First up thank you for allowing me to read this one, but sorry, I stranded at page 40-ish. I just didn't particularly like the characters (they were all so annoying), though I did like our green woodlandspirit a bit. The art was fantastic, and it is only because of that that I kept reading on, in the hopes it would get better.

Pilu of the Woods is a beautiful and somewhat melancholic book about a girl named Willow, whose inner monsters make her act sometimes like a little brat. When she runs off to the forest, she meets a lost girl name Pilu and ends up helping her find her way home. They both have run away home and the circumstances are told from the kids' perspective and how they try to help one another. But the little monsters may not be monsters at all and the girls learn about that and many other things along their way. The comic is very cute and thoughtful and you end up learning things about nature, flowers and fungi too, which was really nice and didn't feel superimposed at all. The story flow is wonderful, well paced and deep in meaning. Especially the situation with the mother at end was a surprise and at the same time handled with warmth.

The art is perfect, clear and the colors are warm. The line art is round and simple and very very cute, but the whole package still conveys everything, even the sad parts, extremely well. The panels are clear and pretty - very easy to follow too, which makes this an awesome kids' comic. This is a must for kids, since it teaches without preaching and highlights self-discovery. Pilu of the Woods is a meaningful and not just your everyday comic, but much more. I really have to have this in my library!

*thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

What a great little story this is. It was beautifully illustrated and had a rather sad yet important message to it. It's a story of loss of a family member, a mother and the emotions that causes people to feel. The story is told from Willow, the youngest daughters point of view. It's emotional but told in a way that doesn't make it too dark and heavy. It's a story about feelings aswell as friendship and how emotions can get so big sometimes that they do and can come out in a physical way. It was beautifully told and easy to follow. Definitely one to pick up and read.

Willow is a tween girl who is bullied at school for being a "wuss" and crying alone in the bathroom. One day, after a big fight with her older sister (who is partially raising her), Willow wanders around in the woods near her house and finds...Pilu the tree spirit! She and Pilu share natural curiosity, sensitive hearts, and angry outbursts (possibly caused by childhood trauma). The illustrations and colouring is gorgeous and will be very appealing to kids. This book also includes educational moments, such as how mushrooms grow and how to identify trees by their leaves. Although the story line is light, slow, and beautiful, there are serious themes of mental health, difficult family dynamics, grief, and preserving the environment.

Perfect for fans of The Sand Warrior, Hilda and the Troll, and slow, quiet mangas.

Jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations accompany this heartwarming story about love, loss and dealing with your emotions.

OMG! This was the cutest and most heart-warming graphic novel I read this year!
I loooooved the little monsters and the art style is absolutely fantastic.
I want more like this. I can recommend this to anybody, children and grown-up children.

For fans of the Hilda series, this offers a similar whimsical, adventuring character. Willow has trouble managing her emotions and after a particularly bad day, storms into the forest. She has spent countless hours there exploring with her father, so when she meets a tree spirit, named Pilu she's able to guide her home. The two become friends and learn that suppression isn't always the best tactic when it comes to emotions.

I adored this. It made me cry, so be warned, but the art was so immensely charming and the panels flowed beautiful.

This was a really sweet story of friendship, loss, and expressing feelings. The artwork is whimsical and shows an excellent portrayal of bottled up anger, sadness, and anxiety. Something Willow has a lot of, what with dealing with bullies at school, constantly fighting with her older sister, and trying to stay strong during hard times. After Willow runs into Pilu and tries to lead her home, she not only makes an unexpected friend but faces a lot of those feelings she knows are growing inside her and are getting harder to ignore. I really enjoyed the friendship between Willow and Pilu and the magical realism of this story. I especially liked the interests Willow has in plant life. Who knew one could learn so much about how mushrooms grow in just two short pages! When the story starts to take a darker turn and those bottled up emotions are becoming too hard to hold in, seeing the artwork express how Willow and Pilu faced their demons was very moving. I can see this being very relatable to a lot of readers. Though I do wish it was a little longer, I thought the story had a great message that came across clear as a whistle.

Pilu of the Woods is an MG fantasy graphic novel about a little girl named Willow who gets in a fight with her big sister and goes running off into the woods, where she meets Pilu, a forest spirit. As they adventure together, Willow is forced to come to terms with her "monsters"—the emotions that cause her to lash out at her loved ones or to think poorly of herself—and she must learn how to take care of those feelings and deal with them in a healthy way, without hurting her family.

I don't know if a graphic novel has ever given me quite as many Feels as Pilu did, but wow, this little story is incredible. Don't be turned off by its marketing as a middle grade story, because it is without a doubt the sort of tale that could be enjoyed by anyone of any age. The artwork is stunning and some of my favorite I've ever seen in a graphic novel, the plot is beautiful, and the characters are so lovable.

Even though the hard copies won't be out for a little while, I've already added the final edition to my shopping list to pick up later because it's so lovely and precious that I know I'll reread it again and again. Be warned, though: you should probably have tissues on hand, because the ending of this little graphic novel had me weeping the most bittersweet tears. ♥ Well done on crafting such a gorgeous little world, Mai!

Thank you so much to Oni Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A short and sweet comic about healing from traumatic and sudden loss. Willow has recently lost her mother to an unknown cause and after saying some mean things. She never got to apologize or say goodbye, This comic is an exploration of the stages of grief and how we move forward after loss. Beautiful illustrations accompany a gentle story about learning to love and accept yourself after something terrible happens.

Absolutely visually breathtaking and a testament to positive psychology principles. There are truly two wolves living inside all of us and the wolf that survives is the one that you feed.

Pilu of the Woods is a cute little children's comic about learning to open up and heal by recognizing the "little monsters" in your head without shutting them away or letting them get the better of you. The art is adorable, and the fantasy elements make it especially fun. The story doesn't get as much development since it's relatively short, but it's still quite deep-- dealing with anger issues and grief and self-acceptance. Definitely a good, sweet comic for kiddos.

Simply my new favorite graphic novel. This book is beautiful. The illustrations are great and the color pallete goes amazing with the story.
The story makes you think about how you live your life, what matter to you and the importance you give to things that affect you. It teaches us that our inner demons won’t go away, they are a part of you, but what we can do is learn how to cope with them.

I am 41 years old and I am not to proud to say I cried reading this booking more than once ! This is a beautiful book both the artwork and the story. It follows willow who after arguing with her sister runs into the woods and meets Pilu, she tries to help Pilu find her way home after she has argued with her mother. The pair on their journey home learn together, dealing with emotions, loss and how to be 'strong'. This is such a wonderful book for loss and coping with loss I wouldn't just st recommend it for children I think adults should read this too. I cannot emphasise enough how beautiful and wonderful this is. Thank you to the author for a wobderful piece of art and storytelling.


I was given a free e-book by netgalley and the publisher for an honest review.

I cannot wait to own a physical copy of this graphic novel!!!

An incredible story of family, friendship, loss and grief. The art is beautifully done and the education given is not overdone and gives way to how we all deal with our own frustrations over difficult times.

#PiluOfTheWoods #NetGalley

What do you get you take a little nature, a difficult promise, and a lot of heartache and stir it up? Pilu of the Woods. 

Willow and her sister, Lin, promised their mother that they would be strong. No one could foresee the future and no one expected to have to be strong. For Lin, that meant taking their mother's role, for Willow, that meant learning to listen.

Willow ran away from home after getting in trouble at school and saying mean things to her sister, who is dealing with her loss in a different way. While walking through the woods, Willow and Chicory, her dog, find another soul who feels unheard and unwanted. Pilu is magnolia sprite and lives in Willow's mother's favorite grove. Pilu is one of many children and ran away because she feels her mother does not want her around.

Together, they discover that nothing likes to be ignored...and that includes all the emotions that Willow has kept bottled up because she doesn't like the way they make her feel.

This journey through grief, acceptance, understanding, and the power of family is a tearjerker to be sure. The wonderful artwork makes the story come to life. Nguyen touched all the right notes with this book. I especially loved how the sister's fought and how easy it is to say mean things without really wanting to, or meaning to. The characters are very true to life.

ARC provided by NetGalley

This story is really like a warm hug close to your heart, about grief and friendship and accepting all of our feelings, even the little monsters ones. I love the art and the colors of this book, along with all the nature and the relationship Willow strikes with Pilu, helping each other out. It leaves me with a soft and warm feeling in the chest. Definitely would recommend for all ages.

Pilu of the Woods is a tender pick-me-up suitable for children and adults alike. 

The main character on the cover is Willow, a child who has lost her mother and is struggling with all the (very visible) demons that come with that. (Another book that does this very well is Brave Chef Brianna by Sam Sykes.)

Willow runs to the forest and finds Pilu, a girl of the woods who is crying because she also has troubles with her family. 

Together, Pilu and Willow find metaphors in the woods to illustrate  their current feelings and the consequences attached to ignoring those feelings. Comparing their intangible emotions to physical objects helps open up many layers of meaning in the readers' mind. 

Overall, this is a very sweet and heartwarming comic. I highly recommend it, but especially to: children of all ages, adults looking for something cute to read, and people who enjoy a tenderly illustrated, woodsy comic.

(p.s. I listened to Kishi Bashi while reading this and it paired beautifully.)

Environmentalism and anti-bullying messages combine in this youthful graphic novel, which visually is half manga and half classical woodcut. That said (and in case you're wondering, it is a wonderful amalgam that really works – even if one girl here is stuck with frilly-edged underwear as clothing) it's a bit take-it-or-leave-it. For one thing, you have to be on board with having pointless dogs as sidekicks. So I took against things for sure, but I admired others, so I certainly suggest people try this out.

A super cute story with delightful illustrations! A great read for young and old alike. (Especially if you love nature and cute forest spirits.)