I was so sad I did not love this! I was convinced by the adorable title and cover to pick it up. I am currently looking for good kids/middle grade books to give my cousins for xmas and thought this would be a great find. Sadly I did not love the art style and do not see a child enjoying reading it. The concept is A+ though and I would love to see some type of movie short adapt this.

Is anyone gonna invent a Richter scale to measure the magnitude of emotions in a young girl's heart?
Oh my! This is such a wholesome and beautiful book! Apart from the insane amount of cuteness, this is a book that talks about so many important things. There's adoption, there's racism, there's discrimination, also a bit of ageism but there's also learning about how wrong one's beliefs may have been and trying to overcome that.
It is sooooo much fun as well! My heart was overflowing! And the GegGe gang was just another awesome thing! And when Qinaya says her first word and 'Hooker' comes out of her mouth! LOLLLLL
This book was full of awww moments, I swear!
I loved this book! There needs to be a sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dimond Book Distributors, and Magnetic Press for sending me a e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5 stars (spoiler full review)

The Adoption by Zidou and Arno Monin

The Adoption by Zidou and Arno Monin is a touching depiction of the complex relationship between a father and son that emerges after the son and his wife adopt a young child from Peru. Through out this graphic novel, different characters struggle with self-doubt, grief, and remorse, but as the tale of this adoption unfolds, each finds acceptance and love.

In this story we follow Gabriel, a 75-year-old retired French butcher who lives with his wife Rysette. Gabriel could best be described as a crotchety old man most often found in the company of his lifelong friends Gaston and Gerald, two old cranks who are just as grumpy, vulgar, and philosophical as he is. After a catastrophic earthquake that destroys the town of Arequipa, Peru claiming thousands of lives, Gabriel’s 47-year-old son Alain and his wife adopt a young girl named Qinaya, who we are led to believe was orphaned by the quake. When Gabriel and Qinaya, meet and as their relationship grows, Gabriel is confronted by the question of what it means to be a grandfather, a question that takes on a more painful meaning as his confronts his shortcomings as a father.

In this graphic novel we get to see the adorable interactions between Gabriel and his granddaughter and the adventures they go on; until a piece of information comes to light that shakes the fragile foundation of this family’s world.

Something that I really enjoyed about this graphic novel was the style of illustration. To me the illustrations felt nostalgic, it reminded me of when I was a little girl sitting with my own grandfather and “reading” the comic section in the newspaper. I also really like the coloring in the story. I felt that even when the story was taking a more serious and dark turn, the illustrator was able to keep the story lighter through using lots of bright colors. Another aspect of this story I highly enjoyed was the interactions between Gabriel and his two friends Gaston and Gerald (the three G’s), and between Gabriel and his wife Rysette. I felt that these interactions between the characters were some of the most realistic and most accurate depictions of the elderly or ageing couples I had seen. It goes with out saying that I thought that Gabriel’s interactions with his granddaughter were adorable and heartwarming through the whole of the graphic novel.

Spoilers below

However, I do have some issues with this graphic novel that caused me to give it such a low rating. My biggest issue is that I feel as if the story missed an opportunity to be too able to make a big emotional impact with its plot twist. The story did not explain enough how the kidnapping happened or why the kidnapping occurred in the first place ( I know that Alain and his wife wanted a child, but why couldn’t they adopt in France?). Without those details the story left me feeling almost nothing aside from confused and wondering what else happened for them to be able to adopt her and why Alain went to jail if they had legally adopted her.

Aside from the adoption/kidnapping confusion I feel that in this story a few things were left under explained or were just random. For instance, it was mentioned multiple times that Qinaya looked too small for her age and that she could not possibly be four years old based on her size. These comments were littered throughout the first half of the novel and I do not know what purpose they serve. With drawing so much attention to her size I feel that there should have been a purpose to it down the road, like maybe she wasn’t actually four and she was indeed younger, or maybe she was severely malnourished as a baby. They also left the nature of Gabriel’s wife Rysette’s illness and how it related to the story unexplained. Was she depressed; grief stricken? Did the abrupt departure of Qinaya and the imprisonment of her son spur on a preexisting ailment?

Despite the issues I had with this book, I still enjoyed it and thought that it was endearing. I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone who likes family centered story lines, but I would also give caution to anyone who is sensitive to nudity or troubled by family separations.

Well, this book! This book has a strong message about the family and especially about adoption. It's a raw story, it doesn't try to give the reader a beautiful story full of flowers. This story is not a sea of roses. The reader is led to believe that it will be a very soft story, but soon discovers that it will not be well above.

It is a story that only by reading to really discover how you feel about this plot. No doubt I recommend this story, it is one that moves us with emotions.

I was not expecting the turn this comic took. From the premise I was expecting a cute story about a grumpy grandfather who warms up to his recently adopter granddaughter, but this was actually more about making mistakes and what it really means to be a parent, husband and friend when you are old and all the main milestones of life have passed. The story was lovely in a very raw, realistic way. Painfully human even. The art style was really nice and it meshed well with the text. I really liked it.

Thank you NetGalley for sharing Advanced Readers Copies with educators!

I read the English translation of this graphic novel. Its original language is French and it is an adult-level graphic novel.

The story twisted in unexpected ways, and gives the reader s WHOLE LOT to ponder.

The artwork is beautiful. There are a lot of cuts to different times/places and it felt much more like a true story rather than a fictional arc. I can get behind that - it was interesting, but it never feels resolved... just like real life, I guess.

If you are comfortable with the complexity of good people doing bad things, ever-evolving people, and the messiness and non-linear LIFE, then you'll enjoy this story.

This book had such a strong message about family and adoption but the twist left disappointed and wishing that I had stopped reading halfway through the book.

Beautifully illustrated, this was an enjoyable read. How does a family pull together after secrets are revealed which threaten to tear it apart? Gabriel is a retired butcher whose heart is initially closed to his adopted Peruvian grand daughter. But as he reflects on his life, he finds himself asking the same question over and over... "Was I good Dad?" His friends joke and reflect with him. His family watch him wrestle with his own question and even a stranger steps in to reflect with him. I enjoyed this graphic novel and warmed to Gabriel's love for his friends and his family, however I would not recommend it with some of the adult references included.

This was such a great graphic novel and so heartwarming. I loved the relationship Gabriel the grandpa developed with his adopted granddaughter. Even though he was extremely skeptical in the beginning, he eventually grew to love her as his own. There was a plot twist in this book that I was not expecting at all so that put me on a little emotional rollercoaster but the ending was satisfying 😊 This was a very sweet book even with the mildly vulgar Geegees group 😂 The artwork was beautiful and the font was very easy to read which is always great.

Uuuuugh what a beautiful little heartbreaking story! I feel horrible for literally everyone in this book but it was so lovely and touching and well written that I had to love it.

This was kind of a strange graphic novel. I enjoyed it and it tugged at my heart. I was unsure of the nudity and crude talk but it didn't detract from the story at all. I wasn't sure where I was expecting the story to end up but it was a journey. My emotions were a roller coaster throughout the book. This would be a nice addition to the adult graphic novel shelves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the DRC.

Thought I was gonna read a wholesome picture book for kids. Oh boy was I wrong. The heartbreak hit me hard with this one. It's not for a young audience either as the art is mature at one point and the conversations between the characters are not suited for kids.

Firstly, I don't really think that this book's target audience is in the "teen or YA" market. From my understanding of the text, this comic is definitely aimed at a more adult audience.

C/W: Kidnapping, nudity

Sometimes you pick up a piece knowing exactly what it will give you and it manages to surprise you anyway. "The Adoption" definitely is that story.

It talks about the relationships between parents and their children. The idea of what made a "good parent" was frequently brought up and I didn't expect the story to hit me emotionally where it did. Almost every character introduced had some purpose and I think it does a good job of showcasing the racial diversity within France.

I loved how flawed the characters were and I was surprised at how heart-wrenching this entire story was. I think the topic of international adoption was handled with a lot of grace, especially since we see most of the story through the lens of a grandfather who doesn't understand his son's need to adopt a child.

The talks on growing up and older were my favourites. We rarely get to see that from the perspective of a character older than 50. While I wouldn't call this comic perfect, I think it comes pretty close especially when considering the conversations characters were having/facilitating, with such a few pages to work with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Magnetic Press for allowing me to read an e-arc of "The Adoption". All opinions are my own.

The Adoption is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story about a couple who adopted a child. Everything became normal and joyful until the truth behind the adoption were revealed. They had to continue living on with their lives when life just become too painful to bear. I really like the illustrations as well as the story. It is nothing like what I read before and though it didn't ended the way expected it to go, it was still such a pleasant read.

*I received this book thanks to Netgalley and the publisher in exchange of honest reivew*

The story begins in Arequipa, Perù. An 8.4 Richter scale earthquake devastated the country and Mr. Gabriel, a gentleman over seventy, miles and miles away from there in another country, watches the news not imagining that he will soon meet his adopted granddaughter, who came from that very land devastated. Her name is Quinaia and this sweet and little girl does not seem to like him, not appreciating the choices of his son that are far removed from his. Despite what was said and maintained by the elderly gentleman, she is very close to little Quinaia, rediscovering values ​​that she believed lost and things she did not believe were possible. But even this strange balance will be upset sooner or later.
What will happen to Gabriel and little Quinaia? Which awareness will the elderly grandfather take on? What will we be able to discover in the course of this sweet and beautiful reading?

The plot is simple and quickly explains what we will face. It is simple and intuitive, as it should be for a graphic novel, that is, don't tell too much so as not to avoid saying too much.
The cover is something sensational and one of a kind. He called me to him just by looking at her. It encompasses much more than it means and sums up a good part of this volume. It is a very sweet cover, with a grandfather who looks at his adoptive granddaughter with a strange look, as if it were a mysterious and incomprehensible thing. The title gives an added value to the cover and gives an idea of ​​what it tries to communicate even if the story says much more and the issues dealt with focus not only on the fact of adoption but on being a grandfather, on being a person and about rediscovering a part of themselves. An indestructible combination in my opinion.
The setting is divided into two parts and I can't say which ones because I would spoil part of the volume. I can say that it starts at the home of grandfather Gabriel and initially focuses on the city where he lives and then moves on through vicissitudes linked to history; the era is modern, contemporary, to the present day.

The characters of this story are different even if those absolutely central and effective are few and can actually be counted on the fingers of one hand. I find it incredible the lightness of Quinaia's character and the change that the one who finds himself as grandfather undergoes. In the background the children of Gabriel and his wife who tries to dissuade him from being so distant from everything, the group of Gee Gee, Gabriel's friends and the man that we will discover in the second part of the volume.
Gabriel, in fact, is a grandfather now retired and immediately presents himself as grumpy, not inclined to adopt this granddaughter, reluctant to see his son do a different job from his and to have sent the family business lost, in the butcher shop where he had worked for 50 years. He is a man who rediscovers himself within a particular bond, in front of the eyes of a little girl who seems to adore him despite the fact that he tries at all costs to keep her at a distance. A character who is discovered page after page, change after change.

The central pivot of this volume is not only the simple grandfather-grandson relationship but also the change that all this brings to the man who will face certain situations and certain steps that he did not believe he had in front of him. A complete and particular story, absolutely to be discovered.
The style and graphics proposed and used in this volume are unique and wonderful. You notice the touch of Zidrou after reading for Bao A summer ago, where the distinctive trait is the same, unique and inimitable. These illutrations have his own brand and it shows from a mile away. I really appreciate his stroke, his drawings and the colors used in this story that do justice to the story that Monin seems to have structured together with the illustrator Zidrou.
The story appears to be divided into two parts. In fact on Amazon (In Italy at least) I noticed that there are two different volumes of this story collected in a single volume for Netgalley. I honestly recommend reading both of them also because otherwise you will never know how it will end. In this version there is no detachment on a graphic level but on a story level, not represented and therefore not announced but which can be understood by taking hold with the story, which explains what will happen. The division is sudden but the story does not lose the message or the validity of the issues dealt with, obviously keeping on the same story.
The themes are simple but at the same time decisive and strong in the eyes of the reader. It is a journey of discovery of being a grandfather but also of different things: of what he has always evaluated incorrectly, of what has not been enough and of what he wants to be now, until the end of his days. The rebirth and the discoveries of a man who had closed himself in a world where he hardly let anyone else enter. And it is precisely the arrival of little Quinaia to break the balance and allow grandfather Gabriel to change. There will also be discoveries that will undermine this relationship but everything is striking and pleasing for how it is treated and arranged at the level of story and illustrations.

The book is unique and inimitable, absolutely tender and worth reading. I advise all lovers of graphic novels to read this volume. Advice, advice, advice.
Zidou and Monin write and illustrate a story of love, discovery and redemption. A lovely story on all fronts that I really enjoyed. Open your heart to little Quinaia, she will win you over.
My rating for this book: 5 stars.

I thought this was going to just be a cute little story, but it's also an emotional trip. I loved that it was from the point of view of the grandfather and the illustrations were beautiful.

Aside from the amazing drawings, this book is filled with emotions. ''You can't buy love, nor force it. You have to earn it.''

I liked the art style a lot. And the twist at the end tho very confusing, did catch me off guard. i also enjoyed some of the characters.

the description was kiiiiind of misleading
Also, there was some unnecessary nudity in page 21. This book isn't rated for age, and some people might be mislead and gift this to their children.

Gabriel is a 75 year old man stuck in his habits. His life turns upside down when his son and daughter-in-law adopt a child from earthquake-affected Peru. Slowly, the little girl works her way into Gabriel's heart and he is just beginning to enjoy the privilege of being a grandfather when suddenly, an unexpected twist changes the circumstances for everyone involved.

Up until the twist, I absolutely adored the story. The humour is so nicely balanced with emotional moments that many times, I had happy tears in my eyes. After the twist however, the story becomes a lot more serious. Thw twist itself is unforeseeable so you are as confused as Gabriel by all that ensues. The story is bittersweet and will leave you with many thoughts.

The translation seems to be spot on and the illustrations are really fabulous. They add wonderfully to the charm of the story. Overall, it is a very sentimental read, absolutely not like I had expected. But still, it is a book worth reading.

My rating: 4.5

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
A poignant story telling which reaches out to your hearts and tugs hard against the family intricacies which we have stored deep within our recesses. A story of a retired butcher trying to get in terms with his retirement and disappointment of his son not taking over the family shop, a daughter in politics and when his son adopts a foreigner kid to be his grandchild the initial reluctance and then melting of his heart is too cute to be described in mere words. The second chapter of the book is more about him discovering what he already had in front of him and learning to accept them rather than only wishing for things that was more of his regrets.
A wonderfully created and crafted book, the illustrations though wacky in parts were the right touch keeping in line with the story.
Absolutely recommend this book.