La Nouvelle(s)

Elles #1

by Kid Toussaint, Aveline Stokart (Illustrator)

Elle, c'est une fille un peu comme tout le monde mais pas tout à fait comme les autres. Jeune fille pétillante et équilibrée, c'est tout naturellement qu'elle est intégrée dans une joyeuse bande d'amis dès son arrivée au collège Mercury.

Mais se doutent-ils qu'Elle n'est pas seule ? Elle serait même plutôt cinq...

Cinq personnalités hautes en couleurs et pas toujours amicales. Qui est Elle, réellement ?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Young Adult, Comics, Mental Health, Contemporary, Fiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2021

About the author

Kid (Thierry) Toussaint est né il n'y a pas très longtemps, pas très loin (loin de quoi?). Il est Sagittaire ascendant Vierge, ce qui impressionne beaucoup dans les soirées mondaines. Rédacteur, traducteur, astrophysicien, catcheur et scénariste, il s'est promis d'écrire sa biographie quand il sera mort. En attendant, il écrit des bandes dessinées. Parmi celles-ci, on trouve "Magic 7" et "Télémaque" (Dupuis), "Killing Time" (Ankama), "À l'ombre du convoi" et "Holly Ann" (Casterman), "40 éléphants" (Grand Angle/Bamboo) ou encore "Brûlez Moscou" (Le Lombard).

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you freaking kidding me?!

The graphic novel ended way too soon!!!!

Ah, teen drama. Or so I thought!

But then I enjoyed it more than I had anticipated. It was like I was watching an amazing anime while I was reading this graphic novel.

Well, it turned out to be too short for me. I can understand it's just the first volume yet I wanted a few more pages to understand some basic introduction to the characters, especially the main character.

The artstyle is so polished and so well crafted. I don't think I have come across such neat, eye-popping illustrations in a graphic novel.

The plot that's coming seems heavy at the moment. It seems about finding one's own identity and background.

So far as the first volume goes, I appreciate everything else except for the plot which I feel would be made clear in the following volumes. Waiting for them eagerly (fingers crossed!).

You won't regret picking up this one though.

A treat for your eyes.

Thank you Authors and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

[Shannara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this, but why does it end that way???!!! Why!!?!??? This is around 100 pages, so I guess it makes sense that it ends on a cliffhanger, but I was having such a good time reading this and the end came in and slapped in the face!!!

Even with that happening, I really enjoyed this!! The art was great, the storyline is really unique and I love all the characters!!! (Besides those crappy popular girls, don’t like them at all) I am seriously in need of the next installment. Elle is just so awesome, even considering everything that’s going on with her. And I totally want her to get together with a specific character, and it’s not Otis!!

Anyway, I totally recommend this to graphic novel lovers who enjoy unexplained complications, amazing friends and color illustrations!!!! It’s all so vivid and beautiful!!! Ugh, I just love it!!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Europe Comics for allowing me to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Check out this review and others on my blog @ https://shannarareads.com/?p=439
Thank you!!!

[greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was such a super cool graphic novel! i loved how her hair color changed depending on her mood swings, the pictures are just soo stunning! although it contains a serious mental illness, it was really fun to read this. also i need friends like that irl ugh 😩 highly recommend! xx

i also wanna say thank you to netgalley for providing me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

[Iza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as a digital ARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel with beautiful art follows a young girl named Elle starting at a new middle school. I will start with what I did like about this book: it has a gorgeous art style with vibrant characters and unique design, and I love stories about a tight-knit group of childhood friends. I always love the fast-pacedness of a graphic novel, but it would have been nice to see Elle and her friends grow closer through the story instead of showing it quickly through a two-page spread of pictures. Thought it was adorable and I could see her friends cared for her, it happened so quickly that it didn't feel like the five had really formed any tangible bonds. Luckily, their characterization was consistent and their supporting Elle helped them grow closer in a more organic way.

I liked the variation of Elle's different personalities and their worlds within her mind. However, inaccurate depictions of disassociative identity disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder, can be really harmful to those who deal with the disorder daily. You cannot be born with DID or have it injected into you through a science experiment; it is caused by trauma, usually occuring during childhood. I was hoping this would be a contemporary story and was excited for a story where kids with DID might be able to see themselves, but the mystery surrounding Elle's birth makes me worried this is yet another story using a personality disorder for shock effect or a plot device without doing proper research and thinking of the ramifications. I'm equally worried that Elle's black & blue-haired alter will fall into the harmful stereotype of people with DID having violent alters in later volumes. Elle(s) is beautiful, but unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because of this.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not totally sucked in to the story of Elle(s) based on this first volume, and I'm always wary in these sorts of scenarios since Elle's situation is clearly written to resemble the DID experience, but there were some minor elements that have me wondering if Elle is dealing with that or something else entirely.

I loved the artwork, thought the characters were cute and the dialogue was fun, and most of all, I was impressed with the artistic depictions of the different versions of Elle. I loved that each one was represented by nothing more than a hair color change, and that Elle herself even thinks of the "other Elles" by their hair colors ("I think of that one as the blonde", etc.). It was a really simple, neat stylistic choice that made the story super easy to follow.

I wasn't in love with this book, but I'm definitely intrigued and looking forward to continuing the series!

———
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[Trisha (semi-hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blog Review: https://trishadoeseverythingbutstudy2...

I received a free e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I just loved it!!

I've been trying out new stuff this month, i.e. graphic novels, and this is the first one I picked up! I just loved the cover, and the colouring, and it was available for READ NOW, so I just had to read it.

That wasn't a bad decision, apart from the fact that the others in this series have not been released, but I will definitely be checking out more of this because this had me invested.

Even if the plot and stuff might not have been as interesting, I would still have rated this 5 stars for the art, because this is the style of art I really love. The colours, the shading, the face shapes; it all adds a certain life to it, in a way that it immediately catches your eye. And this was present throughout the novel, so I just loved the reading experience.

I wasn't completely onboard with the seemingly budding romance, but then it turned out Elle wasn't either, so all was well. I loved the personality changes, though it wasn't clear at first why nobody else saw the hair colour changes.

I want to know more about Elle's family, and who that girl controlling her is, and I honestly really want to know more about Linotte, because she was like one of my favourite characters form this, even is Maesy was the better friend....but then Linotte was pretty absentminded at times...

I can't wait to read the others, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys amazing art, an alright storyline, and a short pick me up.


Pre-reading review:
So, I am slightly confused by the GR page being in French, but the netgalley page in English? Anyway, the book is in English, and the illustrations are really cute, so I have this feeling that I'll read this right now instead of the many books waiting for me. Including the ones on my currently reading. *sighs*
Also, this is on READ NOW on Netgalley, if you wanted to know!

[madame Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

c’était SI bon, mais bien trop court parce que je l’ai dévorée, cette BD. vivement la suite! j’ajoute que les illustrations sont absolument m-a-g-n-i-f-i-q-u-e-s 🙌🏻

[Muffinsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un peu introductif mais hyper intéressant et original ! J’ai adoré et j’ai hâte de lire la suite 😍

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 4 out of 5]

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This is a good first comic book that deals with mental health that I’ve read.

Mental health comes with stigma, and it shouldn’t. It’s an illness like any other and nothing to fear, what is fearful is the unknown when you don’t understand something.

This young girl was now in another school.

But what happens when they see her personality change?
Her rapid mood swings are depicted in full different varying pictorial colours of Elle. I thought that a brilliant touch to depict each part of her various mood swings.

The one that stood out to me was the little one with oversized glasses on she brought a lot of humour to a serious subject.

Highly recommend for YA.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, I appreciate the mental health rep, specifically, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Secondly, by the end, it's not really specified directly just what caused the DID. You could infer possible causes but there's not enough background. It's a good start and definitely makes me want read the next, as they left it on a juicy cliffhanger. An okay debut but hope to see more substance than was teased in this finale. Fast read.

[Anubha (BooksFullOfLife, LifeFullOfBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Unique, Interesting, Enigmatic and beautiful graphic novel. Our main character(s) Elle arrives at a new school and makes friends, things go well until different Elles in the form of mood swings pop up and ruin it for her. Also there's a mystery around her birth. Definitely page turning.

[Jessica Haider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful new graphic novel alert! This one is translated from French and now available in English.

Elle is the new girl at school. She is bubbly, fun, and cool. She quickly settles in with a group of new friends. But Elle has a secret. She has a handful of personalities. Each of which come out at varying times, sometimes in very quick succession. This is shown in the book not just by the change in Elle's demeanor but also in the color of her hair. There's the bubbly fun Elle with the pink hair, the silent, sulking Elle with green hair, bitchy Elle with the blonde hair and a few more.

OK, I really liked this one. The art was colorful and fun to look at. And, I will admit it, I am a sucker for multiple personality stories. This one also had some likeness to the Pixar film Inside Out. Age, wise, I would think this is good for middle school through adults. This is the first in a series, so I am definitely looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

[Aliyah ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subjective grade- 70%
Plot - 60%
Writing & dialogue- 60%
Worldbuilding - 55%
Character development - 60%
Character relationships - 40%

This was cute! I loved the art and the colour palette was just gorgeous. I’m really interested to see how the story develops in the next book.
Anyway, the plot was well developed and I love the depiction of Ellie’s different sides and personalities.
Overall, 3 stars ⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy!

[Emilie | La prof de français · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coup de coeur BD pour Elles!!
J’avais si hâte de mettre la main dessus et, aussitôt reçu, aussitôt dévoré, j’ai complètement adoré!
Tout est bon dans cette BD, les illustrations sont hallucinantes et l’intrigue est franchement intéressante. Maintenant j’ai trop hâte de lire la suite.

[☆Pelumi☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the review copy Netgally!

This was a fun and quick read. I loved the art, enjoyed the story and loved Elle's character.
I feel like its a book one can pick up, binge through and just lie down on the couch with.

However, the romance portrayed seemed a bit rushed and unnecessary. I felt like we could have done without it, to be honest.

I did enjoy the premise, the ending and the mental health rep(at least, I hope it is).

Overall, its worth the read!

[Anne-Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

C'est bien trop court comme début, mais j'adore. Le film Split peut bien aller se rhabiller avec cette histoire. C'est peut-être la représentation réaliste du trouble dissociatif de l'identité qu'on attendait depuis siiiiiii longtemps! En espérant que les systèmes pourront s'identifier à Elle et ses alters, et que les "single" pourront s'informer un peu plus là-dessus.

[Yasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, going into this I didn't have any expectations whatsoever, but let me tell you, I am hooked! The artwork is amazing and the story is new and interesting! In just about 100 pages, the story of a girl named Elle already has us readers invested in this series and I cannot wait to read how this continues! The story ends on a cliffhanger, so I think the authors new exactly what they were doing to us and the story-building was very intense.

Elle goes to a new school, where she immediately finds a new group of friends to hang out with. But we soon get to know Elle a bit better, it seems she cannot handle stress situations really well and depending on her mood a different side of her appears. Literally! Elle seems to have multiple personalities that take over her body and the amazing thing about this graphic novel, is that we can always clearly recognize what "personality" is in charge, due to her changing hair colour. I think that's a pretty awesome way of displaying this and making it easier for readers to follow through the story. So, Elle tries to find out why she is the way she is, but then ends up discovering a dark secret about her family. We are all awaiting what's going to happen next and I can't repeat this enough: I really want to read the second issue asap!!

No matter if you've never read graphic novels or comics before, or if you're into fantasy rather than fiction, I can recommend this to anybody and everybody! Pick it up, you won't regret it. And it takes you less than an hour to read in one sitting!

[lapetitepritt · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

2.5 🌟
I had trouble deciding how to rate this book. On the one hand, the art style, character design and colours (and colouring style, i guess) were amazing. It's what caught my attention in the first place, because I hadn't heard about this graphic novel before seeing it on Netgalley. The cover art looked so good, I had to download this and read it right away.
The main issue I had, is that they mixed up (real) personality and bipolar disorders with science fiction and they did not do a great job at it. I have never experienced bipolar disorder or multiple personalities, but I have read and heard own voices accounts of how it 'works' and I cannot believe even for a second that a psychiatrist would confuse Elle's symptoms with bipolar disorder, because she clearly has something else going on. If they hadn't made her see a psychiatrist, maybe I could have given this book a higher rating, but as it stands, it really made me uncomfortable. I am sure that in the following instalments they will explain what's going on, but this thing really bothered me and I couldn't not mention it in my review.
Anyways, this seems a series with great potential, so I am still looking forward to see how the authors will decide to make the story go. Give it a chance, but do not take Elle's "symptoms" as true symptoms, rather take them as a sci-fi plot.

[Livresse de Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’était génial et il me faut la suite au plus vite !

L’intrigue +++++
Le trait graphique +++++
La façon d’aborder visuellement la bipolarité +++++

Une superbe lecture !

[dee (andie) 🕺🏼✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

* e-ARC provided through NetGalley *

this is the first time ever I'm going to review a graphic novel so stay with me-

this was cute! the art style was gorgeous and the graphic novel itself was very diverse. it had guys who were comfortable with their femininity, lgbt characters, poc characters, which I thought was great! to me, representation really matters, so I appreciated it a lot.

I feel like this plot wasn't bad for this type of book, even though it was very fast-paced. the novel itself has only around 100 pages plus ends on a cliffhanger. I think it should have been longer.

nonetheless, I've never actually read anything about anyone with multiple personalities, and it was really fascinating to see what it looked like or hear their thoughts. here it was presented in an understandable, clear way.

I really don't know what else I could say, since, like I already mentioned, this was really short. but, overall, it was solid and easy to get through which I liked. I think I'll continue with the series!

[domduclos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cette bd est tellement bonne, je l'ai lue sans m'arrêter 🤩 les illustrations sont magnifiques et l'histoire l'est tout autant 💖

[Christine Bergeron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quel chouette roman graphique! Le graphisme est épatant, l'intrigue, originale et la protagoniste, étonnante! J'aime les personnages singuliers et les récits captivants, et il va sans dire que les personnalités multiples d'Elle rendent ce récit haletant et inattendu. J'aurais aimé plus de détails, parce que je me sentais constamment brusquée par le choix de l'auteur de se précipiter dans la scène suivante. C'est sans ma méconnaissance des romans graphiques qui m'empêche de relier efficacement les vignettes et les bandes qui, nécessairement, sont brèves et succinctes. Au final, ça demeure tout de même une lecture efficace et rafraichissante!

[Elyse (ElyseReadsandSpeaks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was a fabulous little gem. This is a graphic novel that focuses on a girl, Elle, with dissociative identity disorder (also known as multiple personality disorder). Her multiple personalities are identified by different hair colors and they change quickly based on the position Elle is in.

This was really cute. The artwork was great - it was bright and eye-grabbing and each page was really appealing. There's one page in particular where each personality has their own box (6 boxes total) and their facial expressions all slightly differ to capture their distinct personalities. That was just beautiful and it really showcased the illustrator's talent.

Also, this explores DID in a way that is understandable for the YA audience while displaying how important it is to have friends that are supportive and accepting. Kind of like how Eeyore's buds at the Hundred Acre Woods just accept that he's depressed, Elle's friends just accept that she has multiple personalities. It was really sweet.

A quick, fun, and enlightening read that's making me realize that I really enjoy different disorders being portrayed in graphic novel form.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a girl with some fictional representation of dissociative identity disorder, who is a totally normal girl except when she gets stressed she changes personalities rapidly. I like that each one of the personalities is represented by a different hair colour, it helps illustrate the changes for the reader clearly while not taking away from the pacing of the story. But as the book goes on they go through these twists about mysterious birth and secret investigations and maybe even science experiments and I cannot in good faith condone the way it treats mental health as nothing more than some sci-fi story hook to exploit.

[delilah ☾* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, detailed illustration! Elle struggles with biopolar/personalities that is shown by her hair color changing which I thought was a nice touch. The story was short, ending on a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next comic because it was super interesting. Elle was a fun character and so were her friends.

[Bibliomaniaque · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

Mon douuuuuux. C'était bon! Mystérieux, visuellement incroyable, personnages attachants. Je suis juste frustrée d'avoir à attendre pour lire la suite, hahah!

[Vanessa Menezes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally worth reading!

Excellent story and amazing art. It ends on an absolute cliffhanger! Eagerly waiting for the next volume.

Thank You NetGalley and Le Lombard, Europe Comics for this ARC!

[Eloise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first volume follows Elle as she arrives in a new school.
We see her find awesome friends but also dealing with tough times at home and at school...

The story is very intriguing, the characters are already growing on me.
But what stood out most was how pretty the art was! I could picture a beautiful animated movie in front of my eyes.

This seems to be a representation of dissosiative identity disorder (DID) which we have so little positive représentation of. I hope the language will be sorted out (it's best not to talk about "one person with multiple personalities"...) But all in all, I really cannot wait to see where this goes.

[Yasamin.bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

باید بعد از خوندن والیوم دوم نظرم رو بگم☺️