The story is actually based on the author’s personal experiences and you can definitely feel that while reading the book. It feels so personal and sincere; the hurt, the desperation and the fight to stand upright after a tragic event… Chabbert writes in a direct way -not circling around the subject no matter how heavy it gets- but also makes use of analogies -hence the name of the book. I, at first, did not really grasp the analogy; but as the story progressed it not only got clearer for me, but it also enhanced the story.

Which brings me to the illıustrations: they were sublime! They compliment the story with their soft and pastel approach, while the use of colour is effective as well. The panels with the dialogues are not as striking as the empty ones, but overall they are all quite good.

All in all, the journey is told masterfully. Maybe there could have been some more clarity in certain times but the illustrations make up for it.

★・・・・・・・★・・・・・・・★

This book reminded me of my own mothers experience while she was pregnant for me. She also had a lot of bleeding which resulted in her having to stay in bed for the remaining of the pregnancy. My parents were both so scared and felt hopeless in times. They still occasionally mention how lucky they are that i was born healthy.

Which is why I am glad that there are books out there now that tells such personal stories which are also universal experiences for mothers all around the globe.

Personal note: This book is also scheduled to be released on my birthday (May 7), which just makes me even more excited!

Evocative and heartbreaking simultaneously. The journey of healing and growth is both very personal and overwhelmingly familiar and part of the human experience.

Children's author Ingid Chabbert's first graphic novel reveals an intimate and tragic story of miscarriage and carrying on. Her story had me shedding tears.

This book is a beautiful metaphor for so many struggles that I can see this book apply to so many people. It is devastating after years of trying for a child to lose them and I loved how this book represented that there is no "getting over it" and that healing is a long and arduous process. I particularly loved the use of color to reflect the characters' mental and emotional health, regaining colors little by little as they start to breathe again, to live again. I would love for this book to be a part of my medical library collection for patients who have gone through similar experiences and for professionals who can provide a little bit of color and support for their patients.

I loved the look of this graphic novel when it came up on my Netgalley, but wow I didn't know what I was getting myself into until I read it! In saying this, even with the strong emotional themes of this book, I absolutely loved it, I was so very moved by every page of this graphic novel! I honestly didn't think I would find a graphic novel from Netgalley that I would actually enjoy, until I read this beautiful masterpiece.

When I found out it was based off Ingrid Chabbert's personal experience of her and her partner losing their child, I was even more greatly affected. Through Chabbert's personal experiences throughout the story's plot, the illustrations by Maurel matched them in intensity and depth. I absolutely adored the use of the illustrations, especially the use of colours in the illustrations. I also loved the fact that I honestly felt like the illustrations often didn't need words to match every panel and the illustrations themselves also provide a story by themselves.

The only thing I wish I saw more was the grief and loss the wife went through, as she was in the story as a major form of support, which I totally understand as to be important, but I would have liked to understand her emotions in this painful time.

Thank you very much to BOOM! Studios for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be completely frank, this was boring.

While the artwork was beautiful, the decision to compose the majority of this comic in snapshots made it so I felt detached from the characters and their plight. I should have been devastated to read about this couple's struggle to have a baby and their miscarriage, but I felt...mainly nothing.

The color scheme connection to stages of grief was excellent (gray with despair, warm hues for perseverance, etc.), the established happy f/f couple is one I've always longed to see in any type of novel, and the overall idea behind the graphic book is heart-wrenching.

I just think the narrative itself was executed poorly and could have benefited from being twice its length.


Thank you NetGalley for sending me an arc of this comic! It was definitely a new reading experience for me, albeit a short one.

Waves is a graphic novel based on the author Ingrid Chabbert and her wife's loss of a late-term pregnancy, told from the perspective of the author who carried the child. Feelings of the pain and grief were poignant and the illustrations beautiful. Where I felt disconnected was how the protagonist's wife dealt with the loss. She just seemed to provide moral support and didn't seem to display much grieving. Maybe it just felt that way because it's based on the perspective of the author.

A moving story about a lesbian couple's experience trying to conceive a child. The artwork was beautiful and the story moved me to tears.

Wow what a really beautiful but heart wrenchingly difficult read that just makes you feel for the characters straight the way.
this story is about a young women and her wife after so many tries to conceive a baby have another try and finds out she is actually pregnant and it turns into their most happy day of their life, but things take a turn only to leave heartbreak when they find out some tragic news.
from then both women try to find a away to start go back to the way they were and get back to the happy selves but always have the memory and loss in the back of their minds and heart but try to live again.
Its also hard because after so many attempts the women deep down know that they probably won't be able to conceive again or ever,

5/5 stars

Waves is something special. This beautiful graphic novel is packed with so much of its author and a tragedy she fought hard to come to terms with. It’s the story of a woman whose baby is taken from her too soon, a story that shows her slowly rejoining the world of the living and re-discovering life in the world. This is a deeply moving tale that left me crying multiple times throughout. It was unexpected and I want to thank the author for writing such a personal account of the struggles she went through.

Waves features some of the most beautiful graphic novel art I’ve seen yet, filled with intensely personal closeups and striking representations of the grief our author felt as she began the healing process. Color becomes an important plot point as everything drains from the world when she loses her baby. It takes awhile for color to rejoin the panels. It’s slow, perfectly mirroring the healing process. It was deeply emotional to see that color return, to imagine how the thoughts are struggling against each other within her head. The final visual is breathtaking, leaving the novel on a profound note.

Ultimately, Waves is a story of one woman’s journey to rejoin the world. It deserves to be read and re-read, for the beautifully written story and the art with few equals.

Review will be published on 5/1/19: https://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/05/01/waves-book-review

I loved the art in this. This was so emotional and impactful. I only wish we got to see more about the partner’s feelings about this whole thing.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, I have to say that the drawing and the use of colours are remarkable - it added loads of depth to the story and the main character's personality.
It tells the story of a lesbian couple who has been trying to get pregnant for a long time and when they finally do, the disaster happens. But not all is lost: their bond is especially strong and their relationship survives because they are so supportive to each other.
I found it particularly touching, and the ending was indeed fantastic. Props also the LGBT+ rep, which I always thank.

"Think of yourself as dung beetles [...] Dung beetles lug their ball of dung around...we all have our own ball of dung to lug around. We're all dung beetles, in our own way."

This graphic novel is absolutely beautiful. Not only is the art stunning and well made but the story itself is so raw and heartbreaking. It fills me both with warmth and sadness.

Ingrid Chabbert tells us the story of a lesbian couple who finally gets pregnant after a long time trying. But things doesn't go as planned and because of what happens the main characters spirals down into a heavy and dark depression. What slowly helps her get back on her feet is writing.

The topics that is brought to the light in this graphic novel is so incredibly important and the story itself needs to be read by everyone. I'm so thankful for Ingrid Chabbert, Carole Maurel, BOOM! Studios and Net Galley for letting me read this pearl.

The illustrations are brimming with colors, life and imagination while at other times they are filled with sorrow, darkness and a cold blanket of sadness. I haven't seen any of Maurel's work before but I absolutely adore her way of portraying both the characters and feelings in this graphic novel. The way she so vividly showed the reader the difference between happy and sad moments is simply magnificent.

After this incredible read I barely can wait to read more of Ingrid Chabbert's work! I'm intrigued to find out what else she's written and if these stories also are filled with important topics and heartbreaking — and later on heartwarming — moments.

I can’t wait to have this book in my hands!

Thank you BOOM! Studios & Net Galley for the e-ARC of "Waves" by Ingrid Chabbert and Carole Maurel (illustrator).

This graphic novel tells a woman's journey through pregnancy, the loss of her child, and the mourning and reconstruction that comes after. The artistic style portrays the mourning through the use of colors. Highlights show the colors coming back into their world after their loss. This is a very emotional story.

I give this graphic novel a 5/5. The process of grieving and reconstruction is shown so well. I feel that anyone, whether you have any similar experiences or not, will be moved by this book.

Gorgeous, heart wrenching, and inspirational. The struggle to become parents and the pain of recovery from the loss of a child. This story and the art strike at the heart of this unfortunate reality for so many, then goes on to show the growth that can come from therapy and support.

No No No no No. What did I just read. No. This is not my type of book at all and now all I want to do is scrub out my eyeballs. We follow a lovely couple as they try to have a baby. But it is not to be. The waves are a metaphor for grief as each woman comes to terms with what happens. Over all the artwork is fantastic, and the way the illustrator uses color to show emotion is so great. If i knew someone in this situation this would be a perfect book to give them. For general library purposes this book gets a ⅘ stars, but personally for me, NO THANK YOU. I don’t like sad stories. And yes this is my fault for not reading what the book was about before I asked to read it.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, Ingrid. You broke my heart in such a profound way with your introspective graphic novel, Waves.

As a reader, I was taken in by the story and the attention to detail, like how the presence and absence of colors benefited the words in such a profound way. As a mom, I was heart-broken for this couple who had wished and hoped so deeply for their precious son, and only got pain, a scar, and one photograph to remember him by. The pages affected me deeply, and by the end I found myself wiping away tears of bittersweet away.

I absolutely loved the metaphor the waves and the ocean had with the author's story, real and imagined.

I think readers of all kinds are going to identify with this story. I know I did.

This was an utterly beautiful and heartbreaking exploration of love, loss, grief, and hope. Waves offered an unparalleled reading experience, and the story was elevated by illustrations that perfectly complimented the text. I will absolutely be pushing to have this title added to my library's collection.

A heart-wrenching autobiographical story about a lesbian couple dealing with a miscarriage. Carole Maurel's art is fantastic, especially how color or the lack of it is incorporated into the book. After tragedy strikes, the color shifts to black and white. Color slowly seeps back into the book as the couple processes their loss and learns how to move on with their life. It's a powerful use of the comics medium that really packs a punch and delivers the characters' emotions.

What a powerful book. It chronicles the narrative of Ingrid Chabbert and her partner as they experience the joy of becoming pregnant and then losing their son. The poignant grief and healing connect you to the story and will have you cheering on the characters as they reach milestones of healing.
The illustrations use colors (and lack of colors) to add to the emotions portrayed so the reader can experience the joy and pain with the characters of "Waves."
I highly recommend this book.

Representation: interracial marriage, a lesbian married couple, IVF, loss of a child
Trigger warning: difficult pregnancy, miscarriage/stillborn child, losing a child, emergency c-section

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