THe art is gorgeous but I felt the story was lacking. It just didnt resonate with me and I couldn't read this very well which probably doesnt help.

I really enjoyed this one! It definitely suffers a little from "first book syndrome" where not a lot happens but that wasn't too much of a detriment. I really enjoyed getting to know Elle, her personalities and the friends she encounters. This was a really refreshing take on mental health and how it impacts your life. It didn't demonise Elle or make it seem like life was hopeless.

The art style was also great! It felt like it could easily translate to a tv show! The vibrant colours and disney-like cartoon style was really cool and gave it this whimsical and fun vibe that really uplifted the story. And I thought differentiating between the personalities by their hair was good as it made it very easy for me to track who was who!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy for review. All thoughts are my own.

Synopsis:
Have you met the new girl? She's so cool isn't she? That's what everyone thinks about Elle. What they see is a sweet girl who down to earth and super likeable. Elle instantly makes friends with a group of long time friends. In many ways, Elle is like the missing person in the friend group. However, one day Elle starts to act weird. She begins to have random mood changes that can change instantly. When these occur Elle isn't like herself at all; she's a new person entirely. Her friends try to help her figure out what's going on and how they can stop it. What they don't expect is to learn that Elle isn't who they (or even Elle) thought she was.
Rating: 4 stars

Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It is fast paced and full of adventure. The art style is stunning!
I was a bit disappointed that I did not get to see how Elle and her friends develop their friendship. It seemed a bit too quick with very little detail. The story ends on a cliffhanger which is a bit disappointing too. I think that this story would translate well to being a show, possibly a short series.
I look forward to reading the next volume! I cannot wait to find out what happens next!

Grade Recommendation: 6th +

I loved this book so much. The colour scheme and the illustrations are just so good. They are the ones that caught my eye. It was so so so good. I loved the drawing and like every feature of all the characters.
I loved how her hair colour was used to depict her personality and mood and how it changed. It made the story more interesting. It was very short and this time I was not happy about it. I needed more and I couldn’t stop imagining what would happen next. I WANT THE NEXT 2 BOOKS ASAP.
I was so much determined to rate it 5 stars but there were some points that needed to be considered. First of all, it was a tiny bit confusing at some points. The scene just changed to something else with like no clue. Secondly, I felt that many things were happening at same moment and also very quickly.
But the book and story was great. I am so excited for the second part to come out soon. I want to know the suspense that is created and I really NEED to continue with the series. It was a great experience reading it. Highly recommended!

Elle(s) was a graphic novel that touches upon mental health and friendship in a way that is accessible to younger readers. It unpacked the varying personalities of Elle in a way that was not demonizing in any way, and the friendship that blossomed was just beautifully done. The illustrations were also beautiful, and the use of hair color to symbolize the varying personalities was executed well.

I absolutely adored this book. This book talks about the life of Elle who has multiple personalities and is the new girl. As someone who was “the new girl” for a lot of her school life I really emphasised with this and the artwork was beautiful. This book is definitely worth picking up. The reason for the multiple personalities is never really explained which I like as it means people with different viewpoints can relate, be it ADHD, bipolar disorder etc. It was handled really well and tastefully.

Subjective grade- 70%
Plot - 60%
Writing & dialogue- 60%
Worldbuilding - 55%
Character development - 60%
Character relationships - 40%

This was cute! I loved the art and the colour palette was just gorgeous. I’m really interested to see how the story develops in the next book
(Is there a next book?!)
Anyway, the plot was well developed and I love the depiction of Ellie’s different sides and personalities.
Overall, 3 stars ⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy!

Many thanks to Le Lombard, Europe Comics, Kid Toussain & Aveline Stokart for my review copy of this amazing graphic novel.

This is such a beautifully written and illustrated graphic novel. I enjoyed reading this one so much. It was short but it definitely packed a punch. It covered some pretty important themes in the span of the book, the most important being mental health (multiple personality disorder).

Elle, the eponymous character, just moved to a new town and is settling into a new school. She’s making new friends while dealing with a lot emotionally. The story and illustrations take readers into Elle’s mind, and we get to witness her struggles with different personalities, identifiable by their hair colours. Each one is different, and their taking control of Elle is dependent on different triggers.

We get to see these triggers and how each new personality affects her relationships. The power of friendship shines brightly in this graphic novel and I love that so much. There are twists and turns as the graphic novel progresses, and they made reading it a lot more interesting and intriguing.

The ending shocked me and I can’t wait for the second instalment of this series! I loved reading it and I would definitely recommend it.

Elle struggles with multiple personalities. Whether this is bipolar disorder, DID, schizophrenia, or something else is never explained, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is how Elle attempts to manage her personalities while maintaining her friendships. Her friends struggle to understand her, and she withdraws. Everyone who has experienced mental illness knows this battle, and it's a breath of fresh air to see it depicted so honestly and with such beautiful artwork.

One thing I really loved was that there doesn't seem to be any implication that Elle is inherently bad. She's just in trouble. She wasn't cursed by a witch or anything; she is a human being who struggles with mental health and needs support from her friends. SO refreshing.

And the art in this book is out of this world! The color palettes alone speak volumes. It's rich and raw, but also cheek-pinchingly adorable.

Elle and her close friends work to get to the bottom of her mental health issues — something her family has tried to keep under wraps — and the pieces are finally starting to come together. A strange man makes an appearance, a doctor, a few clues, a shocking breakthrough, and then.... that's it.

What! THAT'S where the book ends?! If there's not a sequel, this is not just a cliffhanger, it's unfinished.

The graphics and story are awesome, I really enjoyed Elle(s) when you started and the characters are great! It's very easy to follow, some comics I've read before can be very confusing especially when it comes to reading on an iPad. I love Elle's storyline and I'm really excited to read and learn what's going to happen next and who her actual mother is?!
I think it'll be an unbelievable series and I can't wait to read again!

Antes de tudo, Elle(s) me interessou pela arte. Os traços são lindos. E a medida que lia, adorei a história. Tudo se encaixa muito bem. A maneira de tratar sobre o tema delicado, o apoio dos amigos, a crise consigo mesmo e autodescoberta. Ansiosa por mais dessa história, promete bastante.

[ENGLISH/ESPAÑOL]

ENGLISH.
Although it was an entertaining and quick read, writing this review fills me with mixed feelings. Don't get me wrong, the drawing style is BEAUTIFUL and between each page I looked at I could see the great effort of the artist and the great talent of him/her/they.

The story is really entertaining and touches on topics that I honestly haven't seen covered in other books. To begin with, the protagonist of the story, Elle, has alters, which leads us to think that she has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), however, not even Elle is aware of the real diagnosis. At the beginning of the story she finds herself in a new school, where she must learn to make friends, not to get in trouble, where she tries to be an average girl.

As I said before, the story is simple but interesting and the art is wonderful, visually charming and I loved every single one of the illustrations.

However, what has me conflicted is the way in which the DID is addressed. In the book it is played as if DID were like bipolarity and the truth is that it is NOT like that. If the author wanted to show the case of a person misdiagnosed by a specialist, in this case a psychologist, and wanted to show how much a misdiagnosis can harm, he did it right. It is a reality that is lived, sadly.
On the other hand, if the author REALLY believes that DID is like bipolarity, he worries me about his lack of information, and the fact that readers are being misinformed. Not many people decide to research the topics they read, so sometimes what an author represents in their book and the information that is seen there is what stays in the mind of the reader and that can be detrimental when it comes to these topics that are very important and that are hardly touched on in the literary world.

If it is the first case, I want to think that in the following volumes they will reveal the true diagnosis of Elle.
If it is the latter case, it is necessary for the author to do a thorough investigation on DID, because this is not bipolarity.

DID is a disorder that develops from childhood trauma, which is accompanied by dissociative episodes, blackouts, experiences where the person can see themselves "outside of their body" (this is called depersonalization), experiences where the person feels that the world is not real or what is happening is not real (this is called derealization), etc. In essence, DID develops during infancy because the infant's mind cannot cope with the abuse it is experiencing and consequently puts a barrier between the infant's conscious mind called "amnesia" to block those traumatic memories. This results in a second personality or alter, that is, that someone who shares the same body as the host but not the same memories. Some alters have more memories of the abuse that the infant suffered, others have fewer memories of it, and those same alters are different from the host, they look different, act different, speak different, etc. Contrary to the public image, we are NOT dangerous.

Another point I would like to touch on is that when a person has DID, the appearance of the alters can (and often is) different from the host. This means that if Elle is a white girl with pink hair, one of her alters may be a black girl or she may have a different accent, she may speak different, she may respond to different names, it may even be that one of her alters is man or child, etc.
I understand that for display purposes Elle's alters were made to look similar to her, only with different hair color, however that is not the case in real life. Also, some alters have different, it could be said, positions, for example: the Host is the person who has the most time "in front", which can be the "original personality" or some other alter in charge. There may also be young alters whom they call "childs" or "littles", as well as other positions like alters that are "protectors" or "caretakers". Every system is different but in general, alters are very protective of their system. This is just a small piece of information that I would like to share.

On the other hand, I liked that they showed the moment when one of Elle's alters goes through a dissociative episode that leads her to switch. This moment was very well represented and I really liked that.
I want to think the best of the author and believe that all this is going to develop in the best way in the following volumes, I really hope so, in which case I would love to continue with the story.

The ARC for this novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review: Thank you very much!

ESPAÑOL.
Pese a que fue una lectura entretenida y rápida, escribir esta reseña me llena de sentimientos encontrados. No me malinterpreten, el estilo de dibujo es PRECIOSO y entre cada página que veía podía ver el gran esfuerzo del artista y su gran talento.

La historia es realmente entretenida y toca temas que, sinceramente, no he visto que se traten en otros libros. Para empezar, la protagonista de la historia, Elle, tiene alters, lo que nos lleva a pensar que tiene DID (Trastorno de identidad disociativo), sin embargo ni la misma Elle está consciente de su diagnostico real. Al iniciar la historia ella se encuentra en una nueva escuela, donde debe aprender a hacer amigos, a no meterse en problemas, donde intenta ser una chica promedio.

Como dije antes, la historia es simple pero interesante y el arte es maravilloso, visualmente es encantador y adoré cada una de las ilustraciones.

Sin embargo, lo que me tiene conflictuada es la forma en que se toca el tema del DID. En el libro se toca como si fuera bipolaridad y lo cierto es que NO es así. Si el autor quiso mostrar el caso de una persona mal diagnosticada por un especialista, en este caso un psicólogo, y quiso mostrar lo mucho que puede dañar un mal diagnostico, lo hizo bien. Es una realidad que se vive, tristemente.
Por otro lado, si el autor REALMENTE cree que el DID es bipolaridad, me preocupa la falta de desinformación del mismo, y el hecho de que se este mal informando a los lectores. No muchas personas deciden investigar sobre los temas que leen, así que a veces lo que represente un autor en su libro y la información que se vea ahí es la que se queda en la mente del lector y eso puede ser perjudicial cuando se trata de estos temas que son muy importantes y que además casi no se tocan en el mundo literario.

Si es el primer caso, quiero pensar que en los siguientes volúmenes van a revelar el verdadero diagnostico de Elle.
Si es el último caso, es necesario que el autor haga una investigación profunda sobre el DID, porque esto no es bipolaridad.

El DID es un desorden que se desarrolla por un trauma en la infancia, que viene acompañado de episodios disociativos, lagunas mentales, experiencias donde la persona puede verse "afuera de su cuerpo" (esto se llama despersonalización), experiencias donde la persona siente que el mundo no es real o lo que está sucediendo no es real (a esto se le llama desrealización), etc. En esencia, el DID se desarrolla durante la infancia porque la mente del infante no puede sobrellevar el abuso que está sufriendo y en consecuencia pone una barrera entre la mente consciente del infante llamada "amnesia" para bloquear esos recuerdos traumáticos. Esto da como resultado una segunda personalidad o alter, es decir, ese alguien que comparte el mismo cuerpo que el host pero no los mismos recuerdos. Algunos alters tienen más recuerdos del abuso que sufrió el infante, otros tienen menos recuerdos de ello, y esos mismos alters son diferentes al host, se ven diferentes, actúan diferente, hablan diferente, etc. Contrario a la imagen pública, NO somos peligrosos.

Otro punto que me gustaría tocar es que cuando una persona tiene DID, la apariencia de los alters puede (y es frecuentemente) diferente a la del host. Esto quiere decir que si Elle es una chica blanca con cabello rosa, alguna de sus alters puede ser una chica de color o puede tener un acento diferente, puede hablar diferente, puede responder a nombres diferentes, incluso puede ser que alguno de sus alters sea hombre o un niño.
Entiendo que para propósitos de visualización se puso a los alters de Elle con una apariencia similar a la ella, sólo con el color de cabello diferente, sin embargo ese no es el caso en la vida real. También, algunos alters tienen diferentes, podría decirse, puestos, por ejemplo: esta el Host que es la persona que tiene más tiempo "en frente", que puede ser la "personalidad original" o algún otro alter a cargo. También puede haber alters jovenes a los que llaman "childs" o "littles", así como también hay cargos como el "protector". Cada sistema es diferente pero en general, los alters son muy protectores de su sistema. Esto sólo es un pequeño dato que quisiera compartir.

Por otro lado, me gustó que mostraran el momento en que uno de los alters de Elle pasa por un episodio disociativo que la lleva a cambiar de alter. Se representó muy bien y eso me gustó mucho.
Quiero pensar lo mejor del autor y creer que todo esto lo va a desarrollar de la mejor manera en los siguientes volúmenes, realmente espero que sí, en dado caso me encantaría seguir con la historia.

El ARC de esta novela fue proporcionado por la editorial a través de NetGalley a cambio de una reseña honesta: Muchas gracias!

WOW… I loved this???! I was expecting a standard teen drama, but I got so much more! Elle(s) did a fabulous job highlighting the difficulties of juvenile bipolar disorder- in a mental health positive AND enchantingly creative way. Elle deals with the stressors of high school, compounded by the flare-ups of her shifting emotions and rainbow-haired multiple personalities. The unconditional support of her best friend was wonderful and their friend group gives off excellent found-family vibes. I cannot believe it ended on that cliffhanger, though! AHH.

I adored the art style in this. The bold colors and character designs perfectly complemented the story told. I loved the creative choice of using Elle’s hair color to differentiate between her moods. I can’t wait for the next volume!

I read this in one sitting, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The illustrations are wonderful: bright and full of personality. The storyline covers delicate topics and so far has done so in a sensitive and interesting way. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes in terms of representation. The characters were also a highlight, each one quirky and different. I especially liked Maelys - I’m pretty sure we’d all like a friend like her in our lives. If I had to criticise anything, it was that it was too short. I wanted more.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to access to this amazing graphic novel highlighting a the difficulties of bipoliar disorder through young Elle(s) eyes.

With society hushing the importance of mental health, I'm glad to see a graphic novel that's enchanting yet delivers a very important message about the struggles people face, regardless of age, gender, or race, when dealing with bipolar disorder. In Elle's story we see a young teenager trying to survive high school, bullies, and the occasional mishaps when her multiple personalities/emotions flare up.

The graphic artwork is amazing, I love the bold colors, the richness that it gives featuring each of Elle's sides through different hair colors. I also love the fact that while everyone else was pulling away, one friend stayed true to understand Elle and her current feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed out.

I'm looking forward to the next issue and to see what Elle discovers on her journey to the truth and about herself.

The books highlight is its wonderful artwork. Illustrations are realistic and glow on the page. It is eye-catching. Reader will first like to stare on pages before reading them.
An unconventional story. Unconventional characters. A highly recommend graphic novel.

This graphic novel was super powerful: it illustrates the ups and downs and challenges with bipolar with different hair colors for the different personalities within Elle. The title makes more sense after you read the graphic novel - Elle(s) is super clever. Elle has 6 different personalities and despite how much she tries to stay in control, sometimes another personality slips through. Elle's new school and new group of friends have to be the most accepting and well adjusted kids in literature. They not only investigate what is going on with their new friend, but they accept her and help her cope when her different personalities take over. They have to be the best support system and the world needs more people like them. This graphic novel ends on an abrupt cliffhanger and I was really hoping for more of a conclusive ending.
The graphic novel art style is divine. It's totally digital art and modern. I adored the play with colors and the subtle signs of a personality shift.
I highly recommend this novel for anyone who knows someone with bipolar or for everyone who wants to know more of what it is like to have bipolar. It hits in the feels and I think it should be talked about more.

Elle is starting a new school after being kicked out of her old school. All seems fine until her behaviour changes. Elle has bipolar disorder and exibits different behaviours seemingly randomly. I loved the fact that the artist used different hair colours to differentiate the different personalities which also helped to show just how quick the switches could be e.g. Within one conversation multiple personalities coming out

The book also explores Elle's past and her questioning her parents about why she has no birth pictures and why she was born in a different place to where her parents have always lived. However, rather than her parents being truthful and explaining the situation to her, instead they avoid the topic or cover it up.

Elle notices that someone is following her and taking pictures of her. She confronts him and discovers that he is a hired private detective who was hired by her real mother to keep an eye on her. This opens up so many questions for Elle but then her aunt passes away and she struggles to process everything going on in her life.

AND THEN IT ENDS!?!
I need more!

I loved the use of colour in this graphic novel to show the personality switches as well as overall mood of the scenes.

Stories around mental health and particularly about disorders like multi personality always catch my attention. And with the addition of that really cute illustration on the cover, I was in as soon as I heard about this graphic novel.

The New Girl tells the story of Elle, a bubbly and good-natured teenage girl that just transferred into a new school. In the first pages we can see how she makes some very fun friends and fits right in, until suddenly she starts acting like a completely different person.

The gorgeous illustration did not disappoint. The characters are all so uniquely designed and truly pretty! They are all so unique, fun and quirky; I would really like to see more of them. The two page spreads are beautiful and it has clever tiny details added like the hair color changing with each personality swap.

The story seems indeed really interesting but there is not much I can say because it does not go too far. The ending for this volume seems too abrupt and at a point where not much was uncovered.

I worry that this installment did not do too much to keep me hooked and waiting for the next one, but the art and characters were all worth it and made it a fun ride.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I read, I literally got obsessed with the art style!! It was such a fun and fast paced book that I ate the content up in an hour!! Would recommend you this book to get u out of a reading slump