The storyline of Through Lya's Eyes has so much potential. I can see it as a TV Series or a long graphic novel. This short first book felt like a teaser; a promo for something bigger. The cliffhanger at the end, has me wanting to read more immediately to see the outcome. I already have my own suspicions as to who the guilty party is and the fact that it has been left for the next edition has me thinking that this story has far more depth than I originally comprehended.

The graphics display the emotions and the intensity of the tragedy masterfully. One or two of the office scenes, however, lacked detail and sharpness.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Through Lya's Eyes and would recommend it to readers who like shorter stories, young adult readers and to those looking for something different from their usual novel.

Two main things to say about this graphic novel:
1: Some of the most beautiful illustrations I have seen. Seriously, so sharp and colorful and absolutely realistic, I just love them! This book is just gorgeous!!!!!
2. One of the biggest cliffhangers I've encountered! The book itsn't all that long. My opinion: just combine the two books into one! Unless book two is going to be REALLY long, but I didn't think this one was TOO long, so why did we have to end THERE?? It just felt like we were dead in the middle of paragraph and then poof! Fin. So that was a little unsettling for me.
But other than that, I thought the story was pretty good. the characters held up well, and again, the graphics are beautiful! I'll be waiting for book #2 to drop!

I'd love to thank Carbon and Cunha Justine, NetGalley and Europe Comics for this free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I read this comic in one sitting and I loved it! The story is fast paced, the characters are so kind and the graphic is stunning!

The story starts right away with Lya lying on the street after she's been hit by a car.
Then we see her after she's been recovered, in a wheelchair, getting ready to leave her home to get to a law firm where she's got an internship. Her friend, Antoine picks her by car and she's going to live at his place.

Getting into the law firm, she makes friends because everyone is nice, but the boss. There she is doing everything she can to obtain the information she needs about the one who hit her and let her die in the street.

There is a cliffhanger at the end. One that will make you want to continue the series right away!
But please, read this book! Trust me, you'll not regret it! It has many positive aspects.

After a road accident that leaves Lya unable to walk when she was 17, Lya becomes determined to find out who the driver of the car was that changed her life forever. She dedicates the next few years of her life to studying the law and soon lands an internship at the law firm that dealt with the settlement to her parents. A sleuthing disabled protagonist who jumps headfirst into her own investigation? Yesssss. This is the kind of stuff I live for.

From what I can see the comic was originally published this year in French with the English translation coming not long after. I was never good at French and barely learned beyond the basics so I’m happy to see this has an English translation, and the reviews from the original language seem positive so far.

The illustrations are gorgeous. Like, simply divine. I found myself SO drawn to the cover and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the illustration style matches exactly what’s in the story. There have been times when I’ve seen a graphic novel cover and snapped it up to find the inside art very lacklustre but this isn’t the case here at all. The colouring is very soft and warm and just super appealing and cosy.

Story-wise, I feel like it’s missing a little “oomph” but it’s a good set-up for a first volume. Lya is passionate about her search and we see she’s been having nightmares about the accident, watching as the driver leaves her. I’d love to see some more meat to the story as the issues continue, but for now: consider me intrigued.

Through Lya's Eyes was first published in French and I heard about it via a French Booktuber I follow for a few years now. I have never really been into comics, preferring mangas because they are often cheaper here in Belgium, but I still was really happy to receive this comic from Europe Comics. It features the story of Lya, who became paraplegic after a car crash and discover her parents were bought off to stop them from filing a lawsuit. She decides to find out who did that to her (the person didn't call the Emergency Services) and, to do so, obtain an internship in the lawyer's office that supervised the payoff.

I found the illustrations absolutely stunning. I have a great sensibility to this kind of warm, sweet colors, with the lines round and not extremely precise. I know that this style doesn't please anybody, but it was definitely my case. Sometimes though I had troubles figuring out what was happening, and I think it has to do with the way actions were cut into the pages. It was maybe too hasty and imprecise for me from time to time, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

The story is really interesting, but sometimes a little bit cliché, especially for me who knows quite a bit about disability. The plot followed what we can often find about disability in books, the wheelchair being shown as something tragic and terrible, and the main character so strong and determined is of course constructed to be very inspirational for the reader. I think I'll have to read the other volumes to know if this aspect of the story improves or continues to bother me.

The characters were quite interesting too. There's this lawyer described as a poor excuse for humanity (he even starts to yell on his intern because he didn't brought the good file, a classic exposition scene) but toward the end I surprised myself thinking that maybe he wasn't so bad, and that's the kind of development I like to read about. There is not, so far, a character I really disliked and I hope it will continue like that.

I really loved this a lot! The art is so cute and smooth and the coloring was mesmerizing. As for the story, it was really interesting and I'm very intrigued as to what will happen next. It was fast paced and the characters are adorable. Can't wait to find out what's the mystery.