At first when I started reading this I wasn't too sure that I would like it. This is a coming of age story about Antoine who is a 13 year old boy, tiptoeing into his young adult years. Every summer he and his parents and younger brother spend the summer in their seaside holiday home. This year is different. Antoine wakes up one morning to find that they have guests. Hélène is 16 years old and her mother has just had a miscarriage. Her mother is a friend to Antoine's parents and so they have joined Antoine's family at their holiday home.

Antoine is entranced by Helene and stumbles along following her into drink, partying and sexual petting. Helene encourages him and finds comfort in him as their friendship and desire for each other increases. They are both innocent but reaching for more as some young people do. I didnt like Helene because I felt as if she was older and should have known better, but should she? In the end we see the two teenagers trying to manage their sexual desire, friendship, loneliness and fraternal care. In the end their friendship and care actually protect Antoine and the story ends on a hopeful note.

I liked the artwork. The black, whites and greys are a great way to tell this story of emerging love, friendship and desire. It is a many layered story because there are different aspects of the story occuring at the same time. The parents are blind to the children and their activities, so underage drinking, partying and fondling happen beneath their noses. They are focussed on their own things leaving Antoine to supervise and entertain his little brother. Helene is older than her years and quite lonely. Antoine provides her with companionship and hope, best of all is the way their care of each other actually keeps them safe.

All of the intricacies of this story are gently conveyed through the artwork. It would be well worth reading a physical copy. It surprised me how much I actually liked it in the end. Although I do think the parents should have had greater supervision of their children!

Copy provided by Diamond Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was a coming-of-age story of a 13 year old boy. There were graphic sexual scenes between him and a 16 year old girl, which made me really uncomfortable, especially since the legal age of consent between minors is 14 years where I’m at (Germany).

There was an overall lack of plot, and I didn’t quite understand the title. It didn’t really relate to the story in my opinion.

The art style was simple and I didn’t especially like it.

Overall, this novel wasn’t what I’d expected it to be and left me disappointed.

A Sister is a coming-of-age story. The art-style is purposeful and complements the narrative. This isn’t a whimsical story with trendy artwork. Instead, the graphic, impressionistic line-art and the colorless palette seem to reflect the harsh reality of real-life, and just how scary it is to grow up. There are a few moments, however, where the art lacks clarity, and it’s hard to tell where people are.
A Sister tells the story of a thirteen-year-old and his relationship with a vivacious girl three years his senior. The story is about growing up and coming into one’s own sexuality. Needless to say, this story is rife with male gaze and at times I think the depictions of nudity are a bit gratuitous. This graphic novel depicts underage drinking and sex. I personally find Craig Thompson’s “Blankets” to be a stronger work that explores similar themes.

This was a good graphic novel. The artwork was different from what I was used to but I really found it interesting and beautiful. I did have a problem with the "relationship" between the main character and Helene, since where I'm from this would've been an illegal set of intercourses and I found it a bit weird for that. I do believe there should be a trigger warning for underage sexual intercourse but, appart from that, I enjoyed reading this.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
This was a pretty nice coming-of-age story, and I am very in favour of books that does portray this age of sexual awakening, testing their own (and other's) boundaries, exploring their own bodies alone or together with someone they trust. I am maybe a bit unsure I like the age difference between Antoine and Helene, since it's implied that she's more than slightly more than 3 years older than her, but I also felt like they (for the most part) are portrayed as equals, and there is no malicious intent in either of them. Overall good graphic novel.