This is a fantastic example of a graphic novel and the power of well constructed graphic novels. I was blown away by the author's use of physical space on the page to emphasise the protagonist's loneliness.

The illustrations strike a fine balance between adding to the story but not overwhelming the reader. It is the mark of a wonderful author and illustrator when they are able to convey powerful emotions in this form.

My only criticism was I felt I had a big gap in my knowledge about the protagonist. I couldn't quite work out her circumstances; it was a bit vague and I couldn't give myself over to her and the book entirely.

Having said that, this is a truly enjoyable graphic novel and I would certainly read more from Juan Berrio in the future.

Seven Places Without You promises to be a graphic novel that explores a couple going through a rough period in their relationship. Instead, this story is more about Elena, so much to the point that we only see Jorge at the very end. 

I didn't find the story to be interesting or memorable at all. It was a bit awkward at times, and I couldn't really understand most of the characters. I was really hoping to see Jorge and Elena talk earlier in the book and work through their problems, but he didn't show up until the very end, which didn't allow for closure. I was pretty bored and disinterested throughout the whole thing, and I didn't feel like it flowed well. It was lacking in the emotional depth that I expected from a book like this. I've read shorter graphic novels, such as A Story About Cancer (With a Happy Ending) that had more of an emotional impact. There were often parts that I wanted to see expanded, like Elena's friend who had a crush on her, but after that scene we never really see him again. I just wish that there was more.

Despite the plot and characters, I did like the art style. It was very simplistic and plain, with distinct splotches of color for each chapter. The art style and the colors were mainly what kept me going through the pages. The art was probably the best part of this experience.

All in all, this graphic novel wasn't awful, but it wasn't memorable at all and was lacking in plot, depth, emotion, and character development. I would not recommend this book.

Thank u netgalley for the arc ebook of this graphic novel.
I liked the art style of this book but the storyline was ok not too much depth or intensity.The ending was abrupt and confusing.though it was a short read and can be read in one sitting.Lastly i did'nt lie the protagonist because of the last chapter otherwise it was ok and the book should have some more of the storyline to continue.

From the moment I saw this title on Netgalley, I was excited and drawn to the cover and the plot. However, after reading it, I must admit I was let down story wise, but adored the minimalist illustrations. The illustrations were the highlight for me easily. The illustrations added to the words of the book. I adored how there was often multiple illustrations without any words, highlighting how alone and isolated Elena was after leaving Jorge's place.

The plot personally did nothing for me. I didn't understand why Elena kept talking about how Jorge hadn't gotten in contact with her, when it was her choice alone to leave Jorge's place without telling him as well. I found the ending to be confusing and conflicting. I understand her finding her own place, a place that Jorge hadn't been before, and this was a part of Elena finding herself. However, Jorge's presence in the ending and near ending, I definitely didn't see the point and was conflicted as to some of her choices.

I didn't connect to any of the characters, even with this book being short. I found them lacking any depth. The amount of time when a new character would arrive in one of the seven places, I was unsure who they were and what they were supposed to add to the storyline. I didn't understand Jorge showing up in the last chapter.

I really wanted to like this, more than just the illustrations, but it unfortunately fell short for me.

Thank you very much to Europe Comics for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful, quick read on first love lost. Elena doesn't harbor resentment to Jorge, but knows that it is time to move into her own place and start anew.

First I would like to thank Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me the chance to read and review this graphic novel.

I wasn't really expecting too much from this, having seen the reviews on Goodreads as well as the intriguing yet simplistic synopsis, but the art style was more than enough to make me want to read it. It's minimalistic yet cute vibe is one I love in my graphic novels, as it usually works well with the textual parts of the story while not being too distracting or too invisible. However, the art style alone isn't enough to support a story.

While the story was nice enough while reading, especially when supported with a nice art style, the ending left me feeling conflicted about the story in its entirety, and the point in reading it. While I understand the story follows a couple going through their first issues, it felt like the reactions of the characters didn't match up with what was happening, and the ending only supports this more so. It was all just rather confusing, and when paired up with the complete lack of background info, it was hard to orient yourself in the story enough to enjoy the simplicity of the plot. I spent too much time trying to figure out who everyone was, and their relationship to each other, that I never got around to caring about what happened, or really feeling anything at all about the characters.

In the end, that's probably my biggest disappointment with this story. I didn't feel anything while reading it, even though I can empathize with the situation of Elena quite a bit (having moved into my boyfriend's family home and all the things that come with that). But instead I felt no connection at all, because I never felt like I actually knew Elena, her story, and her relationships at all. It made the story fall flat, and feel unmemorable.

*spoiler alert*

Interesting slice-of-life story but a lot of things are left unsaid while the story goes in all directions without any answers for the reader. You also don't get many opportunities to care for the main character, Elena. She isn't shown in depth, her family and friends are sympathetic but superficial, and the reader mainly gets their superficial impression of what seems to be a blasé person.

Is Helena depressed, angry, lost, lonely, in schock? I'll never know. Elena's family and friends also never seem really interested in talking beyond the superficial niceties. Wherever she is the focus remains with the people around her, who go on interacting socially and having successful lives while she only observes in a detached way.

As a reader I can try to understand her reasons to leave Jorge, but I don't understand her lack of deep reactions. The character of Jorge and the backstory of his relationship with Elena are also not fleshed out enough so I understand what the whole break down was about. I can understand why Elena still sleeps once with her ex-, it seems that for her the turmoil of the breakdown messed up any rationality, this last scene making Elena more relatable; not an example of a heroine but a flawed and confused human being.

This book was like a portrait, a short melancholic depiction of the moment a relationship finishes.

Full review published on Booklover Book Reviews website >> http://bookloverbookreviews.com/2019/01/seven-places-without-you-by-juan-berrio-graphic-novel-review.html

This is a relatable story about going through a breakup without the agonizing feeling of a broken heart. While many stories out there try to convey the pain experienced by all at some point when dealing with a broken heart, I felt that Seven Places Without You came from a calmer heart. This felt like the stage in which you have accepted and are moving on at your own pace. It's nice to be reminded that while everyone goes through breakups, they also move on from it. Reading this made me feel peaceful and reflect on my own experiences without bitterness.

A beautifully sentimental and ultimately uplifting look at one woman's journey to finding herself despite the pressure to remain coupled.

I liked the art, specially the colour palette used throughout the book and how it changed to imprint meaning into the scenes. In some scenes I had a bit of trouble following the dialogues properly, because the way it was scripted made it feel like from one vignette to the next something had been skipped.

Regarding the plot, I feel like the slow pace and the abscence of Jorge is quite a statement. I remember reading a bit of the book right after I had watched one of The Skin Deep videos on YouTube and thinking: this is exactly the same, the guy in the couple is the typical "nice guy" who everyone believes does nothing wrong, but he is totally being a jerk to his girlfriend. I feel like the story narrated here is a real one, it happens everyday in real life, but somehow something was missing in it to make a greater impact on the reader. I think the book was a good attempt at representing emotions without writing about them, but I felt there was a lack in depth and intensity. The pain was there, but we could not quite see it. It felt like throughout the graphic novel we were just roaming on the surface of Elena's emotions and reality.

It was weird getting to know right at the end that this graphic novel was originally published in Spanish, and I read it in English. Now everything - from the names to the places and the characters - makes more sense than before. It makes me proud seeing that more Spanish artists are being published and translated in other languages.

I received an advanced readers copy of this graphic novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Seven Places Without You is a graphic novel following a young woman named Elena who is going through a transitional phase in her relationship with her boyfriend Jorge. The only thing she can do is move out and start a life of her own. Little does she know, Jorge will show up and try to win her back. Will Elena give in?

I truly enjoyed reading this graphic novel! Juan Berrio truly painted a picture of a relationship taking a turn for the worst, but nonetheless I enjoyed it. I personally loved how the author described Elenas pain and confusion. I could feel her emotions and that is one of my favorite things to experience while reading. However, I hated that Jorge came back into the picture and ultimately expected for everything to be normal.

Overall, I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Seven places without you follows Elena through the end of her relationship. Her boyfriend Juan has drifted from her without explanation. Without answers and unable to stand the distance between them any longer, Elena decides it best to move out. The lack of resolution between them hovering from page to page.

I loved the simplistic art style, soft and melancholic, tying together the whole vibe of the story. The characters around Elena are kind and supportive though not delved into much further than that.

The plot is mundane, slice of life style, and slow. I left feeling that it was supposed to be an experience more than a moving plot. The quiet loneliness of it is especially evident with snapshots of moments where imagery speaks louder than words, a stretching silence. It was effective. I was reminded of similar personal experiences, relating to Elena and her yearning for wanting to hold on yet needing to let go.

I had hoped for something just a little more. A plot and dialogue with a little more purpose and less meandering would have made it a better read for me as a story rather than an experience.

Though I felt a bit frustrated by the way she dealt with leaving Jorge, the ending is bittersweet and not entirely resolved – as they tend to be.

I have received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 – A short and relatable slice of life that captures the snapshots of breaking up.

I'm not that used to reading coming books,however I am trying to widen my reading habit. It was an interesting and relatable story. It happens with all of us. The story was quite genuine, very everyday based- which isn't a bad thing. I enjoyed to get to know the characters, however,I find it with comics that they are quite fast paced.
I really liked the illustrations I enjoyed how basic this was.

Kudos to the illustrations. The story could have had more depth.

The book was the visual representation of what happens when love fades. The main thing the book lacked was the love.

I love reading graphic novels, and Seven Places without you seemed sad and unique. The art style is simple, and yet has such an air of melancholy about it that I couldn’t wait to get started.

The art in Seven Places Without You is wonderful. The panels have a real sense of gloom and sadness. The characters are simple, as are the environments, and yet the art manages to convey a real sense of emotion. One of the things I enjoyed was that some sections relied more on the art than on text to convey the story. There were silent moments that captured the feeling of relationship breakdown. These were the strongest parts of Seven Places Without You for me.

But unfortunately, that’s where my praise ends. The story was lacklustre, unengaging, and the characters weren’t fleshed out in any real depth. The introduction to these characters was just all kinds of weird. We dont' find out what Jorge did, only that he's got a job that keeps him busy, Elena doesn't bother to actually tell Jorge that she's left him, they don't actually break up, and yet still Elena laments that he hasn't called? If someone walked out on me without bothering to tell me or break up with me I'd probably not acall them either!

Elena does some things and has some boring conversations that don’t advance the story apart from showing a passage of time. I never get a feel for who Elena is or where her relationship went wrong. When she finally finds an apartment, we meet Jorge, who is funny and charming and seems totally ok with the fact that Elena walked out on him without bothering to tell him. He goes above and beyond to bring her things for the new apartment to make it more comfortable. Elena talks about how nothing has changed and that she’s already forgiven him, but the difficult thing is a loss of trust. Although, what caused this is never, ever communicated in the text or the images, so it’s tough to feel sympathy for her at this moment.

Seven Places Without You went by in a blur of mediocrity, and I finished it feeling like I’d completely wasted the time it took me to read it. The dialogue was uninteresting, the chemistry between any of the character was non-existent. Seven Places Without You said nothing and went nowhere. It’s such a shame because the illustrations set this up to be a poignant graphic novel about heartbreak. This is not a book I’ll be recommending.

The art is just the style I like. Soft, melancholy, heartbreaking. The story is a slice of life where a relationship goes somehow wrong. Elana finds ways to recover from the loss of her boyfriend Jorge. She survives the places they have been without him. She has many friends and family to support her. Jorge makes an appearance. Elena will be okay.

I’m giving this book 3 stars, but I strongly suspect that it would be better in its native Spanish. The author did a nice job of stretching out some moments that often get overlooked or forgotten. There is a nice simplicity to the story which is quite beautiful.

An easy to read story with pleasant graphics.

I enjoyed reading it, and quite liked the art.

I don't think I've read another story about break-up that's so simple. The story is really short, basically just Elena realising her boyfriend doesn't spend any time with her anymore, then she moved out. It frustrates me a bit that the ending feels a little abrupt. (You'll understand it if you've read it.) I might like the book better if it was just a little bit longer, and maybe gives us some more thought from both Elena and Jorge.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley for the chance of reading this graphic novel by Juan Berrio in exchange of a honest review.

While the synopsis and the art style on the cover called my attention, the story in the end wasn't something that caught my full attention.. We follow, in Seven Places Without You, the story of Elena, and how she tries to find herself after her boyfriend seems to be distancing himself from her.

While the starts really got me, with Elena deciding to leave where they are living - his parent's house? - and go spend sometime with her friend, while trying to find one for herself, her trying out going out with friends, socialize to try and forget, we have a heart full story of moving on. But the last chapter where we finally get to know the elusive Jorge? I was let down a bit with the chapter, and I also feel like I needed a bit more to see what happens after it.

The colour pallet chosen, as well and the way it's drawn is really beautiful, and it all fits perfectly with the mood of the story and Elena's life in the moment, so that's something I really liked!