Cover Image: Forever

Forever

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed the story of this graphic novel, and the art is beautiful. At times the written was a bit difficult to read.

Was this review helpful?

A well illustrated journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

Thank you #NetGalley and Europe Comics for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Was this review helpful?

It was really cute, the art style is not my favorite but after 10 pages I began to like it. The story is a classic summer romance and teen drama and I really liked it. I saw myself in many things and I really enjoyed it.
The best thing about going on vacation with your parents, it's really not seeing them all day and having fun exploring and meeting other adults more open minded!

Was this review helpful?

This was lovely story exploring the intricacies and difficulties of growing up as a teenage girl in an often backward and traditional family culture. Watching the heroine Viola be mistreated, struggle with self-confidence, body issues, and horrible messaging from her mother, were all so frustrating, but also far too common still. The romance with Ireneo was charming and tender, as was there friendship with the older neighbours. Lots to enjoy in this story.

Was this review helpful?

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions are my own and this did not affect my review in any way.

Currently, comic books and graphic novels have been my comfort read so when I found this book up for review I knew I had to read it, this is a graphic novel about love and identity so it was right up my alley and I am so happy I got the chance to read and review it.

In Forever we follow Viola, who on vacation with her parents, during the idle hours of the afternoon while everyone is sleeping, encounters and experiences will help her grow as a person and get answers to the hard questions that everyone has to face sooner or later, and she will reshape her identity, in a summer she’ll never forget.

This was such a beautiful and heartbreaking story, like most of the times with graphic novels, I found myself wanting more, I wanted to know more about Viola and her friends, more about the relationship and the self-discovery, but you can only fit so much in a graphic novel so I understand. The art style is outstanding, it complements the story perfectly and it was very pleasing to look at.

The story is very heartwarming, I think everyone can relate to Viola at some point in our lives as we try to navigate who we are. Although it was sometimes hard to read, I appreciate that this graphic novel dealt with serious topics such as consent, jealousy and toxic relationships, in my opinion, it was very well handled.

Overall I don’t really have anything else to say. This is a graphic novel about love and finding out who you are. The art style and the story are beautiful and I truly recommend for everyone to pick up a copy.

Thanks so much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me read and review this book.

Was this review helpful?

This graphic novel was that age old tale of first love and summer Romance.
Viola has never been in love and doesn't know much about it, but this summer is about to change that. This was a very honest look at being a teen, that first experience of love, and discovering who you are.
It was refreshing to read. reminded of those awkward teenage days of wanting and not wanting to fit in, clashing with parents, that first experience of love and knowing it may not be forever.
It also covered Viola helping her friend leave a toxic relationship and that was refreshing to read an honest account as all too often these aren't portrayed in the way they play out, even in young teens.
The illustrations with clear and bright, reading like a diary at points and the style fitting with this photographic/snapshot style.
On the whole enjoyed this book and will be recommending to young and old alike.

Was this review helpful?

"Forever" is a nice coming of age story about the difficulty of knowing yourself when you don't fully understand the world you live in. An honest portrait of what being a teenager means, but also an ode to self love, romantic love and friendship that goes trough generations.

I enjoyed Assia Petricelli's story, but I felt like it took way too much time to start, specially since there wasn't really a world to build it in. Also, most of the first half of the graphic novel showed a lot of possesive love and emotional abuse which, for me, made it a little difficult to keep on reading.

Overall, an entertaining and original journey with beautiful art.

Was this review helpful?

A rather sweet coming of age story. A bit unevenly paced and the some of end sections seemed a bit rushed. However, it captures something about those important summer holidays where everything changes.

The art is lovely but I wish it took a more adventurous approach to storytelling that was hinted at in some of the earlier layouts.

The characters are all well written. The tension between the parents and children is particularly well observed.

I greatly enjoyed this and would recommend it for anyone looking to escape the drab autumn weather in the UK.

Was this review helpful?

A beautiful story about that oh so important thing: first love. But is more than that, it's about finding yourself, figuring out who you are, what you are willing to compromise, how to learn to live with parents who still see you as a kid when you are not, and loss and letting go.

Was this review helpful?

A lovely coming of age story with lovely artwork. Viola has heard a lot about love but she doesn't really know what it means for her personally. She understand familial love although she finds her mother suffocating and so she observes the lives of those around her.

When she goes on the family annual vacation she meets different people and sees their love lives and relationships. She then experiences the first steps of love herself with one of the locals and this may answer her questions.

It is a gentle story that manages to touch on some difficult themes such as partner violence, without allowing the difficult issues to overshadow the way in which Viola tries to find answers for herself.
The artwork is great and beautifully conveys the story through the drawings.

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

Was this review helpful?

Beautiful coming out of age story that represents the reality of being young. We can see the flaws, concerns, bad parts, and what should be more represented sometimes because it's the reality.

However I felt something was missing while I was reading this, some parts didn't felt quite right and i don't think ill remember this a year from now, and that's why i'm giving it a 3 stars

Was this review helpful?

This was a beautiful coming of age stories who captures teenagehood exactly as it is - with all its flaws, uncertainty and concerns.

Truly beautiful graphic novel.

Was this review helpful?

Currently have not completed the book, the font makes it really hard to get into the comic. I liked the art style, and the actually art is lovely, but I just cannot get into the story because of the font used. I'll give it another try, but so far I have not enjoyed the book because the font makes it so difficult to read.

Was this review helpful?

A very emotional and cute graphic novel with nice characters.
What is this “love” everyone talks about? Viola doesn’t yet know. But it is a question she is asking herself more and more, because at her age there are some kinds of problems you feel even in the air that you breathe: your self-image and the way you think others see you, the relationship between you and your body and the other gender, couple issues, the freedom to follow your aspirations, and the need to fit in socially accepted categories. On vacation with her parents, during the idle hours of the afternoon while everyone is sleeping, Viola’s encounters and experiences will help her grow as a person and get answers to the hard questions that everyone has to face sooner or later, and she will reshape her identity, in a summer she’ll never forget.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a cute story about a summer romance, about being different, about figuring yourself out and choosing to be honest to yourself. I really adored this story!

Was this review helpful?

🌿The graphic novel talks about various topics like family, friends, the normalisation of abusive and toxic relationships, death of loved ones and first love.
🌿 The book also talks about self love which is a very important issue and also the quest for the true meaning of love. Love is a very powerful and meaningful word which people don't think twice before using. So, it definitely is important to understand what it actually means. And the book talks about it well.
🌿 The art style is good with some of the pages looking like a journal where as some looking like a traditional graphic novel.

Was this review helpful?

I thought that this was cute enough, but the entire time that I read this I was wanting more. Nothing was overtly wrong with this book, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was that I was wanting there to be more of. It almost felt to me like there were large parts of the story missing and that it might've done better if we got more of a backstory for some of the side characters who played more of a role towards the end of the novel than they did in the beginning.

Overall, this one was enjoyable but nothing that jumped out at me for long.

Was this review helpful?

Thank You Netgally and Euro Comics for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This graphic novel was quick and fun read, a coming-of-age story perfect for the summertime. Forever deals with a wide range of topics, first love, friendship, toxic relationships, the death of a loved one and many more.

The art was stunning and it captures the beauty of summertime in Italy. It was wholesome and easy to read, however, I did find the ending a bit rushed; it dealt with so many different topics that there weren’t enough pages to have a satisfying conclusion.

I totally recommend it if you want a cute but bittersweet story!

Was this review helpful?

Trigger Warnings for Forever: abuse and illness

Forever is an Italian comic about Viola who is questioning everything about herself While on vacation she starts to find the answers she is searching for. The first pages of the book reminded me of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It had that same journal type feel to it. It was a nice balance between traditional comic panels and an illustrated novel. My favorite thing about Forever is that it is a coming of age story, but most coming of age stories I have read are very light hearted. They deal with bullies or misunderstandings between friends. Forever doesn't do that. Those typical issues are there, but it also includes some pretty big topics that kids do deal with (even if we wish that it wasn't the case).

It was sweet, but will break your heart at the same time. Forever made me mad, sad, and had me laughing. Just like the real world. This is one of the more realistic coming of age stories I've read. I can't wait to get this in my classroom.

Creative Team:
Script: Assia Petricelli
Illustrations and Colors: Sergio Riccardi
Contribution to Colors: Diego Riccardi
Original title was Per Sempre

5 stars

Was this review helpful?