I LOVED this charming little read! As a die-hard fan of Harriet the Spy and the Amelia books as a kid, this would have been right up my alley when I was younger. I know I would have read this over and over.

I can understand some of the concerns around this one—Cici and her friends frequently run off on their own, and Cici goes through some growing pains in regards to her relationships with her friends and her mother. So, you may want to read along/discuss this with your child. As for me, I thought the story was handled in a perfectly charming and heartwarming way. The illustrations were totally endearing and absolutely darling.

I adored this little graphic novel—I want to read more Cici!

This comic is a comforting story about a little girl, dreaming of adventure and exploring the densities of life in order to write a book.

Cici's Journal is the story of Cici, a child who wants to become a writer. To do so, she follows her neighbor's steps and decides to explore life, its secrets, friendships and adventures.

A cute comfort read for anyone who wants to read something soft, and fast-paced.
This is perfect for middle-grade children as well!

Cici is an aspiring author. She has befriended a local author that has provided her some inspiration and tips on becoming an author. Cici is interested in other people too. She gets really curious and calls them "mysterious". The first part of the book had her wondering what the story of an older man covered in paint going into the woods was. She discovered there was an abandoned zoo that she and her friends helped rebuild. In the second part she was curious about a sad elderly lady going to the library and home with the same book every week. She discovered the mystery behind her too. In the process she lied to her mom and annoyed her friends with her obsessiveness. Cici learned a memorable lesson in not only how to become a writer but be a better friend, daughter, and overall person. I found the story very enjoyable.

WOW
The illustrations are gorgeous, and the journal is beautifully put together, this has been by far the best comic I have ever read!!!
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Basically it follows young Cici, a young detective who wishes to be an author when she grows up through two mysteries.
One about a zoo and the other about forgotten letters, read on to find more!!!
Thank you First Second Books and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy!
I wish the author luck for more books in this series!!
My rating ⊱ ─ {⋅. ✯5 stars✯ .⋅} ─ ⊰

Gorgeously illustrated, this is a great graphic novel for kids describing both the importance of persistence but also about paying attention and thinking about people other than yourself (especially your friends and families). It's easy to get interested along with Cici in the two mysteries she discovers (and solves!) and it's also great to see how she learns and grows. Highly recommended for the art, story, characters, and theme.

I want to thank Netgalley, Joris Chamblain and Aurélie Neyret, and First Second Books for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I want to say that the artwork of this book is superb! I really fell in love with the artwork. Each scene is so beautiful and atmospheric. And I enjoy also seeing the journal entries!

Now for the actual story, I love both of the mysteries. I actually enjoyed reading them and they are both so warm-hearted and sweet. I love the first part with the old man, but I think I love the second part the most because it actually got me teary-eyed. Both stories are sad in a way and still had that sense of being a comfort to me.

For the characters, I actually liked it that each is so distinct from each other. They are easy to remember. And I like how the book makes the characters still stays with their personalities and traits. I really feel connected to Cici because I once was dreaming of becoming an author. I also love how imaginative Cici is, she makes me smile by her stories of people around her. Although at the second part, I was kinda annoyed at her. I thought that the book will just leave it like that but it got character developments and i'm kinda happy to see Cici being a better version of herself.

Overall, I rated this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. It's really warm-hearted and the kind of book that feels like giving you a hug. So, be sure to check this one out!

Cici’s Journal was a two part mystery journal containing a variety of mixed illustrations in photos, art supplies, drawings, articles, and journal notes. I absolutely loved the details of every page. The story was illustrated so beautifully that I cannot believe the cover does not match the beauty of what you will find inside.

Cici is a curious young girl who loves a good mystery. She enjoys people watching, particularly “mysterious” elderly citizens within her community and this gives Cici inspiration for the stories she will one day write as she dreams of becoming a novelist.

The stories are ultimately about helping others, and learning a few hard lessons on why you should open up about your feelings, make time for friends, and to not lie to parents. I think there should have been more discussion about the consequences of lying to parents which Cici does repeatedly, but other than that small detail I wouldn’t change a thing.

This book is perfect for a new generation of young mystery readers. I would highly recommend this for any young reader who is imaginative, curious, or into mystery books.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[This review will be posted on my blog on 19 July 2021]

Cici's Journal is a delightful book about a young girl who loves mysteries and wants to become a writer/novelist. Cici is a warm-hearted person, but her curiosity gets the best of her. She can be very single-minded and her obsessions with her mysteries come at a cost sometimes. Her relationships with her mother, her friends, and her mentor all become strained because of her investigations. I thought it was an important point to explore - that you can have a dream and pursue it without giving up other important things in your life.

The book consists of two stories, or "journals," in which Cici (and her friends) explore two very different mysteries. The first involves a strange man covered in paint who goes into the forest every weekend. The second revolves around an elderly woman who catches the same bus every week carrying the same book clutched to her chest. Both stories were heartwarming, and made me tear up a little.

What makes this so special is the art, layout, and design. Each story begins with full colour pages from Cici's journals (what I always wanted my own journals to look like!), before moving on to graphic novel/comic layout. The art is super appealing, and beautifully coloured.

I can say with absolute certainty that I would have loved to have a copy of this book when I was about 9 (I was going through a detective phase at the time.) I think this will appeal to middle grade readers (and perhaps even a little younger), especially those who love writing, journals, a mysteries.

This one got my attention with he premise, a girl that love to play detective and wants to be a writer, so nice actually.

The first story was so amazing, really made me think what this mr. mysterious was and what he was doing, even thought for a moment he was a bad guy at any point since it was so shush and all.
Loved the idea of a very different museum was pretty awesome and cool, at the end it was heartwarming and nice.

The second story was heartbreaking in a good way actually, really liked the ideas of encrypted messages it's a good way to go and the mention of the II world war awesome, there's so much interesting things in that period.

The illustrations were fantastic, really well done and cozy it was an experience, perfect for middle graders or just lovers of art and good stories.

Cici is a very curious little girl. She dreams of being writer, much like her neighbor. Cici is very interested in the lives of those around her, and enjoys making up stories about them. She uses her journal to practice writing and solve mysteries.

I really like Cici’s character. She has a tendency to get lost in her own mind. I was much like Cici when I was younger, though much more introverted. I liked that Cici grew through her journaling and conversations with mentors.

The illustrations in this book were beautiful as well, especially the paintings at the zoo. They really helped bring the story to life. The pages that were from Cici’s journal were really neat as well. It helped the reader get into Cici’s head even more.

Overall this was a very enjoyable graphic novel. I highly recommend it.

I received an ARC of this book for free via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Cici's drawings and the beautiful comic illustrations will capture the attention of young readers as well as spark their creativity.
3.5 stars

Appeal Terms:
Character: flawed, mischievous, quirky,
Storyline and Pace: plot-driven and fast-paced
Tone: sweet, whimsical
Illustration: charming

I thought this book was very heartfelt--I even got a bit misty-eyed at the end! It's really lusciously illustrated and I enjoyed the parts of the journal interspersed between the story which really gave more insight into Cici's character. I would totally read more stories with Cici in her quaint little town.

Potential issues for young readers
It's a bit strange because the main character has a habit of lying to her mother. And really, the lying does not come back to bite her in the end. However, for young Cici, she does go through her own arc of learning about not using people like objects and gaining empathy.

~NetGalley Arc~

Note: I will probably mention this on Tiktok!

I reallly enjoyed this story about Cici, her friends and the mysteries that she discovers and feels compelled to solve. At times she goes to the extreme to do this and learns the consequences of putting these mysteries above all else. She has struggles with friends, her mom and life in general while also navigating the mysteries and writing in her journal. Her journal itself includes pictures, drawings, newspaper clippings and other mixed media elements that will draw in readers and make it feel like an interactive experience. There are also a couple pages that younger readers could customize to feel like they are part of the story. The artwork (as well as what is included on the journal pages) is beautiful and full of whimsy, with a softer color palette that perfectly suits the story and Cici's style.

3.5/5 stars

Readers who are inquisitive about the world around them will like Cici’s inquisitive nature in this graphic novel. Give especially to your readers who have a soft spot for animals.

Joris Chamblain continues Cici’s adventures in this beautiful and charming follow-up. I love the art and style of this series, not to mention the capacity for building imagination, creation, and authoring with your readers.

A welcome addition to classroom libraries, and thanks to First Second for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This collected a couple of sweet, Harriet-the-spy-esque stories about a girl intrigued by everyday mysteries. The translation to English was a little awkward in spots, and the mysterious scenarios were a little unrealistic, but the stories and the art were lovely, and I enjoyed the coverage of Cici's somewhat fraught relationships with her friends and her mother.

Rating: 3.5

Cici’s Journal contains a collection of small stories within. The first volume contains two “mysteries” that Cici is determined to solve about particular elderly from her town. The stories are fun and always contain a deeper message. I liked how parts of the graphic novel were set out like a scrapbook, and the colours / artwork used. Cici also develops as a character throughout the stories. She’s not perfect, and is given time to reflect on some of her wrongdoings and repair relationships that she had neglected.
I would definitely encourage a younger audience to give this a go! I thought it was a well-rounded middle grade read.

I would like to thank First Second for the galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cici's Journal is about a young aspiring writer who is fond of making stories about people she observes. The premise seemed fun, and I really liked how the story was told through Cici's journal. It had various entries, photographs, and news clippings. The novel had two parts, more like two mysteries, where Cici did her investigations to unravel them. I truly enjoyed the two stories, both were warm and quite emotional. On the other hand, the art style was really gorgeous. I really like the warm tones. The illustrations perfectly captured the characters' facial expressions.

The only problem that I had with this graphic novel is how Cici, the main character, was quite hard to like. To be fair, her curious nature was a bit adorable and she definitely had a kind heart who wanted to help other. However, most of the times, her actions were out of line. I did not like how she kept lying to her mother, using her friends to make excuses for her, and even disregarding others' feelings as long as her curiosity was satisfied. Although these issues were eventually addressed at the end, it felt like there weren't that much consequences she had to face because of her actions. I was guessing since Cici was still young, she would eventually learn from this lesson.

Overall, Cici's Journal is a fun mystery read with beautiful illustrations. I enjoyed reading this. I think it will be good if parents read it together with their child.

3.5 stars!

Cici's Journal can best be described as cute. The story was nice. The characters well developed. Art style fit the story very well. It also makes a great transition book from graphic novel to novels.

3 out of 5 stars

DNF the story didn't interest me and I disliked the characters. Some people would love this, but wasn't my cup of tea. Beautiful art!

A fantastically fun graphic novel about a young, aspiring novelist Cici and her adventures solving mysteries around the small town where she and her friends live. There are two mysteries in this volume, the first being about an older gentleman who is always covered in paint and leaves the forest at the same time each day and the second about an older lady whose mystery lies in the library. Both parts of the book were engaging and fun to read. I also loved the characters and thought the mysteries were realistic and fun to figure out. I look forward to reading the next volume!