It's pretty difficult to introduce complex political situations in short-form graphic novels, but Yazidi! manages to dispense the information in a way that's organic to the characters' stories. I'm not entirely clear from the publisher description how much of this story is true, and how much it's inspired by real events, but it manages to convey some very heavy topics in a way that's both believable and incremental.

Like some other readers, I would have liked this to be longer just because I found the story compelling, but the pacing never felt off while I was reading. While there is a lot of violence implied in this comic, most of it is off-page. You know what's happening without having to see it directly, which both makes the book accessible for younger readers and adds to the sense of tension and uncertainty that the characters are experiencing. The lack of narration also means that the reader is left to fill in the blanks and consider how each of the characters feel rather than being told directly. I think this comic would make a great addition to a classroom---it's educational without being didactic.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to access this comic as an ARC.

Recommended: yup
For a chance to learn about history not often taught in American schools, for beautiful art of a painful time, for hope and fear all mixed in

Thoughts:
Steel your heart. This one hurts, despite the hints of hope.

Seriously, this was a tough read, especially because it's true and that hurts so much. There's so much violence and fear and hatred and pain. But, there was also love, and generosity, and bravery, and community. In that way, it really did mirror the best and worst that humanity has to offer. Still... knowing these things happen made my skin crawl.

The art, on the other hand, is so soft and sweet and clear, which gentled it a bit to feel a little more palatable. Most of the horror is written or hinted at, rather than explicitly shown on page. Whether that makes it better or worse is for each to decide, I suppose. But those sweet moments, where love and hope are the focus? The art was perfect for those scenes and just made them that much more beautiful.

Yazidism was new to me and I appreciated the chance to learn about their beliefs, community, and history in this book. I wouldn't exactly say this is an easy introduction, but it got me started and curious.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for a free copy. This is my honest review.

This was an awesome graphic novel, very engaging and told the story of the Yazidi well for someone who wasn't at all familiar with the culture and community. The art was beautiful and the story had twists and turns within the very sad overall story of this community being run out of their home, taken, sold, enslaved in some cases, and doing what they can to help their families and friends who are left under the thumb of their oppressors. I will say I was a bit underwhelmed with the ending, I don't really feel like we got a solid wrap up to many of the characters and plot lines that were started. That was my main issue with it but it was a good story all the same.

Yazidi! is in that class of graphic novels that takes this short form and shows us something extremely relevant and meaningful. Before this I didn’t know of the 2014 Yazidi massacre, but it has opened my eyes to this world event and makes me want to learn more.

At times both extremely harrowing and hopeful, it is a story of family, deceit and second chances. I really enjoyed the storytelling and beautiful art. I only wish we had more time with this story and were able to find out what happened to other characters as I felt it ended quite abruptly.

Overall, a story that should be told and listened to. Go read this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Run away with our tails between our legs like your brother? Leave our lands? To go where? Yazidis were born here, and we're not going anywhere!

Based on true events, this graphic novel has charming illustrations but conveys just a part of the terrors of the 2014 Yazidi Genocide. This story is told through the eyes of two Yazidi families - one who fled and the other who stayed in their home village. It provides an insight into the conflicts between the Yazidis and ISIL in an easy to understand manner with emotionally complex characters.

To be honest, I think I'd only heard of this genocide in passing. It made me realize that I don't know much about the culture, religion, politics, or social issues in that part of the world. I wish the novel had some resources or explanations at the end. I did find a really interesting resource to learn a little more about Kurdish culture though - The Kurdish Project!

Yazidi! is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a young Yazidi girl and her family, who at the time of the novel have become a target of a terrorist group due to their ethnicity.

Reading this book is the first time I have ever had the opportunity to learn about the Yazidi people and their struggles as an ethnically targeted group throughout history. This graphic novel gave me my first glimpse of this culture and some of the challenges they have faced in recent years. Reading this novel sparked an interest in me to learn more about the Yazidi people.

One thing I absolutely adored about this graphic novel was its artwork. It was absolutely stunning and I loved that it was in color. I find that color in graphic novels really helps me to distinguish the different characters, and I felt it really enhanced the story. It helps me feel like I am able to follow through the characters world. Something else I loved was that even though this story could have ended poorly, the authors deliver a message of hope with the positive outcome to the story.

A negative to this story is that there are a bunch of characters that we never find out what happened to. I am assuming this is based on a true story, but the novel never specified, so I wasn't sure if the authors didn't want to follow the stories of the other characters due to a negative outcome in real life.

This story can be a great introduction for many readers on this suppressed group of people. This is a one of a kind graphic novel, and I say that as a reader who has read A LOT of graphic novels in the past few months. I hope readers give this a try and enjoy it as much as I did!

Review posted to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5626282079

"Yazidi!" is a graphic novel by Aurélien Ducoudray & Mini Ludvin depicting the story of a young Yazidi girl, Zéré, impacted by the ISIL rule of parts of Iraq in 2014. A few years ago, I read the heartbreaking memoir of Nadia Murad "The Last Girl", which also depicts (although in a lot more detail) the trauma of being a victim of human trafficking and unimaginable atrocities by ISIL). "Yazidi!" brings a lot of the same issues described by Nadia Murad to light. It's an important book, highlighting a sad part of our recent global history and one which is often overlooked. I wish the ending had been a little more developed, but I also thank the authors for wrapping the story where they did, to allow for a somewhat happy finish by focusing on the family reunion and Zéré's escape. The long-lasting impact of the Yazidi genocide will continue to be felt for generations.

A fantastically illustrated graphic novel about a young girl whose life is shattered when her town is taken over by ISIL. Forced to either convert, hand over money or be executed, the townsfolk are unable to defend themselves. Zéré's father is stripped and taken away with the other men. Then Zéré is taken as a prize for their soldiers, defiant, she is thrown into prison where she makes an ally who helps her escape.
With the fear of the unknown Zéré heads home, hopefully back to her family and safety.

Yazidi! is a character study, a suspenseful story, and a window into lived experiences and cultures. It’s visually stunning story.

This was a compelling story about the Yazidi people and their quest to live a free and peaceful life. I liked the artwork and how the story humanized the conflict.

I absolutely sailed through this graphic novel, it sucks you in immediately.

Prior to reading, I had no in depth knowledge of this situation. It doesn't dump a ton of information or context on you up top (an issue I've seen with similar novels) but just enough so you're not going in completely cold. I think this is a great jumping off point for learning about this conflict.

The illustrations are wonderful, I read parts in colour & black and white (between different devices) and the imagery came across well both ways. I liked the use of the phones to break up sections and the family wallpapers made it very relatable.

I shan't spoil the story but I was gripped throughout, it took me 2 sessions to finish and it would have been one had life not got in the way! My only issue is length, I feel like I could have read more, more insight into these people could have been interesting.

I really liked this little comic. It was an interesting story aboutva little girls life. The artstyle was really simple and not too colourful, mirroring perfectly the actions of the story.With only 150 pages it was a quick read and perfectly for an afternoon. In my opinion the story could have been longer due to the importance of this topic. I wish I would have had more information about our characters which would have given them more depht. But overall I liked this comic and its topic, I can recommend for everyone who likes Graphic Novels.

Docoudray's "Yazidi!" Is a graphic novel that explains the political situation of the yazidi families who were attacked by the Isil .
The novel also briefly explains about the yazidi culture .
The story has two storylines (Zéré and Nizira) and (Ahmad and his family) which is merged towards the end .
In my opinion, this book is an entirely new subject that helped me to learn about yazidism and the conflict that they had faced.
This book may not be suitable for everyone as it contains sensitive subject. However it is worth a try to read about a culture and a political that exist beyond our knowledge.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for letting me read this ARC for an unbiased review!

Can I just start by saying the obvious: the illustration is beautiful. The dialogue flowed well and was realistic. The storyline was easy to follow yet emotionally complex. There were plot twists and great characterization. Relationships were built and lost in so few pages. This was brilliant all around.

Yazidi! is a beautifully written and illustrated graphic novel dealing with the Yazidi genocide. Peshmergas, defenses for Yazidis against ISIL, flee and leave them defenseless. Zéré, a young girl must survive despite the kidnappings, rape, and murder that is occurring to her community.

I had no idea about ANY OF THIS! It seriously brought to my attention that I know very little about religion, politics, and oppression that isn't occurring in my own country. This was a very informative exploration of the topic that, because of its illustration and pretty easy-breezy reading experience, was a great introduction into a topic that is undoubtably much bigger and complex (meaning there is probably SO much more to know about this that cannot all be touched on in a <200 page graphic novel). It definitely sent me down a rabbit hole so I could understand more. It is a truly disheartening piece of history that more people should know about. I’m only 19 and have never heard of the Yazidi genoicde, so I cannot imagine how this history will fade from younger peoples understanding of global history if stories like this are not told. This graphic novels is both an engaging story and an educational illustration of difficult topics. In other words, it makes difficult subject matter easier to grasp and accessible. And it does so with much sensitivity, especially as it deals with young girls.

I did have a bit of difficulty understanding who was who in the past and present. But with a second pass through the book, it made much more sense. I do not read graphic novels often so didn’t notice small details in illustration that can help with this. Honestly, reading it a second time was even more enjoyable because I found things I missed. It’s such a quick read anyway that it wasn’t a burden at all to read again. I also found it helpful to look up some vocabulary like caliphates, peshmergas, etc. Not imperative, as you can make inferences. But it can provide some important context.

This is BEAUTIFUL and I couldn’t put it down. I would recommend it to literally everyone.

Yazidism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions still practiced in the world, predating even Zoroastrianism. Yazidis pray facing the sun, leading to the erroneous belief that they are sun-worshippers. One of the main figures within their religion is Tawûsê Melek, the Peacock Angel. When God asked the angels to bow before Adam Tawûsê Melek refused - a similar story to Iblis in Islam belief - which has led to accusations of Yazidis being devil-worshippers. Due to these and other reasons, Yazidis have been persecuted and killed for thousands of years. They are one of ISIL’s primary targets to this day.

Yazidi! (Europe Comics, 2023), by Aurélien Ducoudray is a graphic novel that seeks to explain the current situation faced by many Yazidi families. The graphic novel follows Zere and Nizira, two teenagers who are taken by ISIL to Raqqa and must escape to rejoin their family. The book is rife with examples of Yazidi culture and belief, as well as the horrors that many currently face under ISIL control.

The art and colors of the book are beautifully done by Mini Ludvin in an attractive contemporary style reminiscent of popular manga. This accessible style allows the story to resonate better with a younger audience, in spite of the subject matter being a deeply serious commentary upon current events. There’s a focus on the power of modern communication and how collaboration can help bring people to freedom, yet also the how dangerous trusting others can be - betrayal has fatal consequences.

The book is adept in its portrayal of Yazidi belief, careful to explain the full history of these stories. It depicts the story of the Peacock Angel with a traditional, yet mesmerizing full page spread. There are also multiple examples of the family praying to the sun or tying the ribbons around the wishing tree in hopes the prayers will reach heaven.

Books and graphic novels such as these can help a wider audience understand the plight of oppressed groups, helping to keep traditions alive that are normally only passed down orally. It’s important these traditions be passed down by people that can accurately reflect the beliefs, rather than those who would try to demonize what they don’t understand. Yazidi! Does a fine job of telling a difficult story about horrible current events respectfully. By reading this, hopefully more people will understand this culture and what they are going through.

This was a very informational and interesting graphic novel about the impact of war on a religious minority. We got follow two parts of a family: one in the city with Ahmad and his family and one in a more rural area that is being taken over by ISIL with Zére and her family. Their stories are both heartbreaking and take some unexpected turns which had me honestly hooked and wanting to read more and more.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. The illustrations are beautifully drawn and detailed despite the difficult subject matter, and the story is well-told and heartbreaking (as I said before). I had never heard of Yazidism or the Yazidi genocide at all sadly before reading, and this book made me interested to learn more and fully educate myself about it. That’s how impactful this novel was and I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it.

I would like to say a huge thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the advanced reader copy, I really liked it!

Yazidi! is a great graphic novel that taught me a lot about Yazidis, a religious group about which I didn't know much. Painful history, as in the case of many minority religious groups. I think that it should be read by anyone who likes learning about other cultures, backgrounds and histories. Great artwork too!

I feel like I always learn a lot in Europe Comics publications and this was no different. The Yazidis are a religious group in Iraq who are targeted by ISIL and this book shows us just a glimpse of how scary and dangerous this violence can be. The book follows the uncle's family in the city, and a young (teen?) girl Zéré in a village. After ISIL comes and separates Zéré's family, we follow her through some really scary circumstances. This graphic novel was really eye opening to see what happens with these great power imbalances.

The graphic novel was a little hard to follow, trying to figure out the family relationships and the timeline within. I wish this would have been a little clearer.

Thanks to Europe Comics for this advanced copy of the book!

This was an informational and interesting graphic novel about the impact of war on a religious minority. We follow two parts of a family: one in the city and one in a more rural area that is being taken over by ISIL. Their stories are heartbreaking and take some unexpected turns.

I would definitely recommend this book. The illustrations are beautiful despite the difficult subject matter, and the story is well-told. I had never heard of Yazidism or the Yazidi genocide, and this book made me interested to learn more. It is unclear if this book is based on a singular story or a combination of many, but it is impactful either way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the advanced reader copy!

An important story to have out there. I really enjoyed the artwork and the mostly/kinda happy ending. I also liked how readers get to learn a little about Yazidi.