Embarking on the heartfelt journey within the pages of "Forget Me Not" by Alix Garin was a poignant and emotionally resonant experience. The story beautifully explores the complexities of relationships, aging, and the transformative power of shared memories.

The characters, particularly Clémence and her grandmother, are portrayed with such authenticity that it's impossible not to become emotionally invested in their journey. Clémence's decision to break her grandmother out of the nursing home and embark on a road trip is a testament to the deep love and connection between generations. The struggles they face, especially dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, are depicted with sensitivity and honesty.

The artwork in the graphic novel is a true standout, capturing the nuances of emotion and expression with a delicate touch. The illustrations complement the narrative seamlessly, enhancing the overall reading experience. Garin's visual storytelling adds depth to the emotional beats of the story, making it a visually compelling work of art.

The themes explored in "Forget Me Not" are powerful and thought-provoking, touching on personal struggles and the desire for connection. However, it's essential to note the potential triggers, including Alzheimer's disease, violence, and death. These themes are handled with care, but they may be intense for some readers.

While I found the story and artwork to be deeply moving, there was a subtle sense of something missing in the ending. It's challenging to pinpoint, but there was a lingering feeling that certain aspects could have been more fully explored or resolved. Despite this, the overall impact of the narrative is undeniably beautiful.

This is a poignant and visually stunning graphic novel that delves into the complexities of relationships and the emotional challenges of Alzheimer's Disease. Though it falls just short of a perfect rating due to a slight dissatisfaction in the ending, I wholeheartedly recommend it to those seeking a touching and introspective read.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the opportunity to delve into this emotionally resonant tale.

This is such a sweet story. I loved the grammy/clemence relatonship. I love that it was meant to be an adventure story and it actually became something more impactful. Clemence learned more about herself on that trip than she expected to. It makes you want to cherish these relationships with our older generations before they are gone.

What a bittersweet story, how meaningful and heartwarming. Being a person raised by her grandparents I easily identified with the love and care displayed towards the elderly. Such a wonderful story, it made me sigh and reminisce my past, the short time I spent with my grandparents and made me realise the importance of treating people kindly.

Great potential, weird ending. I couldn't identify with or understand the main character at all. The artwork is alright, nothing very special though in my opinion.

I thank Netgalley for an ARC to read and review.

This book was archived before I downloaded it. I apologize as I thought I downloaded it upon receiving.

Clémence, a young Belgian student, receives a call telling her her grandmother has escaped the retirement home she lives in. Like so many people with Alzheimer's, she sometimes doesn't remember where she is or who the people around her are, so she becomes scared, agitated, aggressive and flees. This time they found her before she hurt herself or others, but not wanting to risk a tragedy, the administrators want her to be sedated so she can't escape again. Clémence's mother agrees, Clémence does not. So she brings her car around, kidnaps nana and they go on a roadtrip to find grandma's childhood home, somewhere on the French coast, before they are found out and hoping Clémence won't go to jail for it.

What could have been a simple, tender story; or a quick, funny tale, is actually an deep, multilayered and emotional story of family, dignity and belonging. It has its whacky moments, Clémence's acceptance (or not) of her sexuality, and her relationship with her mother take the story to another level, although I wish Garin had fleshed all of these themes out a bit more. I was also a bit confused about why it took them several days to drive from Belgium to the French coast; it should have been a day at most. But even with those small imperfections, the comic is astounding. The colour is gorgeous, the pages with no dialogue communicate just as much as any text.

For a long time, French and Belgian BD has been big formats, small page counts, and stories about men written by men, where women are an afterthought and allowed only a supporting role as doting mother or fuck-object. The last decade, though, has seen a huge amount of women publish longer stories, one shots, with different styles, and a wide array of topics, from humorous tales of being young and in the city to heart wrenching stories about what makes us human. And beyond the usual violent fiction and classic compositions we got used to, these female artists are creating new ways to tell stories and putting social commentary and their own experiences at the forefront. Garin's graphic novel is part of this new wave of storytellers, like Judith Vanistendael, Carole Maurel, Cécile Bidault, Julie Maroh, Aude Picault, Coco, Sophie Lambda, Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, Catherine Meurisse, Séverine Vidal, Kim Consigny or Vanyda; and similar to anglophone artists like Una or Mariko and Jillian Tamaki.

This is the kind of comic and story that is needed, that anyone can read, that will always be relevant. It broke me and then put me back together.

This story really blew me away. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous, whilst telling the tale of an insane road trip, Alzheimer's, and reconnecting with not only themselves but with each other for one last time.
I never suspected a graphic novel to make me cry as much as this did.

So sweet, heart breaking, and worth reading ten times over again. A truly incredible read.

I enjoyed this poignant graphic novel about a woman and her grandmother who is suffering from dementia. It was so sad at times but also very happy. I get what Clémence was trying to do and it was heartwarming if misguided. She didn't know how far gone her grandmother truly was. I hope to never experience a loved one going through memory loss, it's so tragic.

Beautifully illustrated and touching story about a cross generational road trip. Can't wait to read more from this duo.

"Maybe that's why I like art and acting. It's a way to expose your deepest self under the cover of fiction and to learn more about your weaknesses through those of others."

Clémence's grandmother isn't doing well in the nursing home she's in. She keeps talking of her childhood home and trying to run away. Clémence decides she's going to take her grandmother on one last adventure to find her childhood home. What follows is a journey full of adventure, memories, and grappling with the debilitating disease of Alzheimer's.

The story was sweet and realistic up until the last 1/3. I definitely did not like how this book ended, but I really appreciated the journey Clémence and her grandmother were on throughout the book. I also really liked the flashbacks and the conversations Clémence was having with the police after their journey. I appreciated how well done these were with the coloring and tone of the page. This was a story that made me miss my own grandmother and long for the times in my childhood when things were different.

TW: Alzheimer's disease, violence, death

**Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.**

I enjoyed this book. It warms my heart reading it. I love the art and have increased my appreciation to art and artists. Would love to see more from this amazing author-artist.

Forget me not is such a tender and beautiful story that touched my heart in all the right ways (and might have made me cry a couple of times. The artwork style is perfect for it!

Such a sad but also amazing book to read.
I like how the art is colourful and depicts each step of the way as the story unfolds and the emotions on faces so well.

This was such a beautiful, emotional graphic novel about a young woman and her grandma, who has Alzheimer and is slowly forgetting about who she is and the people around her.

The premise is that we have a young lady taking her sick grandma out of a nursing home so they get on a road trip. And believe me when I tell you, a lot of unfortunate yet hilarious things happen before they can both see the place her grandma once called home when she was little.

The art style makes it a quick read but do not mistake this as simple. It is a compelling story about who we are, everything that makes us “us”, and the simple little things we get to enjoy when we’re growing up.

Now, I gotta admit I was emotional over this ‘cause it was beautiful to see two people sharing the simplest things as taking a bath, eating some take-out food and even some meaningless jokes that make you smile like a kid. Figuring out who you are might come from unexpected experiences and it’s always better when you decide you just want to make the best of your life, even if you fail.

Last but not least, Alzheimer is a disease we don’t really know much of and it’s always hard on the patient as well as the family. Especially when we see how they’re slowly forgetting about the things that we once cherished. Still, it’s such I beautiful story I cannot recommend it enough.

I'd like to thank Europe Comics for providing me with this e-arc, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

5 ⭐ I'm a sucker for grandma stories and this one is right in with my favourites

Clémence has had enough, after seeing how miserable her grammy is in the nursing home, she is going to break her out.
They go on a road trip, the destination? Grammy's childhood home. The trip is long and Grammy's memory is not what it was, Alzheimer's is an unkind disease. Through the nice times, with Mounds bars, picnics, decorating with forget me nots; through the rough times, being robbed, being forgotten on and off, getting in a fight, getting in an accident, learning again that your parents have died and you are much older than you think you are; Grammy and Clémence arrive at their destination.

I could not fight the tears at the end. What a beautiful thing to remember their relationship by. Clémence might have lost a lot during this trip, but she also learned invaluable lessons.

In the end, it is time to return home, to her normal life. Only to find a letter. An unexpected memento. A postcard, a flower, memories from the trip of a lifetime.

#EuropeComics #NetGalley

Watching a family member grow older and start to lose themselves is one of the saddest parts of life. I went through this with my grandmother, and it was heartbreaking when she eventually forgot who I was. For a while, my mother was a single mom, and my grandmother basically helped raise me while she was at work – because of that, I was hit pretty hard. Forget Me Not by Alix Garin is a remarkable book, in that it takes that very issue and constructs a beautiful story around it about coming to terms with one’s life, letting go of the past, and trying to mend bridges that may have started to fall apart. The main character, Clémence, is at odds with her mother due to the treatment of her Grandmother in her ailing health. “Grammy” is in a nursing home, destined to never again be by herself at her own house due to her dementia-addled mind. She goes through delusions of her youth, frantically trying to “go home to Ma and Pa”, something that the staff of the home are not thrilled about. Clémence’s mother makes the hard choice to keep Grammy on sedatives, something that pushes Clémence to make a rash, and likely dumb, decision to take her Grandmother “home.”

“When Clémence, a student and actress struggling with personal issues, sees how miserable her grandmother is in her nursing home, she decides to break her out and take her on a road trip to the coast so she can see her childhood home one last time. But traveling with a senior with Alzheimer’s Disease comes with a fair amount of challenges, and the journey is fraught with highs, lows, and near misses. Still, it’s a chance for the two women to reconnect, with each other and with themselves, and it’s a chance for Clémence to give Grammy the gift of one last thrilling and joyful experience.”

I don’t want to spoil much, but what follows helps Clémence come to terms with her own past, rebuild her relationship with her mother, and even let Grammy have one last bit of happiness before the final curtain. This was a very emotional book, and the writing is a masterclass of what a graphic novel can be. The art style, while simplistic, fits the light nature of the story very well. I was skeptical something bordering on the monochrome would be so emotive until I kept reading this. I recommend this book a LOT to anyone dealing with a similar situation to this or has in the past. It may make you shed some tears, but in the end it will be worth it.

An incredible graphic novel about a grandmother and her granddaughter.
The drawings were really simple but effective for the story. Loved reading this about the relationship between these two and the things we do for the people we love!

It has been a while since I have reviewed a graphic novel that was a complete story in itself. The last few I picked up turned out to need the next few to make sense or give any form of satisfaction.
It is always hard to read a book about dementia/Alzheimers and its impact on family and friends. This is no exception. We have Clémence, who is struggling with her own personal issues when she realizes she may have a solution for her grandmother's problems. She is unsure of her own mind and thinks helping her grandmother might somehow help her (this is not said outright but implied nevertheless).
The art matched the mood of the narrative, going fuzzy at times and having better clarity at others. It is also a growth arc for our central protagonist, who realizes that the trouble with memory is that it is selective unless otherwise explored or prompted. I was unsure of what my impressions of the book were until I was well into it. It's only once you start to empathize with all of Clémence's decisions that you really see the story go somewhere.
It was touching and emotional, and even though I still am not confident I appreciate parts of the ending, I would recommend the book to anyone who finds its blurb or my review interesting.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Wow that was very intense. Really beautiful but very intense. Not at all what I was expecting but still well done I could really feel the raw emotions of what it was like having someone who’s losing their memories while you’re trying to hang onto them

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc!
This graphic novel is really good. It’s a bonding, lovely and heart-warming graphic novel.
Go and check my review on Goodreads and Instagram in the links below.