Waves, written by Ingrid Chabbert and illustrated by Carole Maurel, is a poignant biographical comic that deals with themes of loss and healing. The art is wonderful--beautiful and charming in a way that I've learned to associate with Boom! comics--and portrays the characters and their journey perfectly. The choice to grey-wash everything after the author's tragedy, and then slowly adding back the colours was brilliant and poetic.

I'm thankful to Chabbert for sharing her story and creating this beautiful piece of art.

Content warnings for miscarriage, loss of child, infertility, depression

Based on the author's personal experiences with her partner, Waves follows a couple trying to have a baby, and the ways they are forced to find healing afterwards.

I don't know what I was thinking requesting an eARC of this graphic novel.

It was beautiful, and tragic, and so honest, and well-done... and one of the most miserable things I've ever read. I couldn't stop sobbing. Waves is brutal and, despite how great of a graphic novel it is, I wouldn't even know who to recommend this to because it's so sad. That said, it easily deserves the 5-star rating I'm giving it. I especially loved the snippets with the woman in the boat, and the way her progress paralleled with her healing journey.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hug my little rainbow baby and cry some more. I genuinely hope that Ingrid Chabbert and her partner have found peace and healing. ♥

Thank you so much to BOOM! Studios for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgally and Boom! Studios for granting my wish!

I read this graphic novel over ten times, and cried over ten times. Based off of the author Ingrid Chabbert's own person experiences trying to conceive. Waves follows a young woman and her wife who are finally able to announce their pregnancy after years of trying. After a hospital stay they loose their baby and their lives become filled with heartbreak, and trying to figure out whats next in life. Please add it to your TBR List on amazon. You can thank me later.
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Powerfully moving story about love, lost and healing. I was impressed by how quickly I came to sympathize for our main characters. Their grief and love jumped off the page. The art style had a simple elegance to it that I felt worked well with the story. In the scenes without any words, I could clearly see what the characters were feeling. Im always on the lookout for more f/f graphic novels and Im happy to add this one to my recommendation list.

Such a beautiful story of love and loss. I think most people can relate to the feelings of grief even if they haven't experienced the exact same loss of a child. I just loved this all around.

As someone who batch-requests ARCs, I rarely remember what the book is about should it arrive on my Netgalley shelf. So I got sucker-punched once I got past the pretty, dreamy imagery of the first few pages and into the reality of a woman trying to conceive numerous times, and maybe this was the start of a new journey for her and her wife.

Despite not relating on a personal level, Waves was unexpectedly emotional. We learn that the dreamy seascape was an escape from reality, we are taken on a ride as the young couple goes through stages of coping with another loss.

I love the artwork and the use of colour to express the character's stages of grief. I love that someone tackled this difficult topic based on their own experience, and that this centres around a lesbian couple.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A graphic novel about a lesbian couple who've recently experienced a miscarriage, Waves was a very moving, if brief story. There is very little dialogue, very little insight into the character's point of view, instead a lot of drawings of the main characters looking unhappy. One of the downsides of graphic novels is that, like other forms of visual media, it can be harder to find the thoughts of the characters, even the one that the story is centered around. This book was no exception, and the fact that the characters spent very little time even talking did not help this. In addition, I wanted to see more of the main character's wife, her side of the story, etc. As it wasn't even from her POV, she was fairly one-dimensional, and given she was based on a real person, it would've been nice to see her more fleshed out.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. What was there I enjoyed. The drawings and scenes especially at the beginning of the book were visceral and emotional and I was gripped by what was happening. But I think there could have been more there.

Beautiful. I cannot praise this book enough. It tells the story it needs to in a spectacular fashion. The use of color to portray the loss and healing process was phenomenal. Though I have never experienced loss like this I cried along with the characters all the way.

Thank you NetGalley and specially BOOM! Studios for granting me this wish! (This graphic novel is not available for request openly, you need to wish for it and the publisher may randomly grant wishes among those interested).

I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read this amazing graphic novel. It barely has 100 pages, and I was surprised by how many different feelings those few pages could contain. I cannot say I can understand what it feels like to mourn an unborn child, but Chabbert and Maurel made an incredible team to express it through their art. Something that particularly caught my eye was the use of colours throughout the story; the black and white meant sorrow and mourning of course, but what was truly beautiful was how, little by little, colour started to appear here and there, until the whole page was bright with a complete palette, reflecting the author's progress in her overcoming her loss and being ready to let go and allowing herself to live and start again.

Last but not least, I have the need to point out how, yes, this is an LGBTQ+ story since the main female character is married to another woman, but no, this is not something relevant in it. I love when LGBTQ+ characters are described and shown as what they are - just people. They are not reduced to their sexuality; that is just one more characteristic that they happen to have. BUT I do not mean to say that the fact that they are LGBTQ+ should be ignored. It is very important to show queer characters in this "one more of the bunch" way but drawing some attention to it at the same time (oh the irony) in order to normalise these relationships. Queer youths should be able to identify themselves and also knowing that they are much more than a label.

A graphic novel (GN) written by Ingrid Chabbert and illustrated by Carole Maurel, this is a powerful piece of work about a lesbian couple trying to have a child. This book is based on the author’s real-life experience.

The GN follows the couple from trying to get pregnant, through losing their child and slowly recovering. It is touching, moving and the one thing that comes across the strongest is the love that the two women share. Their trust, love and sharing with each other validates our belief in love and happily ever after, if the partner is right.

The illustrations are fantastic. The pages and sequences where only the illustrations are telling the story without any words are nothing short of mastery. Particularly the frames that show the state of mind are fabulous.

Thank you, NetGalley for the preview of this graphic novel..

I am so proud of Ingrid Chabbert for her courage to open up about such a personal tragedy. This book was so beautiful and gave me hope at the end in a way that I never thought possible.

This is such a powerful graphic novel and I recommend it to anyone.

A children's book author, Ingrid Chabbert sets off to share the painful story of sharing her struggles with her inability to have a child and the loss of one via miscarriage in graphic novel format. A short, though not entirely sweet due to the sad nature of the story, the novel begins with a young woman and her wife as they embark on the journey to have a child together and face a number of struggles, many of which lead to the unending challenge of facing the days ahead of you after the loss of your child. <i>Waves</i> is a truly emotional story that, depending on who you are and how you feel about the subject, may be an easy or difficult graphic novel to read.

Though I have not yet reached a point in my life where I am trying to have a child nor have I ever had to experience the devastation that the author of this novel has I truly felt very close to this story. Infertility has always been a rather strong fear of mine, one that I am almost certain I will have a rather difficult time working through should it ever be an issue in the future. I have as a result, on occasion delved into these type of stories, I suppose in an almost preparation for the possibility.

<i>Waves </i>is a thoroughly personal journey that I feel a number of women may be able to connect with on some level, one that deserves respect and empathy. I couldn't appreciate more Ingrid's decision to share this difficult moment in her life with the rest of the world and I hope that someone somewhere out there is helped by her story and her words. The artwork is pretty phenomenal as well and definitely manages to impressively capture the moments and the emotions that go along with them. I'm very glad to have received a copy of this book.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

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When I clicked on this book, I. Ever imaged how much power was contained in the pages. It’s so beautiful, so heart breaking. The illustrations carry so much emotion it’s almost painful. You share the characters hopes, their dreams, and then their profound loss. I nearly lost my son at birth and can’t imagine the devistation I would have felt. Some times I still have nightmares that they couldn’t revive him. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone who is suffering from the loss of child, because it shows them that they are not alone, that they can survive without feeling guilty, and even laugh again without losing the precious memory of their child.

Waves by Ingrid Chabbert is a powerful literary experience of loss and hope. Chabbert combines a pallet of blues and sometimes greys to convey emotion, and makes use of wordless panels, as well as sparking dialogue. This book is drawn from life.

I would recommend this book for readers who want to see a graphic novel do more than tell a superhero story. There's no spandex or armor here, just life and emotion, with characters as vivid as any short story or novel. In a time when the comic book and graphic novel medium is still deemed by some as less than, artists like Chabbert show that voice can take on shapes and characters of language and image quite effectively.

wow. I liked this graphic novel so much.
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This painful story depicts pain a couple goes through, when after many years of infertility they finally conceive a child, only to suffer pain of his terrible loss during pregnancy.
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Illustrations by Carole Maurel are amazing and I liked themes of coloring with innovative use of black snd white pages. Art depicting sea and boat are particularly stunning.
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Story is very emotional and carries its warmth throughout.
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Bond between two humans and between dog and a girl is nicely depicted. Struggles of a budding author are also visible.
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Duo of writer and illustrator have provided soul to a deeply painful story.

I read an ARC through Boom! Studios via NetGalley. Waves is a beautiful graphic novel story about two women struggling to have a baby together and the loss that can sometimes occur. It is real, sad and a bit to short of a story. I immediately embraced both the characters and before I knew it their story was over. It is based on the authors own personal struggles, which is probably what me it so impactful. It is a good read for anyone struggling with the same problems and any parent who knows the weight of wanting to protect your child at all costs. The art was fantastic and the quiet moments on the page without text perfectly reflected the main characters emotions for those scenes. Highly recommended.

A nicely looking graphic novel. But I can't say I was astonished. It was okay; sad, for some of the readers maybe heartbreaking. I think this will be amazing comic book for those, who have suffered loss like author (main characters). There was not a lot of space to get to know characters and so I haven't even started to like them. It was like observation of strangers' actions from distance. What I really liked about this short story is the way how it was coloured. After that afwul situation all was grey for her, but then colors began to appear in time, here and there.

This book shows a couple dealing with the late term loss of their child. The book is rather one sided, only truly showing the grief from the perspective of the mother and not her wife, who seems to exist within the story just to make things easier for the protagonist. I wish we could've seen more from her.

Despite the one-sidedness of the story it was absolutely touching. The art was beautiful and in some places haunting. I'd highly recommend this book.

A very touching story of the loss and heartbreak of a couple trying to have a child and experiencing a miscarriage instead. We experience the author's grief, but also her healing and cautious rehabilitation into life once again. A wonderful read- I highly recommend it.

When you are a lesbian, it is a little harder to conceive, and much more expensive. Trust me, I know all about this. I've been there, done that, have the kid to prove it.

So, this very moving story, based on the authors attempts to become a parent, cut to the bone, probably more so for me, than those out there who have not had to go through what she went through to try to become a parent.

The pictures are moving as well.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4836" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2018-12-10-at-9.59.58-PM.png" alt="" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4835" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2018-12-10-at-10.00.13-PM.png" alt="" />

I was deeply touched by this story. Death of anyone is hard to take, but to lose a baby before it is even born is so hard.

The story is slow, and close to the heart. The outcome is pleasing, however, and reflects the authors journey as well.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.