The art style is gorgeous and the colour palette is lovely. I enjoyed most of the characters and Victors struggles with feeling like he'll never mesure up is relatable.
I wish the story was longer and the characters and the romance had more time to develop, marie-jo and victor barely talk in the comic before getting into a relationship and a lot of the storylines were started but not concluded like the twins parents divorcing and Victors band concert. I also felt like the dialogue could be improved upon, it might be because it was translated but all the characters talk in the same way, and it feels a bit unnatural.
Thank you to netgalley for the free e-copy in exchange for a review.

Gorgeous art style and colour pallette with a sweet story.
My Heart in Braille follows Victor, a directionless student facing the end of schooling (which he was never that engaged with). He befriends Mary-Jo and becomes something of a co-conspirator in her mission.
The story is short but Victor feels a bit lost in it. I might’ve preferred if it was from the perspective of Marie-Jo, it is really about her experience of the world.

Thank you to Europe Comics and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The art style of the cover is what really caught me attention. The artwork for the story is beautifully done. My only main issue with this book is that the story seemed too short and somewhat rushed. Marie and Victor had so much more I think could've been tapped into and wish we had gotten that.

One of the thing I like about comics is that they make reading more accessible to people who might have dyslexia or eye strain or ADHD, but the font in this comic is SO small it's definitely not accessible at all. And while the art style is really pretty, every single panel is drawn at a distance, with very few close-ups on character's faces, so the entire comic feels like the characters and plot are being kept as a far distance from the reader. I didn't once feel any kind of connection to the characters.

There's also a lot of instances in the plot that felt unnecessary, like there's a plot point where Victor goes to a party, gets kissed by a girl who takes a photo of the kiss, and spreads the photo around school. Marie-Jo sees the photo and gets mad, and then they don't talk for a little while, and then Victor figures out how to apologise to Marie-Jo and all is forgive. This all happens over the span of maybe like 6 pages, and is never mentioned again. It's resolved so quickly that it felt completely unnecessary to the overall plot. There's a bully as well who never really adds much to the plot too.

The story also ends abruptly. Victor lies to Marie-Jo about the fact that he's in a band, but by the end of the story Victor never actually tells Marie-Jo about the band thing. So while the ending resolves Marie-Jo's plot in the book, Victor's plot never gets any kind of resolution.

Because this is an adaptation from a book, I'm sure that these plot-points are handled differently in the book, but it didn't really work well in comic form.

"My Heart in Braille" is a fast-paced and engaging graphic novel that delves into the lives of two teenagers facing distinct challenges. One grapples with academic struggles, while the other, a brilliant student, confronts the daunting prospect of losing her sight. In the midst of adversity, an unlikely friendship blossoms.
This endearing narrative expertly captures the essence of its main characters, painting a vivid portrait of their personalities and struggles. The depiction of the character going blind is handled with sensitivity and authenticity, offering a realistic portrayal of disability representation.

In summary, "My Heart in Braille" is a touching and poignant tale of friendship, resilience, and understanding. It's a quick but impactful read that skillfully explores the complexities of its characters' lives. This graphic novel is a worthwhile addition to any reader's collection, offering a unique perspective on the strength of human connections in the face of adversity.

My Heart in Braille
By Boris Chamberlain and Anne-Lise Nalin
Thank you to Netgalley. for the copy for an honest review
This is a cute YA romance comic, it is very short but sweet story. The artwork is is cute I love it.
I found the story a little bit of a let down, it felt incomplete and a bit rushed.
Rating 3 stars

4.5 stars

A beautiful graphic novel. I just wish it was longer. My Heart in Braille is a great story with stunning art that I think had more potential. Though I really liked it and like the characters I think there was a bit more room to dive more into each person.

But that being said I still thoroughly enjoyed myself and will probably read this again. I may even buy it.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A cute YA romance comic between a boy who has trouble at school and a smart girl with a secret.
The drawings are lovely, all curves and tender renditions. The characters are all very defined and expressive, even with the low action. The colours are beautiful and definitely help set the mood.
This is a very cute story, good for the youngest teens too.
There was something that bothered me a little, though. I am not a fan of self sacrificing love stories, and I feel like this one was perhaps not built on the healthiest grounds. Victor never revealed his own passions but plunged right into Marie's. If this is just a first volume with reciprocity coming, this is fine, but this didn't look like it... so I'm a little reserved.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

3.5
It is a very short but sweet tale about two teens falling in love despite all their differences. Victor, infamous for doing poorly in his studies meets Marie-Jo, a straight-A student. After months of studying together, they end up falling for each other. This story happens at a break-neck speed, and you never get to sit and learn about the characters. Everything you learn about anyone is entirely through exposition. The overall story is very sweet, but I feel like it's trying to make itself out to be more than it is so it comes off as a bit pretentious. The art style I absolutely adored, however! The art was phenomenal and was a huge reason why I finished this graphic novel!

"My Heart in Braille" is a lovely comic book, wonderfully illustrated.

It tells the story of Victor, a garage-band teenage boy struggling with school work who strikes an unlikely friendship with Marie-Jo, a straight-A student who dreams about playing the cello professionally. It would be best for me not to tell you more about the story, as Marie-Jo's (rather obvious) "secret" is revealed later on in the comic.

To me, it was pretty clear that this comic was, A) adapted from a novel, and B) translated from French into English. The dialogs felt a little unnatural and stilted, and I felt some things were missing from the story or some elements of the plot never solved. I feel like the adaption from novel to comic could have been a little better, had the comic been a little longer. Also, as a native French speaker, some wordings/phrases sounded like a direct translation rather than an interpretation into English, making some sentences feel unnatural and it distracted me a little.

Overall though, it is a sweet and interesting story, perfect from middle-aged kids, and beautifully illustrated, so I would recommend it!

My Heart in Braille is inner working through the visual, an exploration of characters and literary elements, a wonderful and immersive example of what comics can do.

The first part of this graphic novel it seems like the story is mostly about Victor's struggles at school. Victor was a really likable character and I really felt for him, with the way almost all adults in the story seemed constantly to be disappointed in him. I kind of got the feeling that he might have ADHD, with the way he seemed to struggle to remember stuff and blurt out things in class, but this was never really mentioned. Instead, the solution to Victor's problems comes in the form of Marie-Jo, who helps him study so that his grades go up. I wish instead of the message that you just need to study harder if you're failing your classes the story would have focussed more on why Victor was failing his classes. I also wish that some of the teachers had listened more to Victor expressing his struggles and offered help in some form.

Initially I liked seeing Victor and Marie-Jo together and it was nice to have some much needed disability representation. However, the second part of the graphic novel focussed more on Marie-Jo's struggles and I wasn't a fan of how Victor wasn't just supporting her; it seemed like her problem became his whole identity. He seemed to have so much anxiety around it (more than her) that their relationship just didn't seem very healthy anymore. Additionally, Victor keeps one of his main interests secret from Marie-Jo, because he feels like she might look down on it. While the big reveal that I was dreading never happened, the issue was also never addressed and it remains unclear if he was ever honest about it.

Some of these critiques are maybe not the fault of the graphic novel, as this is apparently an adaption of the novel A Friend in the Dark. And there were definitely parts that I did like. As mentioned earlier, Victor himself is wonderful and I loved his friendship with Hussein. It was also nice seeing such a strong father-son relationship in a young adult book. The best part of this graphic novel was absolutely the artwork. It had lots of character and the colours were beautiful.

A sweet story of friendship, music, keeping secrets.

I thought this comic was a lovely read, the relationship between Victor and Marie-Jo was so sweet. I loved the ending. The illustrations and colous were lovely and added a lot to the story.

I have such mixed feelings about this one. The cover itself is stunning and the artwork is beautiful. However, the writing was a little all over the place and felt incomplete. The band for instance, what happened? I also wished the story focused more on the relationship and character development.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Victor is struggling to find his place at school, finding it hard to concentrate and apply himself. He is drawn to Marie Jo, a hard working student who he ends up being tutored by. During their sessions he realises Marie is hiding a secret and he is compelled to help her as best he can.

The art is beautiful beyond believe, some do the best graphic novel art I’ve seen.

But I wanted to love the story so much more. I’m intrigued by the concept of the story, but I feel the translations meant the emotion of the story was lacking and overall I felt the pacing was off. Victor and Marie Jo go from zero to 100 in a handful of panels and I just couldn’t be invested in their relationship. I’m genuinely gutted as it had potential for me, and I’m so happy for those this worked for.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This is the graphic novel based on a 2012 young romantic novel and has been made its way to the big screen as Le coeur en braille aka Heartstrings. It has at its core the touching issue of a person losing sight and slowly transforming into a Person with Disability.

It is a heart touching story of two young students who are at divergent ends of the school spectrum. The story also lightly touches upon the case of premature eyesight loss
Mary Joe is a straight A student and a divine cello player with a passion and love for classical music while Victor has almost no interest in studies but is interested in modern music and plays with friends as a rock band and also has a passion for replica cars. His uncanny knowledge of cars comes from the quizzes he has with his father, an aficionado. The twain meet and hit off mainly for Victor to improve his grades and Mary Joe volunteering to help but slowly their trust improves and they start having an amazing chemistry in everything.
A real short love story.

The story like most graphic novels/manga has a post script at various points highlighting the humor.

The book gives a nod to the quandary of the PwD's and how it is a difficult weight to bear and how it is even more difficult to share with others and still get people to help but look you in the eye as an equal without the pity.
The story tugs at a myth of Ariadne's thread which helped the Minotaur slayer Thesius to escape the labyrinth.
The friendship between the duo tugs at heartstrings and when Mary Joe opens up with her secret and also confesses her love, Victor offers his help and in the process we also see the gradual transformation of Victor. There are bittersweet moments like every other YA romance story.

My only qualm was that the loss of eyesight is given the name of a degenerative disease but loss of eyesight happens to new born and extremely young kids naturally but people in their adolescence do not get degenerative eye disease naturally, it can only happen with some accident or other reason. Considering that PwD's and their issues are a big challenge in society and I myself being an activist of sorts this was a vague issue and was offered in passing although it is the very crux of the story. Despite the power of the rest of the story this brought down my satisfaction levels for this story. I would have liked more details although to be fair this is a very short graphic novel.

A recommended reading and a heart-touching love story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, the artwork in this graphic novel is absolutely stunning. I think that was my favorite part of the book. Apart from that, the story didn't really work for me. I did not feel emotionally connected to the characters. I like the representation of a degenerative eye condition, but the whole plot was about hiding her visual impairment and keeping her from attending a school for the blind. It was beautiful to see how committed Marie-Jo was to her music. The romance was sweet, if a bit immature. I feel that some of the dialogue may have been a bit lost in translation. For instance when Victor says the line that became the title of the book, I didn't really understand what he meant.

It is a quick young adult romance, and worth reading to appreciate the gorgeous illustrations!

Victor and Marie-Jo's short little love story is adorable, with special focus on their shared connection with music and how they both evolve with Marie-Jo's growing blindness It's very sweet

the graphics, colors, and layout are visually appealing. Victor and Marie-Jo are adorable. I will say the pacing was quick and a bit confusing at times. Wish there was more story about the band situation. Other than that it was fairly short, but had a fun time reading it.

This was such a cute little story. I really enjoyed the visuals of Marie’s step counts to all the different locations, and I LOVE a musical-based story. I highly recommend reading this whilst listening to some cello for the full experience. I will say, I wanted to know about the band and I wish Victor hadn’t given everything up for Marie. It’s sweet, but I wanted him to have a success of his own!