I would describe this one as horrifying and graphic. And it didn't turn out to be what I had expected. Maybe it's for the best.
The cover and the description looked really promising and I am left a little disappointed when I went into half of the book till the end. I would describe it rather as the story of a family with a child born with no mouth.
I see this book as more of the fears faced by the family and the main character herself rather than the 'disability' she was born with. I saw it as a coming of age story and sexual abuse as well.
And I really dislike the comparison between her and the 'introvert' friend regarding speaking up. I feel like the comparison is not proper and required.
The art and the dialogues were difficult to read and a bit congested.
The ending seems like another comparison which I feel is of poor taste.
Maybe this one is not for me.

This was not for me. I liked the story in the beginning, but I felt the story fell apart around the middle. It was very interesting though and unique.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Different... very different, and that ending? what? is there going to be more? i feel like i missed the point of this book possibly? thought i understood it until the ending but it was a good, different read

I was immediately pulled in by that striking cover. Perihan is a Turkish comic about a girl born without a mouth. When she's 8, she's finally old enough to have surgery and get one. But as time goes on her mouth begins to reseal again. This is when the book gets a bit wonky and can't decide on what it wants to be. There's a bunch of sequences where it's difficult to tell if they happened or was it just a nightmare because of how time elapsed immediately afterwards. It starts being about the family and how they deal with things before Perihan grows older and it becomes about how she grows into a woman. Is this story all just a metaphor about how women are not allowed to express themselves? To speak their truth? The book lacks focus in the second half and tries to take on to many things.

The art was very good for the most part. My only problem was that Perihan's friend looks exactly like her. They are on several pages together and I could never tell them apart. At one point, I thought the two girls may have been two aspects of Perihan, one that told the truth and the other that told lies. That ended up not being the case but the confusing art and storytelling at the time had me flummoxed.

This is an okay book for me. There are some thoughts lacking but this is a good read. A light and quick read. ❤️

Deep, but muddled, this Turkish graphic novel features a girl born with no mouth. Ridiculous years into her life doctors give her a mouth and lips to go with everything else she had always had internally, but there's a catch. It's a book that has the feel of a large drama, although one where I still don't really know what the heck the author was intending. There's the fable here of someone finding her voice, a political demand that people use their voice, at the ballot box and in giving genuine opinion and for company's sake, and probably six or so other reasons for the title character to be so incomplete, but none of those really stick and prove themselves to be the point of it all. Even if it were gearing towards one conclusion, the ending opens everything up again, so you've really got no grip on authorial intent. Still, before then you've got such a medically dodgy timeline anyway that I actually think anyone trying to 'solve' this is wasting their effort.

This book is a disturbing tale of a child growing up with a magical disability of no mouth. The reactions of family, neighbors, and ultimately the main character herself are a whirlwind of negative and positive emotions. I felt connected but not pitying the protagonist. It also put you into the faith and life of Istanbul, Turkey.

I honestly didn't know what to expect before I read this graphic novel. I thought that she would go her entire life without having a mouth or voice and the whole story would include some metaphor about not being able to express yourself. I was partially right that this book has a lot of deeper themes about self-expression and having a voice but Perihan does get surgery to open her mouth. I feel like this book would be great for dissecting and discussing in an English class because there are many metaphors and themes that can be pulled from the story but it just made my brain hurt a bit XD. Be sure that you're willing to put in lots of thought when reading this book because I feel like it gets pretty deep.

This novel really wasn't what I was expecting. Overall, I think the message may have gotten changed in the translation. The artwork is lovely, but VERY graphic, and the more muted colors make the reds and black stand out. Overall, it was a good graphic novel I just think there were too many plot threads that didn't quite meet at the end.

I enjoyed this unique graphic novel.

The whole concept of Perihan being born without a mouth and then realising she has to lie to keep it open once it has been operated on was a strange one. However, it made more sense when Perihan used this need to lie for a good purpose.

The plot was intriguing and I did wonder where it was going so it kept me interested.

The illustrations are lovely, although some are gory and I found it difficult to tell the difference between Perihan and Zehra at times.

I am intrigued about the next installment which will probably focus on Zehra's brother more...

Thanks to Europe Comics and Netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel because of its art style and entrenching plot. I would highly recommend this to fans of graphic novels and odd, interesting stories.

An intriguing idea, that of a young girl born without a mouth, and so unable to speak, combined with delicate yet striking artwork , meant that I was immediately drawn to Perihan by Cem Ozuduru. The artwork certainly did not disappoint, in fact it was really beautiful, however I found some of the story decisions strange, most notably the fact of needing to lie to keep her surgically reconstructed mouth open. I did appreciate the idea of comparing her with her friend, who despite being born with a fully functioning mouth, is still unable to speak up about the problems in her life.
Overall, an interesting idea, but a book I did not enjoy as much as I hoped.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

The art in this book uses two contrasting styles, alternating between very detailed and realistic with very symbolic against simple backgrounds, in a wonderful way. The muted colour palate serves the art nicely.
Unfortunately the story, which also alternates styles - jumping between a realistic coming-of-age story and a metaphorical one involving the power of lies - suffers from some significant pacing issues in the middle section of the story. Song lyrics feature heavily, which can always be a challenge in a translated work, but Cem Ülgen's translation seems to handle that element that fairly well.

Overall, worth picking up for the art, but I wish the pacing of the story had lived up to the concept.

*Received via NetGalley for review*

Started off strong - the haunting image of a beautiful young girl, long black inky hair, and no mouth. Then we move to the story, about Perhian, who had to wait until she was 8 to undergo surgery to reveal her mouth. It reseals mysteriously soon after, but then appears fixed once they correct it.

From there, unfortunately, it lost my interest. Perihan goes on to live a fairly normal life, singing and talking and eating. She discovers that her mouth attempts to reseal itself when she speaks the truth, and that when she lies she becomes more beautiful. This is incredibly interesting! And then it goes nowhere; this plot point is essentially forgotten.

And then the end come out of nowhere, with the strange reveal that her friends brother has no eyes. Was he born like that? If so, how did no one else know? Or did they disappear because of what he saw? Why would Perihan's beloved uncle kill her father? It was so abrupt that instead of leaving me wanting more it left me unsatisfied and cold.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this title.

This was a super quick, one sitting graphic novel.
While I get the parallels and meaning behind it, Parihan was just a really odd story. I don't really understand why her mouth wants her to lie..? And how did she not know, how did no one know, that Ali had no eyes?
The ending was pretty abrupt and open ended, which seems to me like there will more in a possible series.
The overall story was original and the illustration was good, but I don't think I'd read more of the series.

Trigger warnings: blood and gore,’violence, bullying. ( I might have missed a few please check before reading)

A very heart wrenching story of identity, belonging, prejudice , and self acceptance. Harrowing, moving , and beautiful . One of the first graphic novels to move me to my core and leave an impact. I think the story would be better written but the images did help greatly and it would make a film.

I highly recommend it if you want a quick but meaningful read.

Due to some fluke of nature, Perihan is born without a mouth. When the doctors investigate further, they are able to see that she has the internal structures, she just needs it opening when she is old enough.

This book was not what I was expecting. It was described as being about Perihan finding her voice when she has no mouth but it took a couple of strange tangents about lying and ignoring period pains. The ending wasn't really an ending however it is difficult to tell if this is the start of a strange new series or just meant to leave the reading thinking after they are finished; I felt very unsatisfied by the ending so I hope that it is the former rather than the latter.

The artwork is beautiful although quite gruesome at times so please be aware of that before reading.

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

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this graphic novel going in, and I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it going out. There was a lot I really liked about it, the story was unlike anything I’d read before, and gave a really unique look at women living without voices both physically and metaphorically. It was well written and subtle in places, a little clumsy in others, but the ending didn’t sit well with, I think maybe the metaphor was a little overextended although I can appreciate what the author was going for.

All in all, I think it’s definitely a story that will stay with me, executed in a way that really made me think.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I was fascinated by the idea of a girl born without a mouth. I can't really imagine what that would be like, but the book does a pretty good job of filling in a history of doctor's appointments & people staring. The author definitely gets into the body horror aspect when it comes time for her surgery & nightmares that various characters have. Once it got into the second part of the story, I wasn't sure that I understood the symbolism and reasoning of her mouth closing back up. The whole story was a good combination of real-life setting & people, combined with the fantasy aspects and it made me want to discuss it with someone.

I have not read a book like Perihan. I would describe it as SciFi Horror. Perihan is born without a mouth but lying gives her magical features of creativity and beauty. There are gaps in the story that I found difficult to make sense of but it may be related to the translation.