Unfortunately, I couldn't read this book as it got archived and I somehow lost my copy in the NetGalley app.

Tremenda novela gráfica que recomendaría a chicas más pequeñas. A veces somos fuertes por otras cosas que admiramos como lo hace la protagonista de esta, una chica a quien se le complica socializar que encuentra un escape en la música y un refugio en su banda favorita<3

As a lover of the Beatles, how could I not give this book a try! Not only was the main character's anxiety relatable, but seeing her use of music to cope was inspired. The visuals were spectacular, particularly the psychedelic scenes when the Beatles take her away with them. If only they could take me away too...

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Magali Le Huche takes us through her preteen years and all the anxieties that come with that weird and confusing time. She perfectly describes the fangirl crushes, and the blind obsessions often associated with that age in a way that doesn't diminish the comforting and stabilizing nature of them. Magali Le Huche is honest about her struggles with her social anxiety, and how the Beatles became the ultimate security blanket for her. I myself was a young Beatles scholar at that age, and listened to and read everything I could about them. I particularly loved the muted pallet of this graphic novel because it only emphasizes the "color" the Beatles brought to her life when they come into her story in bright punchy colors.

Excellent autobiographical title, which tells a story of anxiety and how it can be overcome. Magali, a young girl, has to cope with a devastating sense of failure, and part of that coping comes from listening to the Beatles' music. The whole is drawn in a lovely clear line, black and white except when the Beatles make an appearance, and colour practically jumps off the page.

Usually school dramas, especially here in the US, hyper-obsess with things like sex meaning that most are insanely derivative and almost never relate in any way to the lives of most of the people that would be reading it. Because of this, I almost never want to read them. Nowhere Girl by Magali Le Huche is thankfully nothing like that, and actually seems to be reminiscent of real issues a young woman might have growing up. Strained familial relationships, dealing with a popular sibling at school, not really fitting in, and stress on top of more stress – these are all issues plaguing Magali. These problems are something she largely escapes due to her new-found love of the insanely popular band – The Beatles. Albeit, this would be a fleeting escape, since real life always comes crashing down as the “high” of their music subsides.

It was interesting to me that the art-style, one that I quite enjoyed, was largely monochromatic in many ways (with the exception of pink and the main character’s orange hair) until she discussed The Beatles or listened to them for the first time. Suddenly the pages filled with full, vibrant, perhaps psychedelic colors, perhaps showing the impact they made on her hum-drum life up to that point. It reminded me of the whole trop from The Wizard of Oz, wherein the film was black and white until Dorothy reached the Magical Land of OZ, suddenly filling the screen with color. I liked this touch quite a bit, and especially liked the call-backs to famous album covers and such.

“This is the story of a girl growing up in the 1990s – a middle-schooler who finds herself lost in the gulf between childhood and adolescence, developing paralyzing fears of failure, school, other people, and her own changing body. Along the way, she becomes obsessed with the Beatles… which might be just what she needs to find her way back to being okay. Yeah yeah yeah!”

I think the only thing I didn’t particularly enjoy about this book was that the text was in cursive script, while I can see why this choice was made – to appear as diary entries – it was somewhat harder to read on my Kindle than normal books. Perhaps a physical book would alleviate this issue? I was also somewhat bummed that The Beatles were not of a real particular focus of this story in relation to the main character despite what the description would lead you to believe. Yeah, you have her exposition that she was a huge fan of theirs and that they helped her get through issues, and a few splash pages of her listening to music, and that’s about it. I felt that, because of this, it lost any sort of central focus that the story could have had, and just came across as the mundane diary of a normal girl that happened to have more issues, perhaps, than others. Maybe that was the intention, but I would have liked more drama. That isn’t to say that this is in any way a bad comic, the style and artwork make up for that, but I would have liked it to have more of a voice than it does.

Unfortunately I ran out of time and did not fully complete this book.

I was around 3/4 of the way through and I really enjoyed what I read.
I will admit the layout was a little confusing at times, although this could have been due to reading it on the app.

I think this book touch on subjects that are not often talked about. The pressures of attending the same school as older siblings is completely real and can be really tough!

I will be purchasing this book soon so I can finish reading but for me it was definitely a 3.5 star read. Unfortunately I couldn't give it more due to the layout.

Essa graphic novel é uma deliciosa história sobre o amadurecimento de Magali. A garota, apaixonada com os Beatles, conta sua história a partir de um grande acontecimento: o início do ano letivo na sexta série.

Daí em diante somos levados pela garotada conhecer sua vida, relação com a mãe, pai e irmã, rotina escolar, bem como seus medos e todo um processos de entristecimento e ansiedade. E tudo isso, após certo momento, em companhia dos Beatles.

Arte de Magali Le Huche é tão delicada quando sua narrativa. Enquanto nas partes da realidade somos abraçados pelo rosa e preto dos traços e das manchas, além do amarelo dos cabelos da garota, a trama ganha outros tons quando ocorre a fuga para a realidade.

Dessa forma, em meio às muitas cores a pequena Magali se sente acolhida em seu universo particular, um lugar na divisa do País das Maravilhas com Pepperland. Os tons vibrantes derramam das páginas de tal maneira que nos sintamos protegidos da mesma maneira que a protagonista.

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This graphic novel is a delightful story about Magali's coming of age. The girl, in love with the Beatles, tells her story starting from a big event: the beginning of the school year in the sixth grade.

From then on we are taken by the girl to know her life, her relationship with her mother, father and sister, school routine, as well as her fears and a whole process of sadness and anxiety. And all this, after a certain moment, in company of the Beatles.

Magali Le Huche's art is as delicate as her narrative. While in the parts of reality we are embraced by the pink and black of the strokes and the stains, besides the yellow of the girl's hair, the plot gains other shades when there is an escape to reality.

In this way, amidst the many colours little Maggy feels welcomed in her own private universe, a place on the border between Wonderland and Pepperland. The vibrant tones spill off the pages in such a way that we feel protected in the same way as the main character.



Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

I was startled to realize that this one had no central focus. Or at least, that the Beatles don't actually play as much of a role as I expected. Social anxiety is really the central focus. The Beatles moments are brief flights of fancy. And unlike most graphic novel memoirs I've read, there's no dramatic conclusion. No moment that sums up the plot and serves to give the subject their breakthrough. It's a gradual realization.

This graphic novel follows 11 year old Magali as she struggles with her mental health and changing body, whilst also discovering her love for the Beatles. This was a nice story and the graphics depicting the beatles and her thoughts were amazing. However, the pages were quite cluttered with words and pictures and the font was quite difficult to read (particularly as this was only accessible on my phone).

It's not easy to be a teenage girl, especially when you feel like you don't fit anywhere. This is the story of Magali, a girl who's facing all the stress of growing up in the 90's, dealing with anxiety and trying to understand her feelings. That's when she falls in love with The Beatles and they make her feel less alone. It's really cute how this passion is portrayed, showing how pop culture can have such an impact into someone's life. Sometimes it can be the only reason why someone leaves the bed. This book may seem silly for some people, but it's really, really relevant. I truly enjoyed. Thanks to Europe Comics for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

this is an odd little graphic memoir. i expected a story about a kid's obsession with the beatles, but it's more about her struggle to cope with childhood anxiety and OCD. she does eventually use fandom as a distraction to help her cope, but it's not really about the beatles.

in fact, she doesn't even discover the beatles until halfway through the book! the pacing is quite slow. the book is translated from the french, and it somehow feels very french. even the cursive font gives off french vibes.

i think the high point is when our main character, magali, hears the beatles for the first time and straight up has a psychedelic experience. the dreamy art is beautiful, and contrasts with the straightforward art style in the rest of the book.

there's also a wonderful visual metaphor of magali escaping into a yellow submarine when she feels uncomfortable. such comfort we can get from fandom escapism!

magali's eventual obsession (and particularly her strong need to tell others about her love of the beatles) is cringingly relatable. i wish there had been more of this, but i couldn't really feel the depth of her love for the band.

i'm also unsure about the ending. magali goes back to public school and learns to better cope with her anxiety, but says she still finds comfort in the beatles. then there's a twist to show that she's still in therapy... but it almost feels like a self-deprecating twist? even though there's really no shame in being in therapy long term. perhaps it's due to the translation, but i was very unclear on the author's intent.

overall it's a cute book, and it reminded me of living with viola, another graphic novel about a preteen girl using various coping mechanisms to deal with her anxiety.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This was a lovely graphic-novel-type book on a young girl struggling with adolescent issues such as fitting in at school, struggling with school work, feeling alone. She struggles with her confidence, has to deal with her body changing and trying to find who she is.

I felt this was an honest look at issues and was really relatable. I was surprised with how many different issues were addressed but I'm pleased it did consider so many as this transition period into adolescence does have a lot thrown at you in one go.

I'm a Beatles fan so I did enjoy the Beatles references, although I feel even without the music references, it still would have been a good book.

Stunning illustrations. The font wasn't always the easiest to read.

This story was a mess. The appeal, the total lure, was The Beatles and how they somehow assisted the author in moving forward their her pre-teen years. When she experienced a growing sense of social anxiety. Which became so overwhelming she stopped thing to school and was eventually home schooled for some time.

How exactly those elements tied to these events... fell flat in my opinion.

Sections of the book are rambling about Beatles facts and general information. Almost none of it was relevant to the story, past overly emphasizing her obsession and fixation on the band.

The art style is okay, but the font was very difficult to read.

**Thank you to Europe Comics and NetGallery for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. **

This is one of my first graphic novels. I found it easy to follow, and fun. I loved the drawings, and all the pop culture references.

Nowhere girl is a coming of age memoir in graphic novel format. Magali adored her older sister who did great in school. So, when Magali starts at a new school for 6th grade, she is saddened to learned that school there doesn't come easy for her. Everything feels like too much of a challenge. She starts to get depressed and loses her appetite. She develops a fear of school. She finds solace from an unexpected source, The Beatles. She falls in love with their music and it adds color to her world. This is shown in the graphic novel through a cacophony of rainbow colors anytime she is listening to The Beatles' music.

This was a touching graphic novel that shows how mental health can impact even school aged children. Of course, many of us saw this first-hand in a different way with the school closing and COVID regulations of the past year or so impacting our children. I loved that Magali found a connection with brightness through music. It was expressed beautifully in the artwork as well.

What to listen to while reading...
The Beatles, of course!

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was a relatable coming-of-age story about a girl with severe anxiety. She has what her therapist describes as “school phobia” and turns to a reclusive homeschooling life while diving into an obsession with The Beatles.

I, too, had a bit of a Beatles phase growing up (though not quite to this extent) and still love listening to their music to this day. I’m still thrilled to no end that I got to see Paul McCartney play ONE song live. I understand her hype.

But more importantly than The Beatles, I understand anxiety, and I know clinging to an obsession to feel less alone. I think about Harry Potter when I was younger and how I would make long stories in my head about being Harry Potter’s secret sister and marrying Draco Malfoy. It was more than just an interest. It was a chunk of my life. So, when Magali holds so tightly to them and uses them as an escape, I understand. And I felt for her. I could feel how lonely and confused she was.

The only reason I give this four stars instead of five is because I feel like it ended a bit abruptly. I would have liked to see her progression into “normal” life a little more fleshed out.

I want to thank the publishers for allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed it and it gave me a lot to think about. Not to mention, I now really really want to watch Across the Universe.

I love the Beatles, so I was excited when I saw this book. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

This book is a memoir of the author, about her school anxiety, being homeschooled, puberty, and her love of the Beatles. I understand the premise, of having something to focus on and love while school made her anxious and unhappy. However, I never felt connected the the character and felt her love of the Beatles and how it related to helping her anxiety never really clicked.

Graphics were ok. Wish the font was a bit different and easier to read, though.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

A pleasant and light reading experience, this graphic novel tells the story of a young girl growing up in France in the early 1990s whose usual day-to-day adolescent struggles are compounded by a mounting anxiety problem which makes it difficult for her to attend school. Then, she discovers the music of the Beatles and life is never quite the same for her again. A charming, heart-warming, nicely illustrated journey through one teenager's extend hard day's night.

Great illustrations and a poignant story that captures the highs and lows of adolescent life. The psychedelic illustrations particularly help to emphasize the weirdness, the back and forth interior life that the main character has.