My heart in Braille is eye pleasingly wonderful, Even the font used & beautiful illustrations.

The story is about Victor. He loves vintage cars dearly and making music in his garage with his friends. But school is hard for him and he seems to always say the wrong thing or maybe he is just misunderstood by people around him. When he meets Marie-Jo, who plays cello and is brilliant in her studies, the two strike up an unlikely friendship, and before long both his grades and his attitude improve.

But it's not all flowers for both of them. So when one day Marie-Jo tells him her secret, Victor is dumbfounded. But he tries the best of his ways to help her out.

This is meet cute romance but I thought this book is about Victor and his struggles which are just sidelined when he is asked to help Marie. I would have loved it, if author had explored the limits and struggles of what Victor was facing and going through.

Overall a good read but could have been better.
Rating -3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Europecomics for providing me with ARC in exchange of an honest review.

#netgalley #myheartinbraille

This graphic novel follows two students and their friendship as it evolves into a romance. The cover art and title really intrigued me, along with the summary. However, the book was overall disappointing. The plot was thin and so spread out over the short amount of pages that it was somehow slugging. I didn’t believe the romance and it was very cheesy at points. I thought the plot line around blindness was not given the time and care it deserved either.

You may want to give it a try if you enjoy high school friends to lovers with a slower moving storyline. But I will sadly not be picking up a book from this author again.

Author Joris chamberlain has created a heartwarming adaptation of the original French romance novel by Pascal Ruter. The characters are sensitively portrayed. He captures all the teenage angst and the emotional rollercoaster caused by the situations. His partner, artist Anne-Lise Nalin has provided stunning illustrations that capture the moods and setting.

I received a copy of this book from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this eARC.

2.5/5

Unfortunately I can’t say that I would recommend this book to anyone. I absolutely LOVED the art in it, but the love story was not convincing. Vincent and Marie-Jo’s relationship honestly seemed toxic- Vincent didn’t have much of a life (that we saw) other than hanging out with MJ and doing her schoolwork for her.

Also, the story itself was confusing and felt rushed. The way that it jumps between scenes so abruptly had me flipping back to make sure I hadn’t skipped a page.

I’m surprised that this graphic novel was so short because there was a lot of opportunity for this. I would have liked to see Marie-Jo playing in Vincent’s band, for example. And it would have been nice to see the pair realize that hiding Marie’s blindness and cheating in school is neither sustainable nor morally right. Then they could have opened up to the adults and we could have seen Vincent stand up for Marie and help her navigate life as a blind person.

The artwork is very beautiful however I felt like the story telling was lacking and would have preferred something more.

I adored this graphic novel. It was a heartwarming love story, rich as a warm stew. I couldn't help but root for the two leads, both singly and especially together--they were characterised so beautifully, both via the writing and the simply stunning illustrations. I particularly enjoyed how much of the French background came through. The emotional core of the story, though simple, was powerful and resonant; I finished it in one sitting with a huge smile on my face.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

My Heart in Braille is a stunning story filled with heart and passion. I loved every second of the reading experience. Both Marie and Victor were such sweet characters. The story, while it has sad moments, is still full of hope. I need more! I hope we get more stories with these characters because I need to know where their paths take them.

This was such a cute graphic novel! I loved every bit of it! The art was outstanding. I would definitely suggest it if you want a fuzzy cute read.

I fell in love with this story, it was so beautiful and heartfelt. I also loved the art style, such a cute story about two teenagers struggling in different ways.

Thanks to netgalley for this eARC!

What a cute, lovely, and heartwarming story about two teenagers struggling in different aspect of their lives and striking up a friendship-to-relationship that rescues them in ways they don't expect. MY HEART IN BRAILLE by JORIS CHAMBLAIN & ANNA-LISE NALIN follows Victor, a teenage boy that struggles with school and often says the wrong things but enjoys his band and excels at his knowledge for cars, when he decides to start sitting up front in his classes. In many of those classes, he shares a desk with Marie, a girl that excels in school and playing the violin but is gradually losing her vision and altering the way she moves in her life accordingly. As the duo strikes up a friendship, they help each other blossom and navigate the world with more confidence in themselves.

I loved the hard-of-hearing/deaf representation included in the story. It was enough for those unfamiliar with the disability to learn about but wasn't too overwhelming or confusing to understand. I am not visually impaired so I can't speak to the accuracy of the accuracy but I did feel the disability was treated with care. I also really loved Marie and Victor's relationship, especially their devotion and support for one another to do excel. Despite my enjoyment of the story, I do wish the story had maybe another 50 pages to flesh out some aspects of the story that were left open-ended and show more of Victor growing into himself, not just his love and relationship with Marie.

'My Heart in Braille" is super cute. I really enjoyed the story, Marie and Victor, and the drawings are beautiful

I REALLY REALLY LOVE THIS OMG I AM SURE I WILL READ THIS AGAIN

I fell in love with every character in this comic book. And the art is gorgeous; the lighting, the color, the emotions of the characters. I wish I could have a physical copy of this because I will really, really treasure this book.

I missed reading fluff and this just gave me that, and so much more. It’s just so good I can’t say anything more but I LOVE IT SO MUCH

#EuropeComics #NetGalley

I was not expecting to fall in love with Victor and Mary Jo, much less to find my heart aching for them. This is a combination unlikely friendship, teen romance, and triumph over adversity. Victor loves loud music and vintage cars but struggles in the class room. Quick witted and clever with a sharp tongue and a supportive dad, he rubs his teachers the wrong way and is often shuffled off on the guidance counselor, but this all changes when he develops a crush on quiet Mary Jo, a serious student with a flowing halo of bright curly hair and a calling to pay the cello. Throughout the school year, they become friends and she trusts him him with her dream, one she needs his help to accomplish, and he seeks to help her through the school year so she can audition for a musical school and become a professional musician. If her parents discover her vision has degraded so quickly to complete blindness she will be sent away to a school for the blind. Over the course of the story, the two of them fall in love in the most natural, beautiful way that feels almost poetic. Mary Jo makes Victor not only happy, but calms his mind in a way that allows him to improve as a student while his devotion to her is tender, and unendingly sweet. The art work, mostly down in autumn shades of blues, browns, and oranges, is like watercolor and breathtaking. Each emotional is palpable. I loved the story, the characters, and the feel of the book in and overall way. It’s innocent, lovely, and completely pulls at the heartstrings. Better than 99% of the teen romance stories made into movies these days.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was really torn between 2 and 3 stars for this book. I absolutely adored the art; I felt like it really utilised the potential of the medium and did some really cool things. The premise and overall story was also super heartwarming, and I did like the feel it evoked. Unfortunately, the actual execution of the story and the character developments didn't work very well for me. Considering I'm rating this moreso as a book/story rather than an art collection, I had to err on the lower side of the rating.

The story felt not only very fast-paced, but also disjointed at times. The ups and downs of Victor and Marie-Jo's relationship felt very abrupt, and while I understand that the pacing needs to be fast for a comic of this length, I do wish there had been some more moderation. Marie-Jo saying she's in love with Victor, then saying she never wants to see him again, then going back to saying she'll never love anyone as much as she loves him and that they're linked forever felt inorganic.

I also felt like the comic struggled to explain certain things correctly. Sometimes there was an overexplanation or overexposition, especially in the beginning. Other times, I was really lost in what was going on and had to go back over some scenes multiple times to really get what was going on.

The comic is visually absolutely gorgeous and I did really enjoy this part of reading it, but the execution of the story could have used a lot more work.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

My Heart in Braille is a cute graphic novel about a young man who has trouble focusing and doing his school work and the relationship he forges with his classmate who is going blind.

Victor and Marie-Jo's romance is very cute and feels natural despite the very small space we're given to see them grow feelings for each other. The relationship between Victor and his father and Victor and his friend, Hussein, plus his bandmates subtly highlight the importance of male relationships in a young man's life and I always appreciate that.

The art was very cute and fit the story; I loved that Marie-Jo wore glasses, had freckles and red hair, and was the smart kid who was also ambitious and would do anything to achieve her dreams of going to a music school.

Thank you NetGallery for my arc!
This book was cute and the characters were fun and enjoyable. I wish Victor had more of a character arc, but after getting thrown into the middle of Marie-Jo’s life we kind of lost focus on his. I really enjoyed the pacing and plot of this book ♥️

This was such a cute wholesome story! Not only is the illustration so beautiful but I love how it covers some real issues that some of our youth deal with and I love how it also highlights the difficulties people with disability have to surpass but as long as you have someone on your side cheering you on, you can overcome anything!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I adored this graphic novel. It was a heartwarming love story, rich as a warm stew. I couldn't help but root for the two leads, both singly and especially together--they were characterised so beautifully, both via the writing and the simply stunning illustrations. I particularly enjoyed how much of the French background came through. The emotional core of the story, though simple, was powerful and resonant; I finished it in one sitting with a huge smile on my face.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

A very sweet and heart warming graphic novel that addresses a truly impactful topic. The art style is also really eye catching.

My Heart in Braille is a cute fast-paced love story about two teenagers living very different lives. I know some people will see this book as a bad representation of blindness and people losing their vision, but I don't necessarily see that as the case. Marie isn't upset that she is going to be blind soon; she is more so upset that her parents will treat her and her dreams differently because of it. I think the story is cute in how Marie helps Victor grow more as a person, though I feel like it skips some steps and left some loose threads at the end. I also feel like Victor's change in character at times feels a little drastic even though it takes place over a school year, we don't see that much of it. The band is made out to be a major part of his life in the beginning of the book, but then that just kind of dissipated. I wish we delved more into what happened with the band since he damaged his hand in order to avoid doing it, but we never got anyone's reaction to it afterwards.
Besides those issues, I felt like the story was very cute and showed different struggles that teens can go through. I do think it is something that the intended audience would thoroughly enjoy.