The illustrations in this graphic novel are exceptionally beautiful. The vibrant colors on the cover immediately caught my eye and drew me to it. I enjoyed the story line of Elle joining a new school and making friends, although the double page spread showing their friendship evolving confused the timing for me. I like how Elle's different personalities were shown with different colors of her hair. I found the ending to be rather abrupt and think that my students would be frustrated with the cliff hanger.

I love this, but why does it end that way???!!! Why!!?!??? This is around 100 pages, so I guess it makes sense that it ends on a cliffhanger, but I was having such a good time reading this and the end came in and slapped in the face!!!

Even with that happening, I really enjoyed this!! The art was great, the storyline is really unique and I love all the characters!!! (Besides those crappy popular girls, don’t like them at all) I am seriously in need of the next installment. Elle is just so awesome, even considering everything that’s going on with her. And I totally want her to get together with a specific character, and it’s not Otis!!

Anyway, I totally recommend this to graphic novel lovers who enjoy unexplained complications, amazing friends and color illustrations!!!! It’s all so vivid and beautiful!!! Ugh, I just love it!!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Europe Comics for allowing me to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Will be posted on my blog and Amazon shortly.

This was adorable 😍 I don't often read graphic novels or comics, but when I do my artsy self can't help but note all the little illustrations and color choices and wow this book was amazing. So beautifully illustrated and the story was so cute. A very nice depiction of a split personality!

This is a beautiful comic book about Elle, a teenager dealing a multiple personality disorder who has just moved to a new school. She has a supportive group of friends who are learning to support Elle as she deals with her different personalities. There's also a bit of mystery and suspense thrown in as well!

I'm new to this form of story, but I have followed Aveline Stokart for a while and have loved the way she approaches drawing. She did not disappoint in this book--the characters are beautifully illustrated, and I love how Stokart has captured a teenager who dealing with a disorder that is more rare. I also really liked Elle's group of friends and the way that they have embraced Elle and are doing their best to help her. The story pauses at a bit of a cliffhanger, so I look forward to seeing what will happen next!

A big thank you to Kid Toussain, Aveline Stokart, Europe Comics, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review this comic book!

This is a cute little novella about friendship and recommended for kids of all ages. Elle moves to new school and quickly makes friends in class that is until the stress of everything get to her and we found out about her personalities. All the kids at school including her friends start distancing away from her but one of her new friends sticks around and helps her understand what is going on with her. The story ends way to quickly though and we are left with a cliffhanger.

Book: Elle(s)[1. The New Girl]
Author: Kid Toussain
Illustrator: Aveline Stokart
.
Description:
Elle is just another teenage girl… most of the time. Bubbly and good-natured, she wastes no time making friends on her first day at her new school. But Elle has a secret: she hasn’t come alone. She’s brought with her a colorful mix of personalities, which come out when she least expects it… Who is Elle, really? And will her new friends stand by her when they find out the truth?
.
🌼 The book is about Elle who is suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder. Different sides of her personality comes out based on her mood. And when she comes across a truth, she questions herself if she knows who she really is.
🌼 I loved the book. Everything about it was amazing. But it was too short and I can't wait to read the upcoming parts.
🌼 My favorite part of the book was the artwork. It was so dreamy and beautiful. It have to be my favorite artwork seen till now in graphic novels.
🌼 The friendship we see with these group of characters are so nice; we get to really feel the emotion that they’re feeling for each other.
🌼At last, it was topped with a supernatural hint which worked as icing on the cake.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of the graphic novel Elle(s) I really enjoyed this one. It is about a new girl in school who suffers from bipolar disorder. I'll have to keep up with this series, as this is the first one in the series.

Let me start off this review by saying the art in this graphic novel is GORGEOUS. I absolutely love the coloring and the characters look amazing! That aside, the story was extremely rushed and underdeveloped. New girl Elle is welcomed to her new school by a fun mix of friends and their group gets along until Elle's other personalities surface. Will she be able to uncover the reasons behind these personalities? Will her friend group stick with her? Do I care? That last question seems a bit tough to answer, but I'm willing to give the second book a shot.

This comic has an absolutely stunning art style, it's very pretty and enhances the storytelling. I never felt like the characters 'overacted' when it came to their facial expressions, which I really enjoyed. The characters faces did remind me of the art style Disney is currently using, but it's pretty either way.

The story overall was cute and flowed nicely, I especially loved the supporting cast. It was made up out of very lovable characters you wanna be friends with. That little becoming friends 'montage' was super cute and endearing!

I liked the hint of something supernatural/magic that came up during the story and the great cliffhanger.

I cannot speak on the portrayal of DID in this story or how it was handled.

First of all, I have to praise the illustrator. I think I could reread this over and over for the art style and coloring alone! I also really loved the character designs. The only thing I’d like to criticize here is the fact that there weren’t a lot of clear transitions or wide shots, which meant that characters would appear out of nowhere and I was confused about time.

Which brings me to my next point: Linotte. Linotte is one of Elle’s new friends, and while she’s probably a really nice girl, she is also confused about time (and basically everything else in life) and that seems to be her only character trait. I’m not a big fan of spacey characters who don’t have anything else going for them, but I hope there will be some development in the sequel. I really liked Elle’s other friends, (especially Maëlys!) and I hope they’ll get to have their own little side character arcs in the future.

The mental health aspect of this story is very important, but as I don’t have any personal experience with the things Elle is dealing with, I don’t feel comfortable commenting on the accuracy of their portrayal. I have to say though, I will be deeply disappointed if her mental health stuff ends up getting explained away by supernatural causes, instead of focussing on the very real impact (undiagnosed) DID can have on someone’s life, and the trauma it stems from.

That being said, I’m already looking forward to reading the next part of this series!

Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me with an eARC of this graphic novel in exchange for a honest review.

Elle(s) is about Elle, a teenager girl suffering from bipolar disorder and each of her mood swings presents itself as her hair changing color. Each mood has a specific personality which was really interesting.

I haven't read a lot about bipolar disorder and I don't have it so I can't comment on the representation, but the way that it is written did gives me Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes or maybe that was just because Elle does remind me of certain comic version of Willow from the series.

Another interesting part of the story is how she quickly she changes and it's more of a graphical change for the reader to notice her different colored hair, but it is kind of touched on by one of the characters, but her friends do notice the stark differences each time something triggers a mood swing.

It was a really interesting comic and there seems to be an almost fantastical element woven into the story as well. I can't wait to see what happens next.

This was surprisingly really cute! I really loved the art style of this.
The beginning was a bit confusing because I was trying to figure out what the plot was. But as it went on it had some good conversations about multiple personality disorder & the ending made me want more!

I loved the art style of this book, it is honestly what initially drew me into looking into this book.
Followed by seeing that this book was tackling the topic of Mental Health. I was further drawn in.

I found it interesting, but in the end I felt myself concerned that this may be a less then faithful portrayal of mental illness overall. What is shown looks more similar to what I've heard about DID but I could be incorrect.

Paired with the less then helpful (or even supportive) adults in Elle's life. Honestly I could have let it slide if at least Elle's Psychologist(?) had been at least been shown as being moderately helpful..

Right now I'm uncertain as to whether I would pursue the sequel or not.

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

At it's heart, Elle(s) is about a teen who moves to a new school, and about the friendships she makes there.
There was a lot I loved about this graphic novel. The artwork and colours were super cute and appealing. I thought the characters were wonderful, and I really liked the friendships between Elle and the other kids in her group, especially Maelys. They are so supportive of Elle, and it's wonderful to have that sort of representation for young readers.

I do think more time could have been spent on developing these relationships, as this was conveyed to the reader in a two to three page spread of 'photographs.' This also meant I was unsure how much time had passed between the prologue section and the main story. Still, I understand there are constraints when telling a story, especially in graphic novel form.

I was intrigued by the story, and I read it in one sitting, because I just wanted to know what was going to happen. I was fully invested in Elle and her friends, and the answers they are looking for.

So why didn't I rate this higher?

Mostly due to the mental illness representation. I'm a bit on the fence about it. Many other reviewers are saying that Elle has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), because the book description talks about Elle having five other 'personalities.' But Elle has actually been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (although she doesn't believe it.)
And here is where my concerns are. If she does have DID, then I don't think this is positive representation, because it seems a bit like a gimmick, The symptoms also don't really track with DID. Usually it stems from childhood trauma (like abuse), and often the person has episodes of amnesia while their alters are in control. Whereas Elle describes her dissociation more as watching someone else using her body.

Each 'personality' is distinguished by hair colour; pink is normal Elle; blonde is competitive, pretentious and aggressive; green is silent, protective, and strong; brunette is super sensitive, musical, poetic, timid and emotional; purple is funny, carefree and artistic; and blue seems to be angry and destructive, but is lurking in Elle's mind, waiting to take control of her body.

The thing is, if Elle does have Bipolar (as diagnosed) with dissociative episodes, then I think this is actually pretty decent rep. If her moods are what are represented (various iterations of mania or depression), rather than discrete "personalities", then I think this is a really fantastic way to show those in a visual way. It would mean that her blonde, purple, and blue moods are manifestations of mania, while her brunette and green moods are her depression. This volume also explores the impact it has on Elle and the people around her. It affects her moods, her relationships, her self-esteem, as well as her productivity.

So until I read the next instalment, I am unable to say whether or not I would recommend this series. It's highly dependent on where the author decides to go with Elle's story.

This book really grabbed my attention with its’ beautiful art. I loved the colors, art style, character designs, … Basically all the visuals. The story was enjoyable too, but I can’t say I was impressed.
I’m curious to see in which direction this series will go. There were some hints of more Sci-Fi elements but I really hope Elle’s personality disorder remains a focal point. I also hope we get to see more of the side characters, because now they felt a bit one-dimensional.

Beautiful artistry and an interesting topic for teens. I think mental health should appear in the story lines of all genres that young adults read.

I admit I didn't understand the character of Linotte. If this is world building I look forward to learning about her, if it is not, please explain her to me.

This is such an interesting concept. I loved the art and the storyline so much.
There are a few instances where it’s a bit confusing but overall such a cool story.
I cannot wait for the next part!


#EllesComics #NetGalley

I truly enjoyed this story, and the concept of switching between each of Elle's different 'selves'.
While within in the story, Elle's psychologist thinks she may have 'Bi-Polar Disorder', however I've heard rumors that it is actually 'Dissociative Identity Order'; which I believe is true.

Elle, the new girl at school, seems like any regular, normal girl. She makes friends easily enough, she's smart and witty, and deals with stress like anyone else. But unlike everyone else, when Elle becomes too stressed out, it's almost as if she turns into a different person entirely.

We watch Elle's life as she proceeds day-to-day, swapping through different selves (visualized through changing Elle's hair color).

First of all, let me mention how much I love the art style and the colours used in the illustrations of this graphic novel! The premise of the story was an interesting and unique one. The book focusses on the topic of friendship and mental health especially what seems to be dissociative identity disorder which is a topic i've studied in school and have always been interested in, hence why i requested an ARC of this book. Sadly, the book just didn't do it for me, I was expecting way more; everything felt rushed and nothing was discussed in the depths i would have wanted, the book felt like a first draft rather than a well fleshed story and left me with wanting more than what I was giving by the authors. I stand by the fact that i think it had the potential to be more than what it was and perhaps with a more in depth sequel it could be redeemable. My rating for this book is either a 2.5 stars or a 3 stars out of 5. I'm still deciding whether i will be picking up the sequel or not.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It was a very quick read but it was one that I had to complete in one sitting as it was too addicting to put down. The book follows the story of Elle who is struggling with her multiple personalities and moods. Elle is dealing with issues surrounding friendship, family and mental health. The artwork is absolutely stunning and perfectly captures the multiple personalities/moods a person may have. Overall, I enjoyed this book!