This is a hopeful and beautiful graphic novel. I had a family member in the past who had Alzheimer's and it can be very difficult to deal with. This is a good representation of the disease and how it affects family. This graphic novel had me tearing up, but also smiling along the journey.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this copy to read!

It was such an extremely touching story. It reminded me in a certain way of the novel “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry” by Fredrik Backman. Of course, this being a shorter version of a similar situation. The girl from this graphic novel, Clémence, is older and the grandmother here is confronting with Alzheimer’s disease.
The entire graphic novel focuses on the intergenerational relationships. It is painful to see in graphic and self-explanatory images this cognitive and physical degradation of the grandmother, until arriving at the nursing home. Following the three generations of women, we can notice that the grandmother paradoxically represents the bond between mother and daughter and allows Clémence to step back and see from a different perspective the relationship with her mother.
The entire story is both touching and sad but it also has some very funny moments.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sensitively handling an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s and her granddaughter, this graphic novel was life-affirming yet heartbreaking. The illustration style was beautiful and perfectly matched the story without being too bleak. The panels were well-designed and the story at no point got confusing in any way.

Alix Garin brilliantly managed to show the relationships between the women in this story without too much text or dialogue and with flashbacks that were clearly demarcated from the main plot.

Overall this was a near perfect graphic novel. My only hesitancy is the last few pages; the story takes a strange turn right at the end and I’m not sure how I feel about it. However, I think if you know anyone with Alzheimer’s or want to read more representation of the illness in fiction, this is an effecting and emotional graphic novel that I would highly recommend.

4 out of 5 stars!

What a beautiful and heartbreaking graphic novel about love in all its forms. As someone who has cared for two relatives with dementia this book brought home the painful moments but also those beautiful moments when the clarity comes back and your relative returns to you. I was blown away this is a beautiful story and a very beautifully illustrated graphic novel.

This was such a touching and emotional graphic novel. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Forget Me Not starts with Clémence's grandma running away from her nursing home. Clémence, seeing how her grandma is suffering decides to "kidnap" her to take her back to her childhood house, hundreds of miles away.
It's a very beautiful and emotional roadtrip between a woman with alzheimer who at times doesn't even remember her own children, and her granddaugther who'd like to make things easier and happier for a grandma who she spent so much time with.

The story is filled with nostalgia and memories. Memories of Clémence's childhood, memories of her grandma's youth. But it also focuses on the present, on the importance of enjoying the moment, of telling people you love them while you can. The design was so beautiful and so fitting to portray all these emotions.

A sweet story that is heartbreaking.
The art suited the story very well.
Sometimes the story was sad, but it also made me smile.

This is the story of memories. First that the Clémence's grandmother has Alzheimer's, and keeps escaping from her care home, because she thinks she has to go home. Second, there are the memories that Clémence has of growing up with the love of her grandmother, and how her mother was never there for her.

Clémence can't stand to see the woman who basically raised her, being locked up, and so decides to kidnap her grandmother and take her to her childhood home. Only problem with that, is it isn't really legal, so they are both on the run.

The way the author writes about memory loss seems to ring quite true, and it can be so frustrating talking with someone like that, and not having them see or recognize you, or when they keep insisting that someone is alive when they are long dead.

Oh and Clémence is lesbian, which has a little bit of a factor in what happens in the story. But really this is the road trip of a granddaughter, and a grandmother who doesn't even know who she is at times.



<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Forget Me Not by Alix Garin - Art by Alix Garin. Cover art, title, and synopsis brought me into this book after searching for a graphic novel depicting dementia. Caregivers will empathize with Clem even ask a similar question," How far will you go to free your loved one in this situation?" Graphic nudity and profanity contained in the storyline merits an adult peruse prior to suitability reading with younger children.

Thank you Netgalley and Europe books for letting me read an eARC of this graphic novel. I enjoyed it immensely, the easiest 5 stars I've given this year!

This was such a heart-wrenching, but also heartwarming story. It's a very layered story with multiple aspects being touched upon and it was all handled very delicately and beautifully. I adore the art style and the details in the drawings. It was very atmospheric, I felt like I was travelling to France right along with the characters and the art really added to that! This novel can be very sad at times, but I also think it was very uplifting. I really connected with the characters as well, they are very well developed. The colouring was done exceptionally well. I love seeing colour used to depict different emotions or time periods.

I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for anything else Alix Garin creates!

This graphic novel follows Clémence as she breaks her grandmother who suffers with Alzheimer’s out of a nursing home in order to return to her childhood home once again.

This is was so touching; it’s a story that many people can connect and relate to. I felt as though the sad reality of the disease that so many people suffer with was extremely well represented and shown. I also thought the LGBTQIA+ representation was great to see.

An emotional story of family and memories conveyed through beautiful images. This will stay with me for a long time. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher.

I don’t really know how I feel about Forget Me Not. I enjoyed the artwork – it is loose, sketchy, flowing, and just right to tell the understated story contained within the pages. I liked the story that Garin told about memory, family and grief, especially the theme of forget-me-nots and the interposed scenes with police officers, which introduced some tension. It’s also well translated from the original French, and I liked the Belgian (I think!) setting of the novel. Despite being pretty short, we get fully fleshed out characters and explore many facets of Clémence’s personality. That being said, I think some of the emotional weight of the events were undersold, and it could be improved by dwelling a little longer on some key moments. In addition, I felt that the latter third of the novel was a bit heavy-handed in the number of problems that occur one after another – it’s just too short for this Odyssey-style tale of woe that plays out. My final issue with it is personal – I find alzheimer’s to be a difficult topic, and so I didn’t especially enjoy that it was a major theme in this novel. Of course, that’s not fault of Garin, but it did affect my enjoyment nonetheless. I should make it clear that this is still an impressive and beautiful novel, and is especially impressive as a debut. It just wasn’t really my thing.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

I am sobbing. So many face memory loss on a daily basis. It impacts the person and their family in different ways. This is Clemence and her grammy's story. A trip back to her childhood home, the two share lessons of life and love. The art and story will touch all of your senses and emotions. Thank you Europe Comics for the wonderful works.

It's beautiful, sad, intense, painful. I cried, and I don't cry a lot while reading but damn....this one ! It did ring a bell since I've lived with my great-grandmother who had Alzheimer. However, it can shake anyone on a deep lever because it shows family, the hardships of getting old, love and a grandma/granddaughter relationship.
The colors are beautiful even though the drawings weren't really my style, the story and the emotion it conveyed made up for it.
You'll be moved that's for sure so don't forget your tissues !

I did not expect that this graphic novel could make me cry so much. It was beautiful, sad and tragic, and for having a relative that struggled with Alzheimer's (that unfortunately passed away) made this experience hurtful, but worth it. I loved the LGBTQ+ representation from the main character, and the dynamic between Grammy and Clémence was really fun (although sometimes hard to see). I was definitely DESTROYED at the ending, and I had to call my grandmother after the GN just to tell her I miss her during this whole pandemic thing going on and that I loved her. Got me speechless.

Forget Me Not by Alix Garin was incredible and I devoured it in a day! The art is simply amazing and a graphic novel was the best way to tell this story.

My favorite parts were when the main character and her grandmother reach the field with the forget-me-nots and also the ending that was emotional but also liberating.

Due to some nudity and violence this would be a good fit for mature audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of the most beautiful graphic novels I have read. Very emotional, and a relatable topic. Also gorgeous artwork. Would recommend reading!

what a heartbreaking read.

having a grandmother with alzheimer’s meant i could really relate to some of the conversations and the thinking behind clementine’s decisions. very moving.

This is a beautiful book about aging, family ties, love, regret, and belonging. The art is evocative and fits so well--it's by turns abstract (a surprise but long-desired sexual encounter) and more detailed (comparing the main character's body to her grandmother's aging one), all to memorable effect. It's both heartbreaking and heart-warming, but it's never remotely cloying. The conceit of having the main character recount the entire 'jailbreak' of her grandmother from the nursing home to a pair of detectives also gives the story added stakes and suspense/worry, but the tone remains bittersweet and elegiac, for the most part. Content warning for brief, remembered homophobia, potential implied suicidal ideation, and animal death.

Wonderful story of a granddaughter’s love for her grandmother and her desire to help her remember her younger years.

Oh god, the feels! 😭

This was amazing and I don't know what to do with myself now!

The art, the story, the way the story was told, the use of color to trigger specific emotions... It was so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time and I love it forever and ever.