I want to start by saying that the art is beautiful. I loved the black and white pictures. The cover art was very different than what was inside. I wasn't expecting how simple, yet beautiful it was. The story was about Raquel, a 16 year old. She lives in a very small town in Portugal where everyone knows everyone's business. She falls in love with Pardalita. I was really looking forward to reading the story after reading the synopsis. The story was good. I could see it being one of those books that I come across on a shelf and say, Oh yeah I remember reading that book, The kind where you remember what is in the synopsis but nothing more. Still, I think that high school students may like this book. I think especially those that are really into reading books from Europe and other countries. Books that hit different than books by American writers.

This was a really sweet read. It felt like reading an A24 coming-of-age movie in graphic novel form. I enjoyed the mix of prose and graphic novel panels, I think that worked well for the story. I wish the story lasted a little longer, because I wanted to see whether/to what extent Pardalita reciprocated the romantic feelings and a relationship began, but that is a personal preference.

This is the tale of Raquel, a 16-year-old Portuguese girl who lives in a small town. She falls in love with Pardalita as she struggles to deal with the challenges life has for her.

Raquel's ideas are presented in the text together with a quick summary of significant occasions in her life. The story has anecdotes of how the refugee issue has changed in Portugal added to it as well.

When it comes to the narrative, the author raises concerns like refugee issues, coming of age, discovering sexuality, and distant parents that demand deeper analysis than what was done here. The topics discussed are not effectively connected to one another. In certain places, the writing style seems clichéd, but that could be a lost-in-translation issue.

The distinctive aesthetic of this graphic novel is what most impresses. The publisher describes it as a hybrid. The author/illustrator uses strong brushstrokes in white and black, and the language and drawing are both well-balanced. Three stars were mostly given for the artwork.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Levine Querido, Em Querido for offering reviewers an advanced reading copy of this graphic novel.

Thank you to netgalley for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This eBook is just not for me. I may try to pick it up again later but I am not a fan of the illustrations and that is a big piece of a graphic novel. I wish there was color illustrations. I had no real problems with the book I just have other things I want to read more.

I'm not always the hugest fan of simplistic, black and white art styles in a graphic novel. It's just hard to show emotion through that, so it doesn't always come across to me. But here it really did, which I'm very impressed by.

The story is very understated and a lot is left unsaid, but I really enjoyed that. You just follow the MC through her daily life, and I thought it was really well done. I also thought the translation was great!

This graphic novel is beautifully done. A quiet and introspective story about a girl discovering her sexuality. The translator did an excellent job capturing the story Estrela was telling.

The art style in this is very simple. So simple that sometimes I couldn’t tell characters apart. The story was interesting enough but again, basic. Maybe my opinion would change if I read a physical copy instead of digital.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the mix of comics and prose. It works well with the story and gave more insight into the thoughts of Raquel.

Raquel, 16, living in Portugal, becomes interested in older student Pardalita, leaving her boyfriend and old life behind.

Really enjoyed the art style of this. I think the audience that will enjoy this the most is YA.
The narrative had many elements I enjoy. Short vignettes, different narrative and visual styles, a coming of age, queer story, a bit abstract, with a MC who is struggling to find their place in the world. It felt like many of the memoir graphic novels I've enjoyed in the past.

However, even though there were a lot of ideas introduced, none of them really felt like they were explored enough. Personally, I would have liked there to be at least one that had a full arc that made sense.

I would certainly pickup another graphic novel from Joana Estrela.

***Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido, Em Querido for the e-ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

4/5

This graphic novel was so immersive.
I absolutely loved the style used for both texts and drawings.

How everything is introduced with irregular english verbs and then the written parts all have one of those to connect the pieces of the story.
And also, the final sequence of drawings is stunning.

The whole book has a slow pace and pacific kind of feel, I felt super relaxed while enjoying this read.
Definitely an enexpected style but that worked very well with the concept created.

I'm so weak for coming-of-age teenage romance. You have no idea.

Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reading copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited for this graphic novel as an addition to my reading around the world challenge as it is a Portuguese author.

I enjoyed the slice of life nature of this piece and would give it 3.5 stars for the story itself (though it does move very quickly) I would have loved to get to know all the characters better. (Particularly the activist mom) However, the formatting (at least in the ebook) has the lines outside of the bubbles, so you have to guess who is speaking and where the conversation goes. Some lines don't even line up and are finished on separate pages. I am going to assume this is not true of the print book and give it a 3, but if it is this way in all editions it has to be a 2 for being almost unreadable.

This was great! If you like slow, introspective slice-of-life stories with a queer angle, this one is for you! I really found the storytelling style to be right up my alley. It was quirky enough to be interesting, but not so much as to be confusing. The seemingly unrelated anecdotes and asides actually serve to ground the character in a very interesting way. The ending was expected but not in a bad way, in a comforting way. The art has its own kind of charm that totally won me over by the end and the composition of the story more than makes up for the simplicity of the drawings. I loved this and will look forward to owning a finished copy.

Rate: 4.5 Stars

I'm usually not a big fan of poetry, cause when I try it out I never find the right kind to enjoy, but this book fit so well in my mindset that it amazed me. I love the use of past, present, and future tense of the same word, it gives it more meaning of the time that passes making the story in itself just overall more enjoyable. I like the way the book made connections throughout the pages, for example 'I Haven't Slept Well For A Week', and 'Here and There' both bringing up someone pretending to sleep, which inputs deeper meaning into the way Raquel really feels about her boyfriend Miguel. The art style is simple, but eye-catching, enough to be bubbly and pleasant. I liked how Raquel explored further into her younger years from age 7-5 as well as older from 12-13, further developing Raquel as a character in a whole and how she came to be herself, as well as the experiences she went through to suppress her feelings for Pardalita.

Something that did stick to me was how not every conversation dialogue was in a bubble, sometimes there would be the point, but not the actual circle, so it confused me into thinking it was Raquel thinking, but I eventually got used to seeing the point and knowing someone was talking. Other than that small critique, everything else in the book played out beautifully. The ending especially was like something out of a movie, with the kiss conveying the relationship between Pardalita and Raquel, making it ended with warm and comforting conclusion.

Favorite Quotes:
'I switched to airplane mode but it feels like I've landed' -pg. 85
'The city buzzed, and all the streets had something to see' -pg. 184

This was very nice.

At first it reminded me a little of Mary Jo (Ana Pessoa), but the story soon takes its own course. The drawing is wonderful, it has pages that are a true delight.

It seemed very short to me and there are things that were just Raquel's loose thoughts, all of which contributed to the ending seeming abrupt (although exciting), although I understand that this was a slice-of-life.

Pardalita is a quiet, slice-of-life mixed media (graphic novel and prose poetry) novel. Although calmly enjoyable, I found it hard to become invested - we don't learn a lot about any of the characters. I enjoyed the graphic novel and illustrated segments more than those which were just text - the art style gave a lot more atmosphere and a sense of place. The last section is a prime example of this - I did a delighted little gasp at the last spread.

Rating 4.5/5

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for an arc!

I really enjoyed the slice of life and the illustrations! I think many can relate to the situations our main character goes through. Although, I would not consider this a romance novel. I find myself coming back and rereading in the near future. Recommend this to all of different ages!

2.5 stars

This was a gentle, calm, peaceful story. But ultimately nothing happened and I was bored and kind of confused. It felt like reading someones disjointed journal rather than a full story.

I took interest in this story because it's from my country. This was a very quick read and even though I enjoyed it, it wasn't very memorable to me. This is a bit of a slice of life and there is some interesting moments in it but unfortunely it's also a bit lukewarm for me. I was expecting a bit more or perhaps just something a bit different.