I have to admit, this book was not what I was expecting and it gives me very mixed feelings. I do not read graphic novels or stories in this genre much but I still wanted to give this story a chance. It is about a girl named Viola who is trying to understand the meaning of love. The drawings in the book are quite lovely, I enjoyed them very much. I also enjoyed the love story between Viola and Ireneo and I thought the book left off at a very good place. On the down side, there were some messages in the story that really made me feel... iffy. A few of the lines seemed to have a bad or almost toxic undertone that didn’t sit right with me. Even though quite a few characters seemed to experience growth throughout the story, I myself could still only connect with one character and their opinions. Overall, I rated this a 1.5/5 stars. I’m a tough rater when it comes to books and I gave this book this rating because I connected to few characters, which is important to me, and the execution of the plot was different than I thought it would be. This story was not my favorite but it’s also not the worst thing I’ve ever read. I think that if the description peaks your interest, give it a read because it’s very quick and easy so why not. I would recommend this to mature audiences for a few scenes, realistic fiction/teen romance readers, and those who like to read any random fanfic they find online (no hate I do this too baha).

I have conflicted feelings about this one. I loved Viola and Ireneo's relationship, I think it is incredibly well portrayed and carried out, and I loved the conversations with Paola and Lili, they provide much-needed wisdom. However, there are some toxic messages intertwined in the story that come from other characters, that made it really hard for me to continue reading. If I'm not mistaken, the story is set in the '90s (?) so I get the mentality most of the characters have is in line with that time, but reading this in 2021... Feels a bit weird. I couldn't help feeling that it could be happening right now, and it scared me. But I have to say that a lot of the characters do experience growth and change some of their beliefs, so that is good.

I appreciated a lot of small moments that truly reflect how it feels to be a teenager and go on holidays and want to live your life. I loved some of Viola's friendships and her brother is the cutest.

A thoughtful read about a summer that changed teenager Viola's life forever. Her story is a typical story of growing up under societal norms while trying to discover who you are and how you fit into the world. It was a bitter-sweet graphic novel, and I mostly enjoyed it but I wished I got to know more about Viola's friends and family.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this eARC in return for an honest review.
Wow, I absolutely loved this! A beautiful story of love, friendships, family. Very easy and quick to read, my only criticism is that the middle seemed a bit choppy and wasn’t as great as the rest of the novel.

Oh my god. This was a completely spontaneous read for me and I absolutely adored every minute of it. I love how nearly every aspect of being a teenager was included into this--from body issues to relationship struggles. I love the way the themes of love and heartbreak and finding oneself were intertwined. The way love was described in the book was so beautiful and bittersweet, it makes me feel a little bit wiser after finishing it, as if I unlocked a secret to the universe. I related to Viola so much it was a little scary, and to see how she developed throughout the story was almost reassuring to me. While the ending is not a typical happily-ever-after, I think it was exactly what was needed to bring the story to a satisfying close.

This was an awesome “summer at the beach where we learn a lot of life lessons” sort of story. It follows Viola as she goes with her family to the beach for the summer. It isn’t super clear, but either her friends' families go there as well, or her family goes there every summer and these are her summer friends. Either way, as she spends time with them, and some new friends as well, she learns what love can mean, in many different ways.

I really loved the art in this graphic novel. I thought the colors were awesome, and the art as well. The story was a little sad, a little uplifting, just a little of everything! I really enjoyed it. It is definitely for upper teens/Young adults as there is a little nudity and language, but it wasn’t super graphic.

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

The story was nice and easy to follow. The middle felt a little jumbled when time accelerated but overall a good story. I think it would have appeal to multiple ages and genders.

Romance stories aren’t usually my thing. The various executives of the world rarely market them to any demographic other than either teenage girls or people that enjoy watching Hallmark Christmas films. It’s hard to find anything that treats it in any sort of mature and/or realistic way. Don’t even get me started one ones where men are the protagonist. With that said, I really enjoyed this new graphic novel, Forever by Assia Petricelli and Sergio Riccardi simply because it doesn’t do any of the stupid tropes that drive me crazy.

In many ways, by portraying the story of a girl largely alienated from her family and most of her friends grounds the book considerable. She not only finds love in a Greek boy obsessed with working on an old broken-down boat, but also a lasting friendship with a couple of lesbians on what could be their last vacation together. The authors tell a very compelling story full of ups and downs, and what ultimately the meaning of love is. It’s the kind of story you see in independent art films, reminiscent of things like Juno or 500 Days of Summer.

“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.”

While this isn’t a sad story (for the most part) it captures those moments of one’s youth that really shape our lives moving forward. A lot of the characters aren’t the same after the events told, some for the better, some for the worse, but you can tell this summer in the mid-1990’s will be a landmark time in these characters lives, especially Viola. The story is somewhat simple, so talking about it too much would spoil more than what I like to do in my reviews, but I’d definitely recommend checking this book out if you get a chance. If anything, the art is stylistically out of the ordinary, and it alone is worth a peek.

this was so good, wow.

i loved all the characters and how they each and their own problems. it meant the author was able to showcase more social problems and how they effect people than if viola was the only conflicted character. it also made them feel more real, so i really appreciated that.

the messages were all pretty good too. i liked the lessons the author conveyed about relationships and what they may mean to different people. the handling of each type of relationship was delicate enough that i didn't feel like there were problems with the execution.

overall, this was sweet and i really liked it!

This is a graphic/comic book with themes of love, friendship, classic mother-daughter troubles. It will only take around 30 minutes for anyone to finish it. I didn't like the book very much because it had that stereotyped notions of sex and love, yes the main character is in thought and thinking about all these things, but still the book did not appeal to me much. The ending summarised the meaning of the book beautifully, it was a good conclusion. The illustrations and graphics were also good but In terms of the story I did not like it much. And somehow the stereotyped notions covered the majority part of the book which led to me disliking the book

A fantastic exploration of Womanhood, family life and coming of age. In this graphic novel Assia Petricelli crafts a beautiful portrait of what it means to grow up and grow into yourself.

In Forever or Per sempre), a young Viola travels with family and friends to Italy for the summer. An introvert, Viola struggles with her looks and even more with her place in the world - and amongst her peers.

She comes across a local, Ireneo, Viola's ideas of friendship and love begin to change. As they get closer, and she begins to doubt herself more, Viola begins to finally understand where she stands in her own life, and what her idea of love is.

Petricelli's writing is well paced and fluid, and perfectly mixes with the art of Sergio Riccardi. Riccardi's art is lush and filled with movement, and her perfectly captures the beauty of Italy and realistically portrays differences of the human body.

Forever is the perfect summer read, especially if you're feeling nostalgic for a time that has since passed.

This is a new adult/teen graphic novel about a girl trying to find out what love is. There is a romance involved, but this book is NOT a romance. (There is no HEA or HFN.) CW: nonconsensual situation, domestic abuse (on page and off), terminal illness of a background character ending in death (off-page). (There may be a couple that I've forgotten.)

Why tell you about all the CW's? I think that it's important to go into this knowing about them to have a better understanding of the work. From the cover and the blurb on the back, it almost sounds like something different. This was a coming of age story of a girl who is trying to understand what love is and who she is when all she sees around her doesn't add up. While the story itself was beautiful, the execution seemed a little jumpy, but then again, I'm probably not the targeted audience. I honestly wanted more with the lesbian couple in the caravan - Viola had a quick friendship with them and learned so much about love and life, and that seems like it lasted beyond that summer.

Would I read another graphic novel by this author? Possibly. I think that it may have missed something in translation from Italian, so it would give me an excuse to learn Italian, haha!

Just not my thing I do believe a great story and I loved the art. I think if I had to read a story like this I would pick another I was out of wheel house with this one

This is a very beautiful story. I wish it went on and on. This one pulled in almost every aspect of love and doing so, graphically, is a big deal, I guess. Though I'm not much a fan of such style of art and it got too wordy in some places but anything for such a soothing story. I wish I had read something like this when I was 14.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a virtual copy of the book!!
A lot of mixed feelings on this one. It started with misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and a situation really close to assault. And at the end the main character suddenly learned that all of that was wrong? I don’t know, it lacked development. Physical and verbal abuse was normalized in romantic and family relationships. I didn’t like the way the message was told. But it doesn’t surprise me, since it’s an italian production and I know they can be very traditional and insensitive towards some topics. I expected more.

*reviewed from uncorrected eARC via netgalley*

graphic novel (teen/adult, coming of age - love story)
tender story about mature teen figuring out what a healthy relationship is, and what boundaries she wants to set for herself and for others' behavior around her.

Forever is a beautiful and tranquil comic that makes me miss the sea and sun. Viola and her family are having their vacation near a beach and she wonders off every time everyone else is relaxing. She meets her friends, new people and comes into terms with herself. Forever is a stagnant summer day that you can feel. I love everything about this. The body issues, boys and love, the loss and family issues. Everything's simple and complicated at the same time and we get to feel how Viola feels. Petricelli does this magnificently and captures the never ending days that end too soon. The rhythm is slow and well paced and we get to enjoy the scenery and the feelings fully. In a sense hardly anything is happening and that's the beauty of it.

The art reminds me of Cyril Pedrosa and the line art is thin and lively. The colors are beautiful and make summer real on the pages. People look different and unique, which is wonderful. But the most precious in this comic is the atmosphere. I just wish this had been longer, since I enjoyed it so much and wanted to be in it more.

This book is about experiencing first love during the summer where nothing seems permanent. The characters spent most of their days under the ray of sunshine and the allure of love, pain and heartbreak. This book is interesting and such a fun read about standing up for what is right in a relationship and consent. I really had an enjoyable time reading this book and would totally recommend it.

I was thrown off by the text and art in the beginning and glad I pushed through to discover it was just a journal entry from the protagonist, Viola. The cover caught my eye and I'm glad I decided to read it. This was a great slice of life story of Viola, a teenager, vacationing with her family on the southern coast of Italy. She seems to not really fit in with her friends - she's not as daring and social with the boys, but longs to know what love feels like. She butts heads with her mother. One day she decides to follow a local boy she's noticed every day. They start meeting up every day and strike up a friendship/romance that will stick with her "forever". I also really liked the older lesbian couple that she befriends and who bestow their wisdom on her.

I would purchase this for my library if I could, but it doesn't seem to be available through our supplier (Ingram).

Forever is a graphic novel about a young teenager going to the sea for the summer. Set in Italy, she joins her friends and meets other boys as well as one particular local boy who she interacts with while everyone is sleeping. Through that time, she meets a lesbian couple whom she befriends and gets to know. Forever's art was done beautifully and I loved the way the expressions of each character was able to come to life. I could tell the emotions of everyone by their facial expressions and their movement.

I thought the plot was nice, but some of the side characters didn't seem as fleshed out as they could have been. I didn't feel that connected to the lesbian couple who we meet over halfway through the book. While the ending was sad, it didn't pack as much of a punch as it should have so I was left feel a little underwhelmed at the end of the story. Forever definitely captured the vibes of summer vacation and felt nostalgic and romantic at the same time. Overall, great art and compelling story!