contrast between the color of the journey to conception and the starkness of the black and white after the loss of her child. It's moving to see color slowly return to the story as color slowly begins to return to the couple's lives after their loss.

this made me cry in class.

i was having a boring time at class and decided to pick this up because it was a quick read and i could finish it in one sitting in the classroom. i was not expecting to cry.

i forgot what this was about, i should've reread the synopsis. but it's beautiful, heartbreaking and inspiring.

tw: for miscarriage and grief, lots of it. but it's so absolutely beautiful and i can see many people finding comfort in it.

Waves is a beautiful graphic novel about one of the most tragic things that can happen to a women. It is the story of a couple who after a long time trying to conceive lose the baby boy after a difficult pregnancy. It follows them through the joy of finding out they are pregnant through the beginnings of being able to deal with the loss in a productive manner.

The story is interspersed with dreams/nightmares. I think this a great way to share and talk about something so private but it can helps others who feel they are alone in what they are going through.

This is one of the most honest, beautiful and tragic graphic novels I've ever read. I cried non-stop while reading this. I definitely recommend caution when going into this graphic novel, as the topic -- miscarriage -- is quite sensitive, but if you can handle it, it's an incredible read, as it's a story about healing. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed the art in this. Overall, it was a good story with some decent dialogue. I am interested to see the author develop as a creator and see what future projects are produced.

The stunning artwork so perfectly compliments this heartbreaking story of loss. I loved how the author used color to show their emotions and experiences.

It was however a very short read with some pages consisting of little to no words. I wish it had had more substances.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boom! Studios for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lesbian couple is struggling to have a child. When they finally thing it’s happened, their son is snatched from them before he can even take his first breath.

This graphic novel deals with the grief of miscarriage and the ways couples deal with the loss. The illustrations are gorgeous and convey the deep, dark places one can go to while grieving.

I would love to see more from this couple and continue to follow their journey through other graphic novels.

Waves is a heartbreaking, profound and beautiful graphic novel.

The story is a simple one, an event repeated time after time throughout the world. A long awaited pregnancy brings hope and happiness to a young couple. What follows is reflected in the first few desolate scenes when a young woman and her wife come to terms with their tragic loss. The artwork is vivid, the colours reflective of the emotions of the moms and how they come to terms with the loss of their child. I don’t remember when I’ve been so moved by a story and have to think the visuals amplify the reader's response to the scenes on the page. it’s a beautiful combination and a book I will never forget.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

4,5*

This graphic novel follows a lesbian couple, and the loss they experience when they lose their unborn child. We see the struggle, and we see them desperately trying to continue on with their lives after they seem to have lost a part of themselves.

Absolutely heartbreaking, and beautiful, and hopeful, this story made me cry my way through many emotions. The artwork was done phenomenally and truly added to the story. The black-and-white slowly turning to colour again was a great metaphor, and I can imagine that it must feel like that after a loss. Overall, a very insightful story and a beautiful read.

What a powerful, beautiful story. The illustrations are nostalgic, full of sketched but strong lines, with sparse and thoughtful use of color, the pain the writer feels soaks into the pages, making each panel throb with sadness. This is an incredibly intimate sharing of one’s story and as the reader I felt honored to be allowed to enter the writers mind for a bit.

Beautifully illustrated, this heartbreaking - and yet, also uplifting - story is based on author Ingrid Chabbert's personal experience with the loss of child. The characters invoke with the reader fear, pain, and eventual peace (though it stays with them always), and you can understand the difficulty of the experience. The story pairs wonderfully with Carole Maurel's illustrations - which range from full color to black and white through the characters' journey - are simple yet evocative. A simple blue book in the middle of an grey-toned world speak volumes on the main character's path to recovery.

A beautifully illustrated and written moving book about love, loss and healing. In this book, a picture certainly does say a thousand words, to show how devastating a difficult pregnancy and subsequent loss of the baby can be, alongside very gentle affirmations of love. I think this book’s skill and beauty is in showing loss in a way that you are moved by the loss but inspired by the resilience and love shown, that leaves you with a sense of hope that as humans we can recover from loss. I also really enjoyed the quiet ordinariness of having two women in a relationship at the heart of the book, again so delicately presented. I hope this book gets the recognition that it deserves as a way to understand and process loss.

Beautiful, muted, aching, tear-inducing rawness. I *loved* the colors and the lines. If you want a great sad queer story, this is for you!

This was beautiful. Heartbreaking, but beautiful. So many women have lived through similar experiences and this book and its illustrations captures those feelings so well.

What a wonderful book. This captures the pain of miscarriage in a way I could relate to. I also love a happy ending, and dogs, so yeah this may be my favorite book of 2019

I just . . . wow. Wow, wow. I am constantly going on and on to people about how graphic novels tend to be symbolic in many ways just by virtue of their medium. That's why memoirs feel so powerful, because it's an interpretation of things that don't always have a visual form. The story felt earnest and sad, and Those. Illustrations. I loved Maurel's art.

This was such a moving graphic novel. The art stunning, and the story was so emotional. I highly recommend reading it.

I received this as an eARC from Netgalley and the publisher Archaia in exchange for my open and honest review.

We all have that moment where we are storm-tossed and sheltering in a proverbial dingy clinging for safety. A moment where we look upon the future, and it seems like nothing more than waves crashing against the boat. Miscarriage, but really infertility in general, is one of those things that can toss you among the crashing waves and cause you to have to find your way back home. It is damaging, brutal, heart wrenching and prompts you to question everything you have ever held dear. It is also one of those things that are rarely discussed but affects so many. In Ingrid Chabbert graphic novel, Waves” she speaks of the before, during, and after of miscarriage and heartbreak after suffering miscarriage. It is poignant and painful, and she broke my heart as she stood in her little boat and faced a future among the crashing ways after a miscarriage. She is fierce in the most real sense of the world, and she broke my damn heart…


This story is a true story of Ingrid Chabbert and her partner’s struggle with infertility, pregnancy, and miscarriage and then the struggle back to the light of life afterward. Anyone at all who has dealt with infertility can tell you how devastating it can be on every aspect of your life. Pregnancy is everywhere from the woman at the grocery store to adds on TV. It is such an important book to write and create because no one wants to talk candidly about it. With pregnancy rates as they are 1 in 10 women are infertile or have problems staying pregnant. This is such a real struggle, and that is 6 million women out there that have to contend with this every day.


No one wants to tell stories like this; it is as if our collective culture thinks something like infertility is a catchable disease like cooties or chicken pox. But Chabbert does, and she tells it beautifully. Not only is it a gripping and emotional read, but it is also beautifully rendered by Carole Maurel. Each page is done in a kaleidoscope of soft and beautiful colors and the images Maurel created of Chabbert being lost among the sea’s waves are so right and so real.
Readers and people appreciative of graphic novels should read this. She put her heart out there and her journey with this story, and this is an incredible work of art.