It took some time for me to get on the right wavelength to enjoy this book, but I did – more or less. Translated into English while the ink was still wet on the original French/Belgian editions it concerns a young gourmand, who has lost her mother but cooks for her father daily. She loves food, and he loves her food too, as he is surrounded by the stinky fries of the fast food joint he works in. But something evil is going to hit the neighbourhood… It's no surprise people are complaining about the blurb giving too much away, when it's for a full-length graphic novel, and not only this Part 1. Yup, this publisher is trying to fleece two purchases out of one title. Humbug. Still, at least there is enough intrigue left-over to make the reader return for seconds, and a great moral when all is said and done. But the many wordless scenes, montage scenes and stupid argument scenes could put people right off from the start. An acquired taste, then, but one I grew to more or less savour. Three and a half stars.

This was such a pleasant little surprise. I was immediately drawn in when I saw the title and the cover of this graphic novel on Netgalley, and the blurb promised a unique story. I was expecting a longer standalone, partly because the blurb sort of tells you the whole story for this novel, leading you to expect a continuation and conclusion beyond what is in the blurb. This doesn't happen, so be aware that this novel may be a bit shorter than you expected, especially since it seems to only be the set-up for the main plot - it ends where Yasmina's adventure is just starting to begin. This is the only reason it gets 4 stars.

The reason it took a whole novel to set up the plot, I noticed, was because the story was told at just the right pace. Mannaert took the time needed to introduce the characters, setting, context, and conflict at a speed that allows the reader to get comfortable with these characters, like them, get invested with them, that you don't realise that you've read right through to the end. In hindsight, this story was told like the perfect pilot episode, meant to draw you in to Yasmina's world.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed from reading this graphic novel were the illustrations! They are so beautiful and detailed and immersive that you can definitely see the characters animated in your head. There are no panels; the story flows page by page and uses space very cleverly so that it's a whole other experience in itself just looking through the art.

The dialogue is also very realistic and congruent with the whole tone of the novel, there is a sense that every aspect of Yasmina's world is well-crafted and thought about. It's light and funny, and offers some great messages about food wrapped up in a heartwarming story about a girl who tries to figure out why everyone in her town is obsessed with a new potato chip product.

This was a totally adorable and wonderful graphic novel. Yasmina is a great main character, a curious child with a knack for cooking. The artistic style is absolutely beautiful, and the way the panels are laid out adds a little something extra to the story. Great for any food lovers looking for a cute graphic novel!

Yasmina and the Potato Eaters: Part 1 presents the story of a young chef and her quest to find high quality ingredients for her family meals. The story is impactful though simple, showing us a father struggling to make ends meet and a girl who does what she can to feed the family. It’s interspersed with the story of a mysterious rooftop garden whose owner holds more secrets than she’s willing to admit. We get to see Yasmina falling in love with cooking and food. Her passion weaves through the pages, making for a compelling journey. The story eventually becomes a look at corporate greed and the economy’s intention to wring money out of consumers instead of encouraging them to be healthy. We see a man who makes potatoes as addictive as cigarettes, leading to a frenzy among Yasmina’s neighbors.

I absolutely love the art style of this graphic novel. It’s a beautiful style with intricate details that are never the same twice. Everything flows perfectly, and the representations of daily life are done in such a unique way. A man walking up the stairs is made into a great bit of story as we see the actions of the neighbors on each floor. It’s fascinating to see.

Overall, Yasmina and the Potato Eaters: Part 1 is a great story filled with gorgeous artwork that needs to be experienced. You’ll want to spend some time examining the details and reveling in the artist’s expertise.

This isn't your normal graphic novel- it sets a high standard for the future of comics and graphic novels.

I liked the way that the panels are not set into regular shapes but form a part of the story, almost as if it is a scene from the larger page rather than being squashed into the shape.

The story line was easy to follow and it is clear how much time and effort went into the illustrations. It was harder to enjoy on a computer but I liked the story enough to recommend buying this title in print form.

I will test this one with my son as well, as he is moving into this stage of reading.

An interesting story, well developed characters and some excellent graphic novel features.

*Disclaimer: I received this for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know what to expect going into this but I was pleasantly surprised! The story revolves around food, both the joy of cooking and the growing of it, as well as the commercialisation of food which in turn has an affect on our health. In this first volume there is a hint of a science fiction twist which I'm looking forward to exploring in the second volume.

The illustration style is my preferred art style; it uses bold and colourful but muted tones which just makes it a pleasure to read.

The closest thing I can compare this too is Chew but without the cannibalism and written for children! I just got the same feelings whilst reading especially in terms of the scientifically modified food.

Overall I would highly recommend this and will be diving straight into the second volume!

A cooking/food related graphic novel will always get my attention, Yasmina loves to cook and she especially loves veggies. The only problem is.. keeping a supply of veggies to satisfy all of her cooking demands. She is resourceful and a problem solver but we’re left to wonder how long that will work for her. Her single dad works hard at the local fast food joint, but they are struggling to get by. I love the scenes where he opens up his lunch at work to a sweet note and something that looks scrumptious. This was just part one and I am curious to see where this goes.

Thanks to the publisher and a Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise! A quirky, charming graphic novel with art that you'll want more of. And though the panelling style is rather unusual, I eventually found it as charming as everything else. Recommended for all ages.

I liked the art-style, but personally I felt the story was just a bit too short to feel anything for. It felt like we just established what the story was going to be before the volume was over, so personally I would have preferred it if the volume had been just a bit longer. Still, I am probably going to read the second part when it comes out in English.

Yasmina absolutely loves food. She's obsessed with cooking, she's obsessed with natural ingredients, she's obsessed with using what nature has given her to nourish her body and to help her friends. She spends all of her time with her nose in a cookbook, her hands in the dirt of the rooftop garden, and a song in her heart. But when her friends' community gardens are destroyed to make way for factories who are planning on mass-producing processed potato products, Yasmina watches her world slowly fall apart.

This is a beautifully illustrated comic book. I really enjoyed reading the first issue, and would be happy to continue to read as each issue is released. The themes in this comic are current and on trend; they really mirror current society in many ways. I think this is a wonderful way of illustrating the point.

Yasmina and the Potato Eaters (part 1) was a beautiful example of a graphic novel and would be a great introduction for future fans of the genre. I'm personally just getting into graphic novels and am encouraging my students to enjoy the genre for appreciation of both art and storytelling.
I both wanted to race through this to find out what happened, but also slow down and linger over the illustrations. I went back through several times to appreciate the gorgeous artwork with so much movement and character.
I think my students, some of whom are learning English as a second language, would really enjoy this story.
The values of the story are also important. Yasmina strives to make homemade food, and the other characters we get to know in the novel grow their own vegetables, even if they have different opinions on how it should be done!
Without giving away any spoilers, their lifestyles are threatened, and I can't wait for part 2 to find out what happens next!!

Received via Netgalley for review.

A cute little graphic novel about Yasmina, who loves to cook, and her dad, who works at a fast food place to make ends meet. Yasmina's only passion is cooking, and on her way to and from school, she stops by her friend's adjoining gardens to chat and gather vegetables for dinner that night. When the gardens are demolished to make way for a new kind of potato farm that people seem to become addicted to, Yasmina's food source runs dry.

I'm not sure why the story is split into parts; the majority of the first part is spent on Yasmina, her friends, and her cooking, and then ends almost as soon as the conflict is introduced (which is why this is a three star review and not a four star one!), meaning that it's a little slow. If it were a complete story, or I knew the second part was already out, these would be a good addition to the library, but otherwise I think kids wouldn't necessarily feel any anticipation for the second part.

The art is great, though! Colorful and sharp, with the food really shining. The lunches Yasmina packs her father always look delicious, and the coloring is bright and smooth.

A fun read with wonderful illustrations and interesting characters. The book ended on a cliff hanger that wasn't frustrating and left me wanting to read the next installment.

Oh my goodness, Yasmina is a girl after my own heart. Passionate about cooking and gardening, she has very little interest in classes at school. Her friends at the local community gardens keep her both fed and entertained. Life at home isn’t the easiest, but Yasmina and her dad make it all work. I can’t wait to read the next issue to see what Yasmina and her gardening friends do about these pesky potato eaters!

This a wonderfully comic book story full of wit and implied humour through words and pictures.
Through the efforts of Europe COMICS this work by the talented Wauter Mannaert Artist & Scriptwriter is brought to an English reading audience.
It is in part the story of the humble potato, which is loved in the form of French fries and potato crisps. Yasmina is the real star of this sage of people's attitude to food; especially vegetables. She has little money but has a firm desire to ensure her Dad has a healthy pack-up every day. She'll do all she can to scout for vegetables and salad leaf, asking friends, foraging the countryside and borrowing when all else fails.
She has to even act as an adult between two grown-up allotment holders who have different views about cultivating and producing 'good' food.
This is an unconventional story ideally suited to a graphic novel with clever links in this comic format. As with many such promotions for readers it is part one of a potential more far-reaching situation that could destroy food consumption and habits into a darker future. I for one can not wait to see what happens next. Yasmina is a ninja-chief passionate about good food

What a fun and beautiful comic!  Filled to the brim with beautiful illustrations and text serving only to continue the narrative where the illustrations cannot, Yasmina and the Potato Eaters is an incredible comic about community, surviving in poverty, and critiquing capitalist endeavors.  

Yasmina is a fun-loving, food-loving cook who creates incredible gourmet meals, and each character we meet along the way holds various opinions and manners of interacting with food.  Is natural best?  Do pesticides work?  What's best--community-run or capitalist-run?  What can we learn from vegetables?  What can we learn from their production?

I would love to introduce this to my professor--there's so much to think about in terms of environmental criticism and ecofeminism, and a lot can be gleaned from this text.  Overall, this is fun, gorgeous, and really educational!  I'm excited to see where this tale goes and to see how it expands.

A whimsical, food-focused adventure, beautifully written and illustrated. I’m hooked on the story and I can’t wait to read part 2!

The artstyle was pure beauty, all the meals and vegetables made me hungry ! Yasmina is such a cute character,I would love to encounter more characters like her in my other readings, and the banter between Cyril and Marco was hilarious.

The description of this book in Goodreads, as well as the publishers site, gives away too much about the first volume of this book, and then you will feel disappointed about where it stops.

Yasmina loves to cook, while those aorund her would rather eat french fries. In fact, her father works in a french frie joint, and doesn't partake in their food, as his daughter makes him lunch every day.

This book stops to soon, just as we get to the crux of the matter, and so it is hard to judge how good this series is going to be. But based on the run up to the cliff hanger, I am hoping that this young heroine overcomes the potatoes that threaten to take over everything


<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Screen-Shot-2019-02-20-at-4.09.35-PM.png" alt="" " class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4980" />

In the meantime, this is a good start to what I hope is a great story about growing and eating healthy.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Yasmina is eleven years old, and lives with her dad in a small, city apartment. Daily life is fairly non-descript aside from her budding culinary talent. Yasmina can make almost anything in her kitchen, relying on goods from her community garden plot. On one eventful day, the garden is obliterated by heavy machinery and replaced by a field of potatoes. Bland as vegetables go, however, as scenes unfold, the reader discovers with Yasmina, that these potatoes are more than they seem. Are they engineered to be addictive and do they fall in the realm of science experiment? This story opens the door for conversations around the planet we live on, the food we eat, and stewardship, alongside a strong heroine and exciting adventure that is pure fun to read.