The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Invisible Differences is an enjoyable read, but it’s even more: it’s an important one. This is a sincere and illuminating graphic novel about autism. Nowadays there are still a lot of misconceptions about autism, that’s why I think this book does a great job in showing it from a different point of view. There are a lot of details about what Asperger's really is or isn't, so we get to familiarize with it in a very didactic yet easy to understand way. I loved everything in this graphic novel from the preface that is really encouraging and inspiring, to the art style and the story in general.
I’m so glad this book has been translated in English, so a lot of new people are now able to read it. I strongly recommend it.

A wonderful and important book, this is the story of Marguerite who is 30, she likes animals and has a job and a boyfriend, she finds social situations hard and doesn't always understand what people are saying. Through the course of the book, she wonders if she has Autism, after being laughed at by Dr's she finally gets an assessment and discovers that she has Asperger's, this is a great relief for her and she is able to get the support that she needs and to find a way to live her life in a way that suits her. I think its really clever that this story is told as a graphic novel, it slows down the story, you can visualise how people with Asperger's react to things and there are some funny images of animals to help lighten heavy pages. Which is why I think this would be good for young people to help them understand Asperger's better either for themselves or others. It's particularly good for clarifying how there are different gender presentations and that women often have different presentations which is often missed, it also debunks myths about Autism. The drawings are lovely and cleverly at the beginning they are mostly in black and white but Marguerite has red shoes and occasionally their is other colour used but once she has her diagnosis everything is in full colour!

I really enjoyed this book and found it informative, especially for identifying and supporting people I know with Asperger's. I wish it had been available years ago.

With thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

We’re only going to understand neurodiversity when more stories like Invisible Differences are told.

Invisible Differences is a warm story. Too often in the media people with neurodiverse conditions are either the butt of a joke or people with strange super-powers. Community and the A-word are the only two depictions of the neurodiverse experience that I think treat people on the spectrum with the respect that they deserve.

I can now add to that list Invisible Differences. Marguerite our heroine goes on a journey of personal discovery and acceptance. The struggles that she faces both at work and in her personal life are brought into sharp focus early on in the story. For example, she finds noise at her office distracting to the point that it leaves her exhausted and hiding in the toilets. Or, how the prospect of attending a party gives her excruciating social anxiety.

Life for neurodiverse people is hard. It is harder still when those around you don’t or won’t understand. Being comfortable with oneself is sometimes very difficult. It is even more so when you feel you can’t meet the demands that society makes of you.

The translation of the dialogue is charming. The art in Invisible Differences is clean and lovely. Colours are used cleverly to show the build-up Marguerite’s anxiety or to show things that stimulate her. Neurodiverse people are often seen as somewhat inflexible to the point of being unreasonable. Marguerite is often asked to do things which for most people would find straight forward but for her require a Herculean effort. This is a tale about self-acceptance and at every beat, the art and text work together tremendously. It avoids cloying sentimentality or many of the other feel-good traps a story like this might fall into. The highest compliment I can give the book is that it left me questioning some of my own attitudes which I think is a sign of story well told.

I highly recommend Invisible Differences.

20/30

This was such an eye-opener! For someone who doesn't know much about Asperger's syndrome, I really liked this. It was really educative about how it is for someone living with Asperger. I didn't know Asperger is so unknown in France, is it like this for the rest of the world too? I wish I had read something like this sooner! Definitely recommend reading this one!

A wonderful story about what a young woman with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome experiences on a daily basis. It's so uplifting to see her embrace her diagnoses and make changes in her life that benefit her and promote self-acceptance.

Great book! I have heard of Asperger's syndrome before but I think I gained a lot more understanding from the perspective of Marguerite.

Autism has always been a subject I’ve been interested in, so I’m always looking for new content to help me get to know more and more about what people on the spectrum face.

I very much enjoyed how thought out this book clearly is, I wish everything could be like this.

Thank you Netgalley

This was an excellent read. The writing was engaging and art style fit so well. This graphic novel follows a young woman who learns she has Aspergers, what that means for her, and how she ultimately decides to manage it. This is insightful, and as a therapist, something I would like to have in my office. I whole-heartedly recommend it. *I would like to note that the author is own-voices, the illustrator is not (but they are friends), and I am not an own-voices reviewer.

Okay so I got the Translated version from #Netgalley and I am so excited to tell you about this book. As a cognitive neuroscientist, this book addresses a lot of issues that people in the autism spectrum face every day of their lives and the discrimination they experience because of their difference.

Here we follow Marguerite who is super 'awkward' basically she is different and for the first half of the book, we explore how different she is, how awkward and invisible she feels around people, her lack of outstanding social humor, sensitivity to noise, her love for her routine and her isolation which explains her disorder.
The lack of understanding of her so-called friends, boyfriend, and family adds to her depression as she isn't aware of what her disorder is. This book also addresses the lack of general awareness of autism spectrum disorders in France and the behavior even medical professionals have concerning it.

So when she finally gets a diagnosis she is elated (which is understandable, because knowing there is a problem, is when you can adjust your environment to cope with your disorder) because now she knows that there is a reason for her difference and she began to make changes. first by getting rid of her boyfriend who doesn't understand her, then friends that made her seem small.

I believe that this a good book to understand although minutely what people with Asperger's syndrome face every day of their lives and how we as a society can help them make the best of life even with their disorder. I also like the conversation she had with her friend who honestly was just so uninformed about autism spectrum disorders.

I like the graphics and the color contrasts, it made for an enjoyable reading experience. There are also links and information at the end of the story about autism and helplines to contact.

4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and One Press for providing me with an eARC of the newly coming translation of this original story!

Invisible Differences is about Marguerite, an individual struggling to fit in to society, especially in public situations. The graphic novel details her journey into discovering the Autism spectrum.

Being well acquainted with Autism and its quirks my whole life (my brother!), this book meant a lot to me. The coloring and depictions of how Margo felt were easily understood by the reader, especially as the page gets more crowded and loud, mirroring her feelings. I thought the art and story complemented each other perfectly, and the story is a great introduction to the Autism spectrum.

The only thing I wish this book had was more about Margo's story itself and less just feeling almost like an informal story. The parts I loved most were seeing her interactions with family, her boyfriend, etc. This reflects most of my regular issues with stories telling instead of showing. The novel shines most when it shows her feelings through the colors as well as her interactions rather than just explaining them.

Though I wish the conclusion of this had more story than explanation, I still think this is a quick and informative read while still b being enjoyable. A great introduction to Asp & the Autism spectrum.

After an anxiety-filled life of struggling to fit in, when Marguerite finally gets her Asperger's diagnosis, her life changes for the better.

A charming, empathetic, heartfelt and insightful book about being different, and finding your place. It highlights the validating power of being understood - and of understanding yourself - to be able to restructure your life in a way that works for you.

This was very eye opening as to what those with Asperger’s experience in their day to day life. I enjoyed reading this.

Uma GN mais do que necessária! Muito tocante!

Quando a gente pergunta se tá tudo bem com aguém, sempre recebemos respostas automaticas, mas a Marguerite me mostrou que nem sempre é assim, mesmo sendo "só mais um" todos somos diferentes. Muito didático e tocante!

First of all, I would like to say that autism was portrayed very understandable in this book. I think this is perfect for people who don't have a lot of knowledge about it.
However I had some remarks I would like to share. I see that the point of this book was to represent all the different aspects in which autism can be shown. However, not all people with autism have ALL of the characteristics of autism. Not everyone is sensitive to sounds, textures,... At the end of the book, this is addressed well, but in the story I found that suddenly the main character gets ALL of these characteristics put on her. It is possible for autistic people to have most of these characteristics, but this certainly isn't always the case.
Somewhere in the book, the puzzle piece was shown. I know this symbol gets used a lot, but it has some negative connotations with it. The puzzle pieces make it seem as if people with autism are puzzles that cannot be solved or that something is missing from them, that they are not whole. The puzzle piece is also strongly connected to the organization Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is probably one of the most known organizations 'for autistic people', but actually it isn't that good. First of all it doesn't help autistic people. Only 4% of their budget goes to actually helping autistic people. Secondly, Autism Speaks' biggest goal is 'to end autism', which obviously makes absolutely no sense. Autism Speaks also barely has any actual autistic people on board.
This is why I - as an autistic person myself - don't identify with the puzzle piece.

But, as I am an autistic person myself and as I did a big research on the topic of autism in the media (books, series,...) I see all of the things mentioned above in this book. I think that if a neurotypical person reads this book, it is the perfect start to getting to know more about autism and what it is.

I loved that in the book, there was a lot of attention drawn to the way the people near the main character reacted to her telling them she is autistic. A lot of the time, people tend to not believe that someone is autistic because 'oh, but you look me in the eye? autistic people don't do that' etc. I love that these stereotypical statements are shown and disproved.

Let's not forget to mention that I loved the way everything was drawn. Everything was so neat and well portrayed. Sometimes images can speak so much louder than words and that was shown in this novel!

I think that as a person not knowing a lot about autism, this is the perfect start. It is also recognizable for autistic people.

I'm open to having a conversation about this.

Loved it. This graphic novel is a great introduction for those who do not fully understand what it is to be on the autism spectrum. It also shows the story of someone who feels different and discovers what that means to her. I found it uplifting to go from diagnosis to action and adjusting your life to make you more happy. Knowing that this is a translated work and it being set in France, it was very well done. Highly recommend.

Okay, wow. This graphic novel.. was extremely relatable. I feel like it would have been a really interesting read anyway which would spread awareness. BUT the whole time I was reading this, I was like 'but that's what I do, I'm affected by sound and touch, I can't handle social situations, I have to recharge by myself..' and I feel like it has opened a door for me.

A really great story, a lot to learn from and beautiful illustrations! I would highly recommend this to many people.

I honestly couldn't stop smiling throughout reading this graphic novel. Marguerite is me! She's exactly like me! It was so nice to read a graphic novel about autism that wasn't about how 'weird' or 'scary' it is. I loved the use of colour and the artist's style of drawing, it was such a lovely book to read.

Also fuck Marguerite's boyfriend and her old job. They don't deserve you.

I loved this book. There were elements that I think may have got lost in translation, but the key message of life for Marguerite as someone with undiagnosed Aspergers, was simply beautiful. I would definitely recommend this in school libraries and as a teacher myself will be requesting it is available for our students. Such compassion. A wonderful piece.

This graphic novel (clearly a lightly fictionalised memoir based on author Julie Dachez's own experiences) follows 20-something office worker Marguerite as she comes to realize that her social awkwardness and anxiety has its roots in undiagnosed ASD. Fabienne Vaslet's art captures the main character's routines nicely, and is drawn in a style that gives it a nice casual life.

The English edition (which I read via NetGalley) is translated by Edward Gauvin, who is normally my favourite of the translators working in the BD localisation space, but some of the choices of how to replicate Marguerite's slightly stilted speaking style just didn't quite convey the same feel as the original. Still, if I were reading it alone rather than in comparison with the original I don't know that I'd have noticed.

There is an informational section at the end that seems to include information about practices that are quite controversial in the Anglophone ASD sphere without any note of the controversy, which seemed like a questionable choice. I appreciate how less known some of this is in France (which the book makes note of), but that seems like something that needed additional work for the localization.

Invisible Differences is a fantastic read with incredible, and emotionally poignant, illustrations. This was a fast read but made me think and check my understanding of people on the autistic spectrum.
Read this if you want to see yourself, or someone you love, represented in a graphic novel.
Read this if you're neurotypical, but curious about the lived experiences of others.
This graphic novel helped me understand friends who are on the spectrum and gave me the tools and resources to support them.