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Les Cahiers d'Esther #1-3
Esther's Notebooks
The author of The Arab of the Future chronicles the hilarious and heartbreaking true life of a young girl growing up in Paris.
"Funny, well-observed...contains immense daring and depth...Sattouf has drawn a portrait of a generation." — Observer , "Graphic Novel of the Month"
Once a week for three years, the comic book artist Riad Sattouf had a chat with his friend’s outgoing young daughter, Esther, in which she told him about her family, her school, her friends, her hopes, her dreams, and her fears. After each meeting, he would create a one-page comic strip based on what she had said. Esther’s Notebooks gathers 156 of those strips, spanning Esther’s life from ages nine through twelve, giving us a delightful look into the daily dramas of this thoughtful, intelligent, and high-spirited girl.
As The Guardian “Each page of Esther’s Notebooks is self-contained—there’s usually a neat punchline—but read them all, and you come to see that Sattouf has drawn a portrait of a their hopes, dreams and cultural references; the way that their personalities, backgrounds—many of the children portrayed have parents who are immigrants—and preconceived ideas about sexuality begin to play out even before they’ve begun secondary school. The result is a bit like a cartoon version of Michael Apted’s landmark TV series, Up. These funny, well-observed comics are fantastically daring.”
"Funny, well-observed...contains immense daring and depth...Sattouf has drawn a portrait of a generation." — Observer , "Graphic Novel of the Month"
Once a week for three years, the comic book artist Riad Sattouf had a chat with his friend’s outgoing young daughter, Esther, in which she told him about her family, her school, her friends, her hopes, her dreams, and her fears. After each meeting, he would create a one-page comic strip based on what she had said. Esther’s Notebooks gathers 156 of those strips, spanning Esther’s life from ages nine through twelve, giving us a delightful look into the daily dramas of this thoughtful, intelligent, and high-spirited girl.
As The Guardian “Each page of Esther’s Notebooks is self-contained—there’s usually a neat punchline—but read them all, and you come to see that Sattouf has drawn a portrait of a their hopes, dreams and cultural references; the way that their personalities, backgrounds—many of the children portrayed have parents who are immigrants—and preconceived ideas about sexuality begin to play out even before they’ve begun secondary school. The result is a bit like a cartoon version of Michael Apted’s landmark TV series, Up. These funny, well-observed comics are fantastically daring.”
168 pages, Hardcover
First published October 26, 2017
20 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Riad Sattouf
57 books929 followersRiad Sattouf est l’auteur de nombreuses bandes dessinées, parmi lesquelles Retour au collège, Pascal Brutal (Fauve d’or 2010) ou La vie secrète des jeunes. Les beaux gosses, César du meilleur premier film ; Jacky au royaume des filles)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 13, 2023
Riad Sattouf is following the life of a real French girl as part of a newspaper comic strip, giving the reader a weekly check-in with her energetic and opinionated personality. This large and slightly awkward omnibus brings together the first three collections, taking Esther A. from 9-years-old to 12-years-old, from a private primary school to a public secondary school.
It's a little slow-going at times, heavy on text and too often letting Esther go off on boring monologues about playground soap opera, her favorite celebrities, detailed dreams, or other flights of fancy. But despite an initial expectation of girlish sappiness, I found a mean streak threaded through that occasionally slapped me in the face as Esther displays childish callousness and cruelty as well as racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. I like her relationship with her parents, especially her doting father, but her brother's behavior is irritating and even disturbing.
It's hard to read this at a shot, but by doling it out over a week I found myself looking forward to my next glimpse into Esther's life and am now looking forward to seeing the next collection. I see that Sattouf has books in French for Esther's life up through age 15 already.
Side note: Due to the large size of the book and the small size of the text-heavy panels with their tiny asides in a cursive-like font, I'd recommend reading this book electronically instead of physically, especially if you've aging eyes like mine.
It's a little slow-going at times, heavy on text and too often letting Esther go off on boring monologues about playground soap opera, her favorite celebrities, detailed dreams, or other flights of fancy. But despite an initial expectation of girlish sappiness, I found a mean streak threaded through that occasionally slapped me in the face as Esther displays childish callousness and cruelty as well as racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. I like her relationship with her parents, especially her doting father, but her brother's behavior is irritating and even disturbing.
It's hard to read this at a shot, but by doling it out over a week I found myself looking forward to my next glimpse into Esther's life and am now looking forward to seeing the next collection. I see that Sattouf has books in French for Esther's life up through age 15 already.
Side note: Due to the large size of the book and the small size of the text-heavy panels with their tiny asides in a cursive-like font, I'd recommend reading this book electronically instead of physically, especially if you've aging eyes like mine.
October 30, 2023
Since following Riad Sattouf on Instagram, I've seen all of these posts with this cute little contemporary ten year old girl alongside his illustrations of his own childhood from Arab of the Future. I was skeptical of how well he could capture this time and place, but God did he ever. Apparently, he speaks with a family friend's daughter every week and culls those stories to write and illustrate these incredible graphic novels, made up of the weekly panels published in a French newspaper. Every year a new one comes out (how fun for the French reading public.) The first three (Tales from my 10-year old Life, 11-year-old Life, and 12-year-old Life) were recently translated into English and there are a few more already in France, the translated release of which I am impatiently awaiting.
Riad Sattouf is so, so good at efficiently conveying a child's point of view. Poignant doesn't even begin to describe it. I wouldn't be surprised if he puts the words down exactly as real-life Esther said them and then adds his own perfect illustrations. This book doesn't exactly have one plot, but broadly, it's about a girl figuring out the world with the tools of a 10-year-old (and later 11 and 12.) Topics include: race, scarily frequent sexually suggestive comments from male classmates, the Charlie Hebdo bombings and other terrorist attacks, politics and the 2017 French election where Marine Le Pen came so close to winning. Esther is easily scared and gullible and gets most things wrong about current events, mixing up words and names, and focusing only on what the major political actors look like. She loves French rap music and yearns for an iPhone.
But some things are totally universal to the experience of a young girl anywhere at any time. She loves reading and wants to be an editor when she grows up. She concocts daydreams of herself as a cool, beautiful adult, sometimes president of France, sometimes dating an American movie star, sometimes caring selflessly for her future daughter. She hates her stupid older brother and idolizes her father. Every time she mentions her dad, an arrow points to him with the words" Best man in the world <3 <3 <3" or "I love him so much." She clocks the social hierarchy at school with precision, feeling appreciative of her adequate looks and popularity.
I loved her process of making sense of everything. Perfect example: in one panel, her friends are talking about what makes a girl a ho. She thinks "See, girls are better than boys, because boys are obsessed [with sex.] If a girl is obsessed, then she's just like a boy. There's nothing worse than that. So a ho is basically a boy. I think that clears that up." Written over a very solemn expression while pictures of gears turning frame her face.
Despite a lot of examples of well-meaning immaturity, Esther also betrays a bleeding heart liberal nature. She often questions the viewpoints of those around her. She knows not to trust Marine Le Pen (although it's mostly because her dad says they'll move to Belgium if she wins.) Hilariously, in one strip where she tries to explain the various candidates and their positions, she mixes up the political spectrum placement of left and right putting Macron on the right and Marine Le Pen far on the left. She doesn't understand the hate that gay people and immigrants receive in France. There are panels of her crying her eyes out over these subjects, her eyeballs drawn like Dali's clocks. I love what a good head she has on her shoulders. And again, how human! How perfectly accurate for a child who doesn't totally understand the world but does understand the basic tenets of human kindness!
Then there was the very fascinating comparison between French pre-teen culture and American. French pre-teens seem a lot more innocent, less eager to be viewed as older than they are (rather refreshing.) The girls all hold hands at recess, for example. And Esther's daydreams as a 12-year-old felt more like the sweetly unrealistic ambitions of an elementary schooler, like when one of my students said, "I could publish this writing!" The French are much less tolerant of gay people than my section of America. Obviously, it's only fair to compare a posh private school in a cosmopolitan city like Paris with its American equal on this one. No rainbow flags or matter-of-fact mention of gay people here. Esther knows a few gay adults, but she gleefully joins in the queer-bashing with the other kids in one panel.
The boy-girl romance stuff was especially interesting to compare. In America kids can barely handle it, shrieking with laughter and teasing mercilessly. There are some early-preteen relationships lasting a week here too, but Esther and her friends are so much more forthright about Love with a capital L. She even uses the word lover instead of boyfriend! (This is accurate; I remember babysitting a 5 year old in Paris once and her dad was gently making fun of her about her kindergarten boyfriend and he used the word lover--amant--too!) The girls and boys both express their love quickly and it's not considered embarrassing at all to do so. Some of the "bad boys" use vulgar language and make suggestive comments. With the internet on everyone's phones there's no getting around how much a 10- or 11-year-old is exposed to, so that felt accurate and universal. In one chilling episode, the boys brag about going on YouPorn (which French Esther hearing it for the first time, recounts as "Youpaurne.") Esther herself has barely any understanding of sex. Later her friend Eugénie confesses she checked it out. Completely traumatized she says, "There are videos of people making babies!" Esther thinks about her neighbors who she can hear "making babies all the time, but they don't have any children." She recounts a sex ed lesson at school like it was brand new information. Interesting! This is a mostly secular country with Catholic roots speaking a romance language for God's sake, not a place where I would expect the average kid to be so in the dark about sex.
I want to read Les cahiers d'Esther in French now because there is so much good slang and I only kind of know the analogs. In the English translation, Esther and her friends always say "yo" and "LOL" and "whassup." She always uses this childlike, rather affected phrasing like "me in 'trying not to cry' mode." It reminds me of meme language and internet-speak I hear my students trying out, often not very accurately. (Les cahiers d'Esther was turned into an animated series on Canal+, a few episodes of which are on Youtube, so that will be fun to watch in French.)
One incredibly poignant panel to round out this review. Esther's best friend, Cassandra, wails about being ugly and black. The illustration shows Esther cradling her little friend and saying "Shh, you know that's not true." A little exposition-arrow points to this little tableau with the words "We have hugs at break time." In the next panel, it shows her in bed thinking about that interaction. "I don't see why anybody cares about the color of someone's skin. What matters in life is being beautiful." Hits you right in the chest and then you burst out laughing.
I just loved reading this series. I am so impressed with Riad Sattouf. This did not feel like an adult's imagining of childhood and pre-teen years. It felt so authentic and real. I just love Esther, from her nonsensical theories about the world to her cute little bangs!
Riad Sattouf is so, so good at efficiently conveying a child's point of view. Poignant doesn't even begin to describe it. I wouldn't be surprised if he puts the words down exactly as real-life Esther said them and then adds his own perfect illustrations. This book doesn't exactly have one plot, but broadly, it's about a girl figuring out the world with the tools of a 10-year-old (and later 11 and 12.) Topics include: race, scarily frequent sexually suggestive comments from male classmates, the Charlie Hebdo bombings and other terrorist attacks, politics and the 2017 French election where Marine Le Pen came so close to winning. Esther is easily scared and gullible and gets most things wrong about current events, mixing up words and names, and focusing only on what the major political actors look like. She loves French rap music and yearns for an iPhone.
But some things are totally universal to the experience of a young girl anywhere at any time. She loves reading and wants to be an editor when she grows up. She concocts daydreams of herself as a cool, beautiful adult, sometimes president of France, sometimes dating an American movie star, sometimes caring selflessly for her future daughter. She hates her stupid older brother and idolizes her father. Every time she mentions her dad, an arrow points to him with the words" Best man in the world <3 <3 <3" or "I love him so much." She clocks the social hierarchy at school with precision, feeling appreciative of her adequate looks and popularity.
I loved her process of making sense of everything. Perfect example: in one panel, her friends are talking about what makes a girl a ho. She thinks "See, girls are better than boys, because boys are obsessed [with sex.] If a girl is obsessed, then she's just like a boy. There's nothing worse than that. So a ho is basically a boy. I think that clears that up." Written over a very solemn expression while pictures of gears turning frame her face.
Despite a lot of examples of well-meaning immaturity, Esther also betrays a bleeding heart liberal nature. She often questions the viewpoints of those around her. She knows not to trust Marine Le Pen (although it's mostly because her dad says they'll move to Belgium if she wins.) Hilariously, in one strip where she tries to explain the various candidates and their positions, she mixes up the political spectrum placement of left and right putting Macron on the right and Marine Le Pen far on the left. She doesn't understand the hate that gay people and immigrants receive in France. There are panels of her crying her eyes out over these subjects, her eyeballs drawn like Dali's clocks. I love what a good head she has on her shoulders. And again, how human! How perfectly accurate for a child who doesn't totally understand the world but does understand the basic tenets of human kindness!
Then there was the very fascinating comparison between French pre-teen culture and American. French pre-teens seem a lot more innocent, less eager to be viewed as older than they are (rather refreshing.) The girls all hold hands at recess, for example. And Esther's daydreams as a 12-year-old felt more like the sweetly unrealistic ambitions of an elementary schooler, like when one of my students said, "I could publish this writing!" The French are much less tolerant of gay people than my section of America. Obviously, it's only fair to compare a posh private school in a cosmopolitan city like Paris with its American equal on this one. No rainbow flags or matter-of-fact mention of gay people here. Esther knows a few gay adults, but she gleefully joins in the queer-bashing with the other kids in one panel.
The boy-girl romance stuff was especially interesting to compare. In America kids can barely handle it, shrieking with laughter and teasing mercilessly. There are some early-preteen relationships lasting a week here too, but Esther and her friends are so much more forthright about Love with a capital L. She even uses the word lover instead of boyfriend! (This is accurate; I remember babysitting a 5 year old in Paris once and her dad was gently making fun of her about her kindergarten boyfriend and he used the word lover--amant--too!) The girls and boys both express their love quickly and it's not considered embarrassing at all to do so. Some of the "bad boys" use vulgar language and make suggestive comments. With the internet on everyone's phones there's no getting around how much a 10- or 11-year-old is exposed to, so that felt accurate and universal. In one chilling episode, the boys brag about going on YouPorn (which French Esther hearing it for the first time, recounts as "Youpaurne.") Esther herself has barely any understanding of sex. Later her friend Eugénie confesses she checked it out. Completely traumatized she says, "There are videos of people making babies!" Esther thinks about her neighbors who she can hear "making babies all the time, but they don't have any children." She recounts a sex ed lesson at school like it was brand new information. Interesting! This is a mostly secular country with Catholic roots speaking a romance language for God's sake, not a place where I would expect the average kid to be so in the dark about sex.
I want to read Les cahiers d'Esther in French now because there is so much good slang and I only kind of know the analogs. In the English translation, Esther and her friends always say "yo" and "LOL" and "whassup." She always uses this childlike, rather affected phrasing like "me in 'trying not to cry' mode." It reminds me of meme language and internet-speak I hear my students trying out, often not very accurately. (Les cahiers d'Esther was turned into an animated series on Canal+, a few episodes of which are on Youtube, so that will be fun to watch in French.)
One incredibly poignant panel to round out this review. Esther's best friend, Cassandra, wails about being ugly and black. The illustration shows Esther cradling her little friend and saying "Shh, you know that's not true." A little exposition-arrow points to this little tableau with the words "We have hugs at break time." In the next panel, it shows her in bed thinking about that interaction. "I don't see why anybody cares about the color of someone's skin. What matters in life is being beautiful." Hits you right in the chest and then you burst out laughing.
I just loved reading this series. I am so impressed with Riad Sattouf. This did not feel like an adult's imagining of childhood and pre-teen years. It felt so authentic and real. I just love Esther, from her nonsensical theories about the world to her cute little bangs!
December 21, 2022
ARC given by NetGalley for Honest Review
3.5 rounded down
A pretty cute graphic memoir of a young French girl named Esther from ages 10-12. Overall, the strips are an enjoyable read. It definitely has a "kids say the darndest things" kinda vibe going on.
I'll be quite honest … since this is a memoir about a literal child, Sattouf does not censor the things she says and because of this, there are some panels where Esther's dialogue can be seen mean/homophobic/racist. That can be off-putting for a reader. I started to just skim after the "The Gay Teacher" strip. I felt that one was just unnecessary.
The art is charming and the color pops are nice and freshen up the story.
3.5 rounded down
A pretty cute graphic memoir of a young French girl named Esther from ages 10-12. Overall, the strips are an enjoyable read. It definitely has a "kids say the darndest things" kinda vibe going on.
I'll be quite honest … since this is a memoir about a literal child, Sattouf does not censor the things she says and because of this, there are some panels where Esther's dialogue can be seen mean/homophobic/racist. That can be off-putting for a reader. I started to just skim after the "The Gay Teacher" strip. I felt that one was just unnecessary.
The art is charming and the color pops are nice and freshen up the story.
October 21, 2022
Gorgeous publication. (pantheon).
February 2, 2023
Really enjoyed the artwork but sometimes the casual cruelty of childhood really hit the wrong way (calling other students and one teacher "ugly," use of homophobic slurs, fatphobia).
June 16, 2025
I read this compendium after devouring Riad Sattouf's "The Arab of the Future" graphic novel series, which was autobiographical. This volume represents the first three of nine books in his "Les Cahiers d'Esther" series and was translated into English.
I had wanted to read Esther's story in French, as I did most of the "l'Arabe du Futur" series, but it was easier to get the English translation where I live. I think it really contributes to the ambiance of any book to read it in the original language.
That said, Sattouf brings Esther's story to the pages as well as ever here. He interviewed a friend's nine year old, Parisian daughter about her life with family and friends in Paris, at summer camps in Arcachon and at her granny's place in Bretagne (Brittany). She starts to experience adolescence in this book, which closes when she has just turned twelve.
We get a real sense of the world as viewed through a child's eyes, with her curiosity, struggles with conformity, friendships and understanding life outside her family. We see how much she is influenced by her parents' rules and beliefs, which are mostly pretty healthy, in contrast to a lot of disrespectful behaviour she witnesses from peers.
There is less tension here than in the Arab of the Future books, because Esther's parents are quite stable, whereas Sattouf's eccentric father dragged his family all over some of the worst dictatorships in the Middle East, putting huge stress on his family.
I definitely want to read the rest of the series. Apparently, there is also a 2018 animated series in French based on the books.
I had wanted to read Esther's story in French, as I did most of the "l'Arabe du Futur" series, but it was easier to get the English translation where I live. I think it really contributes to the ambiance of any book to read it in the original language.
That said, Sattouf brings Esther's story to the pages as well as ever here. He interviewed a friend's nine year old, Parisian daughter about her life with family and friends in Paris, at summer camps in Arcachon and at her granny's place in Bretagne (Brittany). She starts to experience adolescence in this book, which closes when she has just turned twelve.
We get a real sense of the world as viewed through a child's eyes, with her curiosity, struggles with conformity, friendships and understanding life outside her family. We see how much she is influenced by her parents' rules and beliefs, which are mostly pretty healthy, in contrast to a lot of disrespectful behaviour she witnesses from peers.
There is less tension here than in the Arab of the Future books, because Esther's parents are quite stable, whereas Sattouf's eccentric father dragged his family all over some of the worst dictatorships in the Middle East, putting huge stress on his family.
I definitely want to read the rest of the series. Apparently, there is also a 2018 animated series in French based on the books.
June 24, 2023
Riad Sattouf, whose own memoir series, The Arab of the Future I count among my fave graphic memoirs of all time, now takes on a young girl’s viewpoint -Esther, a 10 year old daughter of one of his friends.
To get inside her head, he’d have regular conversations with her, which he design and produce into weekly comic panels, covering her years from 9-12 or so.
Like TAotF, it’s a sweet and fascinating journey as we see her innocent worldview slowly erode via this microbial examination -almost in real time-of her daily life.
While not really purposefully humorous (although they can be) these panels are more of sociological study of a middle schooler. Entertaining—but to me, not quite at the same level of action or intimacy as TAotF.
To get inside her head, he’d have regular conversations with her, which he design and produce into weekly comic panels, covering her years from 9-12 or so.
Like TAotF, it’s a sweet and fascinating journey as we see her innocent worldview slowly erode via this microbial examination -almost in real time-of her daily life.
While not really purposefully humorous (although they can be) these panels are more of sociological study of a middle schooler. Entertaining—but to me, not quite at the same level of action or intimacy as TAotF.
September 5, 2023
Wow. I really like the author's other works (the series starting with The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1978-1984), but I wouldn't have predicted this outstanding work from a girl's perspective. I loved this, and I'm also in awe of the translator. Of course, the illustrations are fantastic as well - every enormous, watering eye got me every time.
June 19, 2024
My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/6FHcaETorEw
Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/6FHcaETorEw
Enjoy!
March 15, 2025
Such a sweet book!
Read
August 7, 2025Förra året kom sista delen i Riad Sattoufs självbiografiska uppväxstskildring "Framtidens arab". Att ha följt och älskat den i många år gjorde att det kändes tomt när den var slut, så jag hoppade snabbt på ett av hand andra verk.
Premissen för "Esther's Notebooks" är att Sattouf varje vecka under flera år intervjuat en väns dotter, och sedan gjort en helsida baserat på samtalet. Serien har gått som följetong i en tidning och sedan samlats i album, och den här volymen innehåller de tre första åren (på franska finns ytterligare två om jag förstått saken rätt).
Likheterna med "Framtidens arab" är alltså många: det är återigen en verklighetsbaserad berättelse om barndom och uppväxt. Men Esthers liv skiljer sig mycket från den Riad vi lärde känna. Hon är en livfull och frispråkig tjej som i första delen är 11 år som lever ett hyfsat normalt och harmoniskt liv i en förort till Paris (med en otroligt fin relation till sin far som inte bär det minsta spår av Riads pappa).
Det handlar mycket om vad hon ser och upplever i skolan och hemma, och kan kanske på ytan kännas rätt trivialt. Men dels berättar hon ofta på ett väldigt charmigt sätt, och dels låter Sattouf hennes röst vara den enda som talar vilket gör att det blir en fantastisk bild av en ung människas tänkande. För trots att hon är en "god" person sipprar annat igenom, då hon som barn inte lärt sig att maskera sina tankar och åsikter. Det kan handla om tveksamma kommentarer om sina klasskamrater, om ras, klass och kön. Tillsammans med de härliga teckningarna visar Sattouf igen att han är en mästerlig skildrar av barndom.
Det som ligger serien lite i fatet är att den publicerats just veckovis, viket gör att varje sida är mer eller mindre fristående och skapar en del onödig upprepning. Det är ingen bok man sträckläser, jag portionernade ut den under en tvåmåmadersperiod vilket kändes ganska lagom.
(Tidigare publicerad på Instagram utan betyg, sätter därför inget såhär i efterhand.)
Premissen för "Esther's Notebooks" är att Sattouf varje vecka under flera år intervjuat en väns dotter, och sedan gjort en helsida baserat på samtalet. Serien har gått som följetong i en tidning och sedan samlats i album, och den här volymen innehåller de tre första åren (på franska finns ytterligare två om jag förstått saken rätt).
Likheterna med "Framtidens arab" är alltså många: det är återigen en verklighetsbaserad berättelse om barndom och uppväxt. Men Esthers liv skiljer sig mycket från den Riad vi lärde känna. Hon är en livfull och frispråkig tjej som i första delen är 11 år som lever ett hyfsat normalt och harmoniskt liv i en förort till Paris (med en otroligt fin relation till sin far som inte bär det minsta spår av Riads pappa).
Det handlar mycket om vad hon ser och upplever i skolan och hemma, och kan kanske på ytan kännas rätt trivialt. Men dels berättar hon ofta på ett väldigt charmigt sätt, och dels låter Sattouf hennes röst vara den enda som talar vilket gör att det blir en fantastisk bild av en ung människas tänkande. För trots att hon är en "god" person sipprar annat igenom, då hon som barn inte lärt sig att maskera sina tankar och åsikter. Det kan handla om tveksamma kommentarer om sina klasskamrater, om ras, klass och kön. Tillsammans med de härliga teckningarna visar Sattouf igen att han är en mästerlig skildrar av barndom.
Det som ligger serien lite i fatet är att den publicerats just veckovis, viket gör att varje sida är mer eller mindre fristående och skapar en del onödig upprepning. Det är ingen bok man sträckläser, jag portionernade ut den under en tvåmåmadersperiod vilket kändes ganska lagom.
(Tidigare publicerad på Instagram utan betyg, sätter därför inget såhär i efterhand.)
June 27, 2023
Riad Sattouf follows up his autobiographical comic Arab Of The Future with an autobiographical comic about somebody else. He interviews the daughter of a friend of his and produces a weekly newspaper comic for 3-4 years while the girl is between the ages of 9-12.
And she doesn't have a co-writer credit or co-own the copyright? Not cool.
I do not recommend this for kids younger than the protagonist. In fact, I would have to say that the target audience of this is parents who want to be horrified at what kids are talking about in school. But I could be projecting.
Esther likes music and reading. She loves her parents but hates her older brother. At school, she spends a lot of time talking about popularity, people's looks, and fashion trends. She subscribes very strongly to binary gender roles and stereotypes. She's a socialist. At school, the kids play games like getting married or getting kidnapped. At summer camp she ditches one best friend for another. Genuine, non-idealized stuff that kids do. Apparently.
The figure drawing looks a bit like Matt Groening. There's only one or two flat colors per page. Sometimes the text is blocked off into text bubbles, but their are little asides written right over the art in almost every panel. Often, that text can be small and difficult to read.
Being autobiographical, sometimes there's a through story and some pages are just random thoughts. Unfortunately, the book ends on a bunch of random comics which just feel like filler. The book would have been better off ending about 15 pages sooner.
And she doesn't have a co-writer credit or co-own the copyright? Not cool.
I do not recommend this for kids younger than the protagonist. In fact, I would have to say that the target audience of this is parents who want to be horrified at what kids are talking about in school. But I could be projecting.
Esther likes music and reading. She loves her parents but hates her older brother. At school, she spends a lot of time talking about popularity, people's looks, and fashion trends. She subscribes very strongly to binary gender roles and stereotypes. She's a socialist. At school, the kids play games like getting married or getting kidnapped. At summer camp she ditches one best friend for another. Genuine, non-idealized stuff that kids do. Apparently.
The figure drawing looks a bit like Matt Groening. There's only one or two flat colors per page. Sometimes the text is blocked off into text bubbles, but their are little asides written right over the art in almost every panel. Often, that text can be small and difficult to read.
Being autobiographical, sometimes there's a through story and some pages are just random thoughts. Unfortunately, the book ends on a bunch of random comics which just feel like filler. The book would have been better off ending about 15 pages sooner.
June 25, 2024
Celebrated acquiring my fourth - FOURTH (!) - library card by checking this out. I'm also, like many people, still waiting for an English-language publisher to publish vols 5 and 6 of Sattouf's masterful Arab of the Future series. WHERE IS IT?!
Anyway, this book centers on a young Parisian middle schooler, Esther. We follow her when she's 10, 11 and 12 years old, from 2015-2018 (I think). These are comic strips that have appeared (weekly?) in a French newspaper, and that Sattouf creates after regularly interviewing his friend's daughter, the titular Esther.
I love Sattouf's work. It's brutal but also... humane? Esther is kind of awful and wonderful. She's imaginative, materialistic, already pre-addicted to an iPhone (she LONGS for one in almost every page), feminist, chauvinist, a bully, homophobic, caring, conscientious, and everything. I definitely saw myself in her. She's innocent, trying to fit into a world - including all its broken parts (the homophobia, eeesh, can these kids chill out about gay people) - and trying to figure out herself in it. As she grows, we see her confidence grow. I LOVED her moments of courage and imagination, when she's like "sorry but fuck that" lol. Sattouf sometimes centralizes the casual cruelty of children (Arab of the Future had a LOT of that), and tbh middle school cruelty is the last thing I want to revisit, but I also appreciated how steady-eyed and non-judgmental and... resilient? He also portrays things? Like, life is definitely suffering - but it's also very funny and there are moments of sweetness.
Anyway, this book centers on a young Parisian middle schooler, Esther. We follow her when she's 10, 11 and 12 years old, from 2015-2018 (I think). These are comic strips that have appeared (weekly?) in a French newspaper, and that Sattouf creates after regularly interviewing his friend's daughter, the titular Esther.
I love Sattouf's work. It's brutal but also... humane? Esther is kind of awful and wonderful. She's imaginative, materialistic, already pre-addicted to an iPhone (she LONGS for one in almost every page), feminist, chauvinist, a bully, homophobic, caring, conscientious, and everything. I definitely saw myself in her. She's innocent, trying to fit into a world - including all its broken parts (the homophobia, eeesh, can these kids chill out about gay people) - and trying to figure out herself in it. As she grows, we see her confidence grow. I LOVED her moments of courage and imagination, when she's like "sorry but fuck that" lol. Sattouf sometimes centralizes the casual cruelty of children (Arab of the Future had a LOT of that), and tbh middle school cruelty is the last thing I want to revisit, but I also appreciated how steady-eyed and non-judgmental and... resilient? He also portrays things? Like, life is definitely suffering - but it's also very funny and there are moments of sweetness.
June 21, 2023
I have been reading volumes of Riad Sattouf's Arab of the Future as they come out in English, so I got this out of the library when I saw it. Hardcover, it includes 156 pages from a comic strip Sattouf drew based on his ongoing conversations with a friend's daughter, Esther, from ages 9-12. A blurb is spot on in suggesting it is something like Michael Apted's Seven Up film series, chronicling the lives of a group of kids from age seven and up, every seven years another film.
Esther's Notebooks focuses on one Parisian girl, and is honest in that Esther is not a saint. She makes amusing/troubled statements about different people she struggles with, so there is some nine year old encounters with porn, homophobia, brother friction, and so on. Esther is generally charming, and the achievement of chronicling a three year period (so far?) of her life is kind of amazing. A film is being developed, so Esther chooses her fave film and tv stars for the production--Johnny Depp as Dad! I read it a page or two at a time in that it is a lot of story, a lot of words, but fun. I am sure Esther is sort of famous in Paris, where people might have been following her growing-up closely, kind of in real time (as opposed to our reading The Diary of Anne Frank decades later).
Esther's Notebooks focuses on one Parisian girl, and is honest in that Esther is not a saint. She makes amusing/troubled statements about different people she struggles with, so there is some nine year old encounters with porn, homophobia, brother friction, and so on. Esther is generally charming, and the achievement of chronicling a three year period (so far?) of her life is kind of amazing. A film is being developed, so Esther chooses her fave film and tv stars for the production--Johnny Depp as Dad! I read it a page or two at a time in that it is a lot of story, a lot of words, but fun. I am sure Esther is sort of famous in Paris, where people might have been following her growing-up closely, kind of in real time (as opposed to our reading The Diary of Anne Frank decades later).
February 17, 2023
"Dear God, please cancel tomorrow's English test, I beg you, Lord."
Riad Sattouf, creator of the amazing Arab of the Future series, presents a series of comics based on the life of his pal's Parisian daughter, Esther, an outspoken 10-year-old who desperately wants an iPhone.
Though the comics have a European feel, most of Esther's concerns are pretty universal: school, friends, sibling rivalry, popularity, and the mystery that is boys. The reader gets to share her life and deepest thoughts from age 10 to 12. This is a fascinating look inside the mind of a growing girl as her focus slowly turns from her own angst to events happening in the world around her.
I'm very happy to have met this charming youngster.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing.
Riad Sattouf, creator of the amazing Arab of the Future series, presents a series of comics based on the life of his pal's Parisian daughter, Esther, an outspoken 10-year-old who desperately wants an iPhone.
Though the comics have a European feel, most of Esther's concerns are pretty universal: school, friends, sibling rivalry, popularity, and the mystery that is boys. The reader gets to share her life and deepest thoughts from age 10 to 12. This is a fascinating look inside the mind of a growing girl as her focus slowly turns from her own angst to events happening in the world around her.
I'm very happy to have met this charming youngster.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing.
June 22, 2023
What does a 9 thru 12 year old child really have to see of note at the time? I guess this is one way to see that if you are also a similar age that you are like other people. Or in the case of Esther's Notebooks, what life is like in Paris (or perhaps elsewhere) for one not that well off family.
Otherwise this book strikes me as kind of purposeless and vapid. And yet popular?
Apparently Esther is anonymous and if I were her I'd expect to at some point no longer cooperate with the writer. And who knows? Perhaps the writer is making all this up - which would make it worth even less.
This was readable but slow, with good enough art. But at some point I just got bored with it.
When you compare this to the author's personal memoir, it just has less meaning - because he really wasn't telling his story of every week - he had an arc that he experienced first and then told that story when he was older.
Otherwise this book strikes me as kind of purposeless and vapid. And yet popular?
Apparently Esther is anonymous and if I were her I'd expect to at some point no longer cooperate with the writer. And who knows? Perhaps the writer is making all this up - which would make it worth even less.
This was readable but slow, with good enough art. But at some point I just got bored with it.
When you compare this to the author's personal memoir, it just has less meaning - because he really wasn't telling his story of every week - he had an arc that he experienced first and then told that story when he was older.
May 17, 2025
I desire for the entire series to be translated into English. So many girls (and women) would relate to Esther!!! She's witty, bright, and straightforward. She doesn't pretend to be divinely good. She readily admits that she's an unbeliever yet maintains curiosity about the spiritual practices of several religions. Genuine about her feelings, she loves her parents and little brother Gaëtan.
Girls and women who appreciate the darker tinges could identify with Esther. She is ardent about mysteries and horror, particularly vampires. Plus, she often expresses disdain for boys in spite of having attractions to them.
I appreciate that Riad Sattouf listened devotedly to Esther. So much of literature stands on the male perspective. He freed himself to record Esther as she speaks. It should be 'as told to Riad Sattouf'. Maybe French publishers don't agree with that mode of thinking.
Glorious use of time!!!!
p.s. I borrowed this hardcover copy from the public library.
Girls and women who appreciate the darker tinges could identify with Esther. She is ardent about mysteries and horror, particularly vampires. Plus, she often expresses disdain for boys in spite of having attractions to them.
I appreciate that Riad Sattouf listened devotedly to Esther. So much of literature stands on the male perspective. He freed himself to record Esther as she speaks. It should be 'as told to Riad Sattouf'. Maybe French publishers don't agree with that mode of thinking.
Glorious use of time!!!!
p.s. I borrowed this hardcover copy from the public library.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2025
The author/artist of 'The Arab Of The Future' series does it again with this English translation of his three-year project of interviewing the bright, loquacious tween daughter of one of his friends. Esther is growing up lower-middle/working class in Paris in the 2010s. The reader is treated to her real time thoughts and dreams as she ages from nine years to 12 as rendered in Sattouf's simple, yet brilliant comic book style.
Some touchstones that came to mind as I read this anthology: Michael Apted's 'Up Series' (1964-present), Richard Linklater's film 'Boyhood' (2014), and Duncan Hannah's '20th Century Boy' (2018). Like these, 'Esther's Notebooks' manages to leave the reader (or viewer) with a true sense of what it is/was like to be a young person of a certain age at a specific point in time.
Not nearly as easy as it looks.
Some touchstones that came to mind as I read this anthology: Michael Apted's 'Up Series' (1964-present), Richard Linklater's film 'Boyhood' (2014), and Duncan Hannah's '20th Century Boy' (2018). Like these, 'Esther's Notebooks' manages to leave the reader (or viewer) with a true sense of what it is/was like to be a young person of a certain age at a specific point in time.
Not nearly as easy as it looks.
February 25, 2023
The rating is because the book is a graphic novel with a 9/10 year old protagonist which I erroneously acquired hoping the audience would be young readers as well, and it really isn't. There is a lot of profanity, misogyny, racist, more mature themes that yes are what young Esther experience and speaks about through her real stories to the author, but I think the humor and commentary is for adults to be amused (or disturbed) by. So as an Islamic school librarian, I cannot in good conscious shelve this book and thus am sharing this review just as an FYI to others who may see the book and think it might work for children, it won't, it is for adults.
April 16, 2025
This took quite a while to read. For one, I’m getting old and the font was not friendly for my old eyes..lol. However, oddly enough, I actually enjoyed reading the comics of a little French girl growing up and viewing the world through her eyes. I liked how she shared the pop culture/artists she grew up with, and the political views she was surrounded with, and her dreams for the future. Some of the things she knew, regarding bad words, racism, boys and sex, made me clutch my pearls. But, it also made me realize that kids pick up on everything even if we think they’re too young to understand it.
4 ⭐️
4 ⭐️
February 16, 2023
The degree to which I have been annoyed by and delighted with this little girl on the brink of young womanhood is a good indication that it is an accurate portrayal of that period of childhood/adolescence. It is fascinating to see how someone who seems to be frequently concerned with social justice on a larger scale is blind to the ways that she marginalizes and excludes her own classmates (and friends)--she is, as we all do, moving from the self being the center of one's universe to a view of self that includes the global community.
March 4, 2023
I am obsessed with the lettering and colors and the illustrations. I have been wanting this book forever but it was in French for so long.
Things that I find weird and baffling:
-these French kids are in 2016, but their slang is from the American 90s. Except we would smack kids for saying “yo” after everything today.
-the boys being so gross is a 90s thing and it’s not as bad as it used to be. Kids don’t bully like that anymore. It’s surprising to see it’s still common.
France has this reputation of being sophisticated but her culture is from my childhood.
Things that I find weird and baffling:
-these French kids are in 2016, but their slang is from the American 90s. Except we would smack kids for saying “yo” after everything today.
-the boys being so gross is a 90s thing and it’s not as bad as it used to be. Kids don’t bully like that anymore. It’s surprising to see it’s still common.
France has this reputation of being sophisticated but her culture is from my childhood.
June 12, 2025
I found this book while checking up on the author to see if they had translated any further parts of his Arab of the Futura saga (alas, not yet). Intrigued, I requested the book via inter-library loan and slogged my way through approximately three years of Esther's life. While not as captivating as AOTF, the weekly comics are an authentic look at the world of child in her own words. Reading it as a parent makes it extra special. Also, as an American it's an interesting glimpse at the daily life of a child in France.
December 21, 2023
Life through the eyes of a ten/eleven years old girl... of course this was a funny read.
I found it particularly refreshing that the girl in question was from Paris, France, and I will admit it took me a few cartoons to get into her way of thinking (she stroke me as pretty selfish and superficial at first). But, after that, Esther became this familiar refreshing character that says what she thinks... for better or worse.
Pretty hilarious at times.
I found it particularly refreshing that the girl in question was from Paris, France, and I will admit it took me a few cartoons to get into her way of thinking (she stroke me as pretty selfish and superficial at first). But, after that, Esther became this familiar refreshing character that says what she thinks... for better or worse.
Pretty hilarious at times.
November 5, 2023
So funny and charming! I was half way through it before I noticed it was by the author of Arab of the Future, which I also loved. Very fun to read the perspective of a bright funny kid, who's pretty well adjusted, loves her parents, but is lively enough not to be a saint. I wish I had a 12 year old to hand it to.
May 3, 2023
I absolutely loved this book. It's a collection of comic panels that Riad Sattouf has drawn/written about a young girl, Esther, he is acquainted with. The book is a time capsule as the reader watches Esther grow up on the page.
July 13, 2023
Comics. The life of a young Parisian girl Esther at the ages of 9, 10, 11 and 12 as seen through her description of it. In telling her story to her father's friend, the friend depicts her life in comics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2024
gifted by the publisher
Once a week for 3 years, Sattouf chats with his friend's daughter, Esther, and she tells him about her life, ranging from family to school and everything in between. Spanning Esther's life from age 9-12, NOTEBOOKS is a delightful look into the daily dramas of this outgoing girl.
While chronological, each page in NOTEBOOKS can be read as a standalone comic. I really appreciated the cute art style and how Sattouf uses colors. NOTEBOOKS is a rather text-heavy comic, sometimes with texts so small I have trouble reading (but my eyes are bad 🤣)
My favorite is reading about how much Esther adores her dad; it fills me with so much joy. Esther's school life is quite interesting too, even though there are hints of homophobia and islamophobia. I can see Sattouf's view of preserving his original conversations with Esther and understand that a kid's prejudice merely reflects the adults around her. However, I still wonder if these strips could've been altered/removed.
Once a week for 3 years, Sattouf chats with his friend's daughter, Esther, and she tells him about her life, ranging from family to school and everything in between. Spanning Esther's life from age 9-12, NOTEBOOKS is a delightful look into the daily dramas of this outgoing girl.
While chronological, each page in NOTEBOOKS can be read as a standalone comic. I really appreciated the cute art style and how Sattouf uses colors. NOTEBOOKS is a rather text-heavy comic, sometimes with texts so small I have trouble reading (but my eyes are bad 🤣)
My favorite is reading about how much Esther adores her dad; it fills me with so much joy. Esther's school life is quite interesting too, even though there are hints of homophobia and islamophobia. I can see Sattouf's view of preserving his original conversations with Esther and understand that a kid's prejudice merely reflects the adults around her. However, I still wonder if these strips could've been altered/removed.
not-for-me
February 6, 2025I was given this book from the publisher and I just did not enjoy the reading experience. It's a huge book with very small font. We follow 156 different random experiences in Esther's life from age 9-12. She swears a LOT and is crass. The stories are just fine but I didn't like Esther, so I quit.
Want to read
June 11, 2022Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.
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