A beautiful story and memoir with gorgeous art, following the life of the authors grandmother Leo during the Second World War in France. It was very poignant and emotional. I would recommend it to anyone wishing to know more about day to day life during WWII.

I loved the illustrations, but the text was hard to read because of the cursive font and the story itself wasn’t that great.

This graphic memoir was such a treat to read! I loved that the author used her skills to memorialize her grandmother's memories and experiences this way. Talk about a labor of love!

The artwork is beautiful and gives me such warm vibes. The illustrator's style fits perfectly with the storyline. I'd love to read more from the illustrator/author.

When it comes to WWII stories, I like to read about everyday people's lives under Nazi occupation. This is a wonderful glimpse into the French Basque country as Léo (the MC), her family, neighbors, and friends try to keep a sense of normalcy in their lives.

The fact that Léo was in love with Felix, a German soldier, brings some complications. Being young and in love, I think Léo saw him through rose-colored glasses. Even though he treated her well, and we don't see any instance of wrongdoing on his part, he was still part of the occupying force.

Along with Felix, the Nazis (especially their officers who never leave Léo's family inn even after the regular troops have left) are always there in the background, made even more ominous by the artist's use of dark colors contrasted against the lighter colors that represent the Basque country and its people. Great juxtaposition.

I'd recommend for anyone interested in WWII and day-to-day life under Nazi occupation.

Thank you to Europe Comics and NetGalley for this arc.

Thank you for the e-ARC, NetGalley and dear publisher.

I am not sure why this heartwarming piece made me cry. But the story is very charming and I feel so peaceful reading it. Though it's hard to read because the choice of font, but overall it's a decent read.

This is a heartbreaking story beautifully presented. The facts are based on the author's own grandmother's experience during WWII, which will live on through memory and this beautiful work of art. Other than Heartstopper, this was the only graphic novel that made me feel connected enough to the characters to the point of feeling emotional - an amazing feat for such a short one.

I enjoyed this graphic novel memoir, although I probably should have read it in French because I feel like there were some aspects that got lost in translation. Maybe not, but I do find that sometimes the translation makes the story choppier and leads to gaps in the narrative.

I get that Léo is a life in pieces and that we only have parts of the story. And that we have to pull together some of the pieces in between ourselves. But I kept having to recall dates in order to string together the chronology and align who was who and what was going on with the history of the times.

The artwork is lovely, but maybe that contributes to the disjointedness because the characters often blend together and then as they jump through time, I lost which character was Léo.

Despite that, I did enjoy the graphic novel and Léo as a character. And I wanted to know more, to find out the things that I just assumed so that I could truly piece her life together.

Southern France, 1941: Léo is in love. Sneaking off to make out in the fields, and stealing a few minutes behind a secluded outbuilding, and making excuses to be in town—because the trouble is that while being in love is sanctioned, being a French girl in love with a German soldier is not.

"Léo in Little Pieces" is Itoïz's beautifully illustrated telling of her grandmother's story, told in some of the little pieces that her grandmother told her. (There's a second meaning to the title, but it would be a bit of a spoiler.) Most of the story takes place in the 1940s—Léo against the Nazi invasion of her home yet head over heels for a certain Nazi soldier—but there are snippets from later in Léo's life, as the war recedes into the past and her life becomes steadier, and as her granddaughter (Itoïz) starts to get curious about her grandmother's past.

There's a wonderful complexity here—Itoïz leaves a lot unsaid about Felix, perhaps because there is much that Itoïz does not say but also perhaps because there are many questions that her grandmother could not have answered. That is: Felix is neither portrayed as a hard-line Nazi nor as a sympathizer of the Resistance; the reality was probably somewhere in between, which is an uncomfortable grey area that isn't often enough talked about. Meanwhile, Léo is firm in what she believes but...maybe best described as "young." Confident and headstrong and perhaps with a bit of a sense of invincibility. No excuses here, just one woman's story. (It's worth looking up more info on "horizontal collaboration"—it's touched on here, but other articles and books give far more information and context.)

Altogether a really lovely, if (at times, and for obvious reasons) sad, read.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

First off, the artwork is absolutely stunning. It truly captured the atmosphere and emotions of the story in a beautiful way.

This story takes place during WWII and follows Leo, a young French woman who falls in love with a German soldier. Of course, this was frowned upon at the time and so they must keep it a secret. I thought this was a great glimpse at a side of history that we don't see so often, and enjoyed the personal touches at the end. Some of the narrative was a bit confusing, which is the only reason that I removed a star. Overall a lovely little book!

I love this style of artwork. So fluid , so real & so much wistful at places. This was a beautiful narration and much meaning to the title.

I love graphic novels that depict real life stories of people who lived during WWII.
The text was great and the illustrations powerful and with typical colors like other graphic novels depicting those decades. I would recommend it!

Beautiful graphic novel, the words perfectly match the drawings that accurately (or at least I think) render what was the atmosphere of the time.

Bellissima graphic novel, le parole si adeguano perfettamente ai disegni che rendono in modo preciso (o almeno penso) quella che fosse l'atmosfera dell'epoca.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

A beautifully illustrated book with an intimate history. This was a different take on WWII and a very personal account of a woman who loved a man on the other side of the war.

Thank you NetGalley and Europe Comics for giving me the opportunity to read this!

☽𝔹𝕆𝕆𝕂 ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎☾

𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:

First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC.
I believe it is not very appropriate to rate something so personal. Yet, both Goodreads and NetGalley require me to do so. The reason for a 4-star rating is only because I wish I could have ventured into the story and known EVERYTHING that happened and that a HEA could have happened for these individuals in real life :( This is a graphic novel inspired by a true story.

Firstly, the art style was stunning. It appeared effortless and nostalgic, which is odd given that we're talking about drawings. Reading the plot, I could figure out what was going to happen. That didn't make it any less painful.
I don't want to ruin anything since you won't appreciate it if I do.

This is a brief story. My laptop had approximately 168 hundred pages. Nevertheless, this was not a brief narrative for Léo, our main character, and the woman who lived this in her own skin. This event lasted years for her, and I can't imagine how she felt.

This is a wartime love story. A French woman and a German soldier fall in love. A love story set in a time when French women's heads were shaved if they had a 'horizontal' relationship with a German. A period of uncertainty and worry.

I became overwhelmed after learning that Mayana Itoïz, Léo's granddaughter, is the one telling us this tale in such a unique yet devastatingly beautiful way.

I wish the story had continued. I wish I knew what had happened to the person Léo couldn't get her mind off of.

(Pictures of the graphic novel are screenshots from Google preview as I did not feel like it was proper to screenshot the ARC that I got.)

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Leo was a young woman during World War II. She worked in her family's inn in France, which was taken over by the occupying Nazis. Young and reckless, Leo falls in love with a young German soldier stationed nearby. Though the whole community is unhappy with the occupation, they have to comply to survive. Leo works with friends in the resistance, deals in the black market, and even helps a fleeing man wanted by the Nazis, but she sees her German as separate and wants to run away with him. Unfortunately, actions have consequences, and Leo must face hers. A moving story of a young, rebellious woman trying to live life during impossible times.

Me gusta que esta novela gráfica sea una especie de biografía situada en la segunda guerra mundial. No hace falta decir que los personajes tiene un crecimiento porque esta basado en un hecho real.

This comic was nice: sweet and a bit sad.

I felt that I could understand Léo's feelings, specially when she was older, but it was a bit harder for me to empathize with her in the chapters where she was younger. I think I would have liked to see more scenes of her talking to her sister and Felix instead of her having fun. I understand what those scenes show us about her and her cheerfulnes and youth, but if I had to choose I would have preferred a couple more "serious" scenes. I think the time jumps also contributed a bit to this "partial detachment", specially the small ones like 1942-1944-1943

That's why I have not given it 4 stars. The other star left to 5 is because the drawing style is not my favorite, although I appreciate the creativity the author put into some pages, which were different to the traditional format.

Overall, I think it's a nice comic, specially for older people like our moms, aunts or grandmas. I feel like they could really like this story, even if they don't typically read comics/graphic novels. You can appreciate all the love and care put into telling this story, which is also valuable for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really loved the art style on this one and how it was able to show pieces of war without explicitly telling us when this was set and what was happening. It did not just include storylines about war and included lots of pieces of Leo's life. The story was overall not my favorite and felt very disjointed, but I can appreciate it for how beautiful it was.

Me gustó muchísimo esta novela gráfica. Pasé la lectura entera con una especie de nostalgia y tristeza por Léo. Es una novela gráfica inspirada en hecho reales, y me pareció muy bien hecha. La recomiendo si te gustan este tipo de historias.

Thank you Netgalley for the copy.

A wonderful told and beautifully illustrated story. This World War II story highlights the effects of the war on generations to come. It is a realistic and touching story.

"Léo is my grandmother. During the Second World War, Léo worked as a waitress in the family inn, which had been requisitioned by the occupying German forces. Cheerful and carefree, she divided her days between her work at the inn, her friends, and her secret love affair with Felix, a young German soldier. Time passed. Léo became a mother, then a grandmother. Toward the end of her life, she told me about her past, which I present to you now in the form of these little pieces of her life."

Leo in Little Pieces was wonderful. A part of history that I didn't really learn in school. The art was gorgeous and the time jumps were well done. A quick read but still impactful. And I appreciate the real-life photos in the end! I felt like it tied everything together.

Thank you NetGalley and Europe Comics!