The story was nice and easy to follow. The middle felt a little jumbled when time accelerated but overall a good story. I think it would have appeal to multiple ages and genders.

Romance stories aren’t usually my thing. The various executives of the world rarely market them to any demographic other than either teenage girls or people that enjoy watching Hallmark Christmas films. It’s hard to find anything that treats it in any sort of mature and/or realistic way. Don’t even get me started one ones where men are the protagonist. With that said, I really enjoyed this new graphic novel, Forever by Assia Petricelli and Sergio Riccardi simply because it doesn’t do any of the stupid tropes that drive me crazy.

In many ways, by portraying the story of a girl largely alienated from her family and most of her friends grounds the book considerable. She not only finds love in a Greek boy obsessed with working on an old broken-down boat, but also a lasting friendship with a couple of lesbians on what could be their last vacation together. The authors tell a very compelling story full of ups and downs, and what ultimately the meaning of love is. It’s the kind of story you see in independent art films, reminiscent of things like Juno or 500 Days of Summer.

“What is this “love” everyone talks about? Viola doesn’t yet know. But it is a question she is asking herself more and more, because at her age there are some kinds of problems you feel even in the air that you breathe: your self-image and the way you think others see you, the relationship between you and your body and the other gender, couple issues, the freedom to follow your aspirations, and the need to fit in socially accepted categories. On vacation with her parents, during the idle hours of the afternoon while everyone is sleeping, Viola’s encounters and experiences will help her grow as a person and get answers to the hard questions that everyone has to face sooner or later, and she will reshape her identity, in a summer she’ll never forget.”

While this isn’t a sad story (for the most part) it captures those moments of one’s youth that really shape our lives moving forward. A lot of the characters aren’t the same after the events told, some for the better, some for the worse, but you can tell this summer in the mid-1990’s will be a landmark time in these characters lives, especially Viola. The story is somewhat simple, so talking about it too much would spoil more than what I like to do in my reviews, but I’d definitely recommend checking this book out if you get a chance. If anything, the art is stylistically out of the ordinary, and it alone is worth a peek.

this was so good, wow.

i loved all the characters and how they each and their own problems. it meant the author was able to showcase more social problems and how they effect people than if viola was the only conflicted character. it also made them feel more real, so i really appreciated that.

the messages were all pretty good too. i liked the lessons the author conveyed about relationships and what they may mean to different people. the handling of each type of relationship was delicate enough that i didn't feel like there were problems with the execution.

overall, this was sweet and i really liked it!

This is a graphic/comic book with themes of love, friendship, classic mother-daughter troubles. It will only take around 30 minutes for anyone to finish it. I didn't like the book very much because it had that stereotyped notions of sex and love, yes the main character is in thought and thinking about all these things, but still the book did not appeal to me much. The ending summarised the meaning of the book beautifully, it was a good conclusion. The illustrations and graphics were also good but In terms of the story I did not like it much. And somehow the stereotyped notions covered the majority part of the book which led to me disliking the book

A fantastic exploration of Womanhood, family life and coming of age. In this graphic novel Assia Petricelli crafts a beautiful portrait of what it means to grow up and grow into yourself.

In Forever or Per sempre), a young Viola travels with family and friends to Italy for the summer. An introvert, Viola struggles with her looks and even more with her place in the world - and amongst her peers.

She comes across a local, Ireneo, Viola's ideas of friendship and love begin to change. As they get closer, and she begins to doubt herself more, Viola begins to finally understand where she stands in her own life, and what her idea of love is.

Petricelli's writing is well paced and fluid, and perfectly mixes with the art of Sergio Riccardi. Riccardi's art is lush and filled with movement, and her perfectly captures the beauty of Italy and realistically portrays differences of the human body.

Forever is the perfect summer read, especially if you're feeling nostalgic for a time that has since passed.

Just not my thing I do believe a great story and I loved the art. I think if I had to read a story like this I would pick another I was out of wheel house with this one

This is a very beautiful story. I wish it went on and on. This one pulled in almost every aspect of love and doing so, graphically, is a big deal, I guess. Though I'm not much a fan of such style of art and it got too wordy in some places but anything for such a soothing story. I wish I had read something like this when I was 14.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a virtual copy of the book!!
A lot of mixed feelings on this one. It started with misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and a situation really close to assault. And at the end the main character suddenly learned that all of that was wrong? I don’t know, it lacked development. Physical and verbal abuse was normalized in romantic and family relationships. I didn’t like the way the message was told. But it doesn’t surprise me, since it’s an italian production and I know they can be very traditional and insensitive towards some topics. I expected more.

*reviewed from uncorrected eARC via netgalley*

graphic novel (teen/adult, coming of age - love story)
tender story about mature teen figuring out what a healthy relationship is, and what boundaries she wants to set for herself and for others' behavior around her.

Forever is a beautiful and tranquil comic that makes me miss the sea and sun. Viola and her family are having their vacation near a beach and she wonders off every time everyone else is relaxing. She meets her friends, new people and comes into terms with herself. Forever is a stagnant summer day that you can feel. I love everything about this. The body issues, boys and love, the loss and family issues. Everything's simple and complicated at the same time and we get to feel how Viola feels. Petricelli does this magnificently and captures the never ending days that end too soon. The rhythm is slow and well paced and we get to enjoy the scenery and the feelings fully. In a sense hardly anything is happening and that's the beauty of it.

The art reminds me of Cyril Pedrosa and the line art is thin and lively. The colors are beautiful and make summer real on the pages. People look different and unique, which is wonderful. But the most precious in this comic is the atmosphere. I just wish this had been longer, since I enjoyed it so much and wanted to be in it more.

This book is about experiencing first love during the summer where nothing seems permanent. The characters spent most of their days under the ray of sunshine and the allure of love, pain and heartbreak. This book is interesting and such a fun read about standing up for what is right in a relationship and consent. I really had an enjoyable time reading this book and would totally recommend it.

I was thrown off by the text and art in the beginning and glad I pushed through to discover it was just a journal entry from the protagonist, Viola. The cover caught my eye and I'm glad I decided to read it. This was a great slice of life story of Viola, a teenager, vacationing with her family on the southern coast of Italy. She seems to not really fit in with her friends - she's not as daring and social with the boys, but longs to know what love feels like. She butts heads with her mother. One day she decides to follow a local boy she's noticed every day. They start meeting up every day and strike up a friendship/romance that will stick with her "forever". I also really liked the older lesbian couple that she befriends and who bestow their wisdom on her.

I would purchase this for my library if I could, but it doesn't seem to be available through our supplier (Ingram).

Forever is a graphic novel about a young teenager going to the sea for the summer. Set in Italy, she joins her friends and meets other boys as well as one particular local boy who she interacts with while everyone is sleeping. Through that time, she meets a lesbian couple whom she befriends and gets to know. Forever's art was done beautifully and I loved the way the expressions of each character was able to come to life. I could tell the emotions of everyone by their facial expressions and their movement.

I thought the plot was nice, but some of the side characters didn't seem as fleshed out as they could have been. I didn't feel that connected to the lesbian couple who we meet over halfway through the book. While the ending was sad, it didn't pack as much of a punch as it should have so I was left feel a little underwhelmed at the end of the story. Forever definitely captured the vibes of summer vacation and felt nostalgic and romantic at the same time. Overall, great art and compelling story!

I'm not usually a comic book person, but this one really caught my eye. I really like stories that don't promise much and come at you with the simplicity of life. Reading this felt like getting to know a piece of someone's life, and I love when books do this. The characters seemed very real, with problems I could have, from the travel anxiety to the prejudiced family or the societal expectations upon girls. It's a good read, especially because it's not long and at the same time has enough time to develop everything it starts and put out a nice message.

I don't think that I got out of this what I should have. This read to me as a teenager goes on vacation and meets some people that make her realize that there are bigger issues in the world than her angst. It just wasn't for me.

Forever by Assia Petricelli is a remarkable summer time read which explores love. Through Viola's character, the book helps the readers explore romantic as well as platonic love.

In many ways I felt nostalgic while reading through this beautifully illustrated novel. It brought back memories from when I was a teenager and was still discovering what love meant to me. Through this book it is reiterated that love to many means different things.

The best part about the novel is that it isn't preachy in terms of what love should be and the characters included to highlight them felt so real. The illustrations perfectly added to the reading experience and held my interest throughout.

When I initially started the novel, I feared it might be a problematic book with some of the terms used and even feared that the relationships shown might be toxic too. But the author has done a phenomenal job of tying all loose ends and took the opportunity to briefly touch on issues like consent, using protection and unhealthy relationships.

Personally, I would have preferred a different ending to Viola and Ireneo's relationship but it also aptly shows how much Viola had grown since the beginning of summer. Lastly, I loved Viola's shared relationship with Lili and Paola so so much!!

I rate the book 5 out of 5 bookmarks for the constant smile on my face, the beach vibes and the beautiful depiction of the many forms of love. Highly recommend it!

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me with an eARC of the book to review. I’d also like to congratulate the author - Assia Petricelli - and illustrator – Sergio Riccardi – on their new book which came out earlier in April, 2021.

"what is this "love" everyone talks about?"

5/5! I loved this graphic novel! It talked about so many important themes and made me tear up. I absolutely loved the characters and their interactions with one another. I think this story is a must read for YA-New adult readers and I cant wait to buy a physical copy for my collection!

Summary:
"Forever" is a story about figuring out what love is. We see our main character struggle with self image and being uncomfortable with encounters she has that are supposed to be "love". Through seeing everyone around her go through toxic relationships and never being happy she starts to learn what love isn't. She starts to realize that she is more comfortable the way she is (tomboy) and that her being in a happy relationship isn't going to look like what everyone else wants. She finds herself and learns what a healthy relationship is and this whole story is just so beautiful with its images and story.

Can't wait to read more by this author, thank you so much for letting me read it early!
(I read this in advance on Netgalley for a review)

Such a wholesome , heartwarming read . It just fir the summer vibe super well . I really loved that the book touched upon toxic relatiomships , sexual assualt , sexuality , real depiction of a woman's body and consent . This book deals with these topics with great care and spread a great message to the audience . Although it is a short graphic novel it will leave you with a stream of thoughts , self realisation and it is very likely to make you feel empowered and enlightened . The artwork in this book was just lovely and it really complemented the story in all the best possible ways that it could . Highly reconmend it to anyone looking for a light and empowering book .

What a charming and quick read. Despite how short this story is, I found myself immediately invested in the characters. I loved the variety of issues explored and the growth each character had. A lovely art style and heartwarming tale.

This book reminded me of why I love graphic novels. It is about love in many of its forms as Viola, the main character, wonders "What is this love that everyone talks about?"

She finds the answer in unexpected places, but my favorite is when she asks, "Is it true you can be happy only when you're with another person."

She gets a response that comes not just with the wisdom of age, but with the clarity that comes when you are at the end of your days, "It's rather the other way around: You can be happy with someone only when you are capable of being happy by yourself."

During the course of one summer, Viola comes to love herself, which leads her to gradually open her eyes and confront the reality of love, which is very different from the fantasy of love.