A soulful graphic novel about reconnecting with nature and it's healing ways to soothe us after a burn out. The graphical renditions were cute and I clearly loved the soothing vibe of the book.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing the ARC of this book for the reviewers.

In this graphic novel first we start to follow Amalia's chaotic life. She is actually on the verge of burnout because of the troubles she is trying to overcome in regards to family issues, workload and health problems. On the other hand, environmental degradation is pestering the world and Amalia's family suffer the consequences like other people.

I think the author tried to deal with many complex issues at the same time and her suggestions remained superficial. She tries to tackle pollution, negative impact of social media, shady business practices, disconnection from nature, weakening of family ties, etc. I appreciate idea but the execution has fallen short.

When it comes to artistic style, it did not blow me away. My biggest issue was the lettering. It was in cursive and very hard to read. If the letters were darker, maybe I would have read more easily.

When you have a young family, you hardly sleep, have your job full of responsibilities and growing duties, you're always running around from schools to doctors to worry about the future of your kids, your own, mortgage/rent, nature going sideways, things never changing for the better... when all of this is happening in your life, this comic book hits close to home. This is anticipation, not in the far future, but in a very close future we can already picture quite vividly, and it's not pretty.
The message is very sweet though, and you feel the stress elevating as you read and you wonder when it's going to blow and what's going to happen... the conclusion is so simple and an age-old tale, but we keep on forgetting the important messages.
The drawings are very loose and reminiscent of newspaper caricatures. There is something very nervous that fits the tone, quickly sketching the world in a gloom brush, but also loose enough to change the expectations and flow into something else, something aspiring to be closer to nature.
A good graphic novel to think about the world, and where we want to go with it and how we want to be with our kids, how we want the future to look like, and what are the things that unite us. Not the most accessible tale, I don't think it will talk to people under 25, but one that deserves to be out there. A really interesting read.

Synopsis:
Amalia is burnt out by her career, family & surroundings. She is done- how does she bounce back...let's see......

This was such a great read 🤩🤩🤩

An absolute favorite for me. It discussed so many issues like the addiction of technology in our daily lives, environmental pollution, stress, need for self love, how we try to be different but somehow we all end up being the same.

I felt that I had to re-analysis my life and the need to cut back from all this tension & stress. It also made me realize that if we give love and care for nature it will definitely love us back.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Read for sure 🥰🥰🥰

Meet Amalia, trying to do it all. Work full time, as the head of her team keeping everyone on track. A full time mom, with a toddler and a teenage stepdaughter who comes and goes as she pleases. A wife, trying to make sure her and her husband spend time together. Plus the house, cooking, cleaning, chores, she tries to do it all!
That is until she is diagnosed with burnout.

She takes a stepback, the household adjusts, and they attempt to enjoy life with a different perspective and goals in mind.

We see a little of everyone's world, although Amalia is the main focus. I found the story interesting and almost sweet in a sort of relatable way.
Amalia is a slow burn of a story. A good half of the book is spent building up to diagnosing Amalia's burnout, followed by what to do. Good for an afternoon read that may cause you to think about life.

Definitely targeted at an older audience to relate to the slice of life topics and experiences.

**Thank you to Europe Comics and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

A charming and impactful slice-of-life graphic novel, Amalia explored topics of burnout, stress, family issues and environmental issues in a way that was overall easy to connect to. I enjoyed the overall theme and the more hard-hitting portions of the novel; this book did a great job portraying what burnout feels like, and how all the contributing factors of being a mother, homemaker, businesswoman, etc. play into that. I also loved how the background imagery was illustrated, but wasn’t as big of a fan of how facial expressions were illustrated. In addition, portions of the dialogue felt stilted or unrealistic.

A sweet graphic novel dealing with the often less explored topic of burnout. Amalia is churning in her life as being a career-woman, a toddlers mom and a wife till she reaches the point of collapse and is learns the importance of slowing down, along this also learning and relearning the collapse of our nature produces and going back to the simplistic joys of connecting back to nature and herself.

An interesting story about a woman who tries to do too much and then suffers from burnout. Job, child, husband, step-daughter, housework and life all over spill and suddenly she realises she needs to change her priorities. The artwork is good and the story is ok but not particularly gripping.it is a nice enough graphic novel.

A feel-good graphic novel about dealing with burnout and the importance of slowing down and finding something that makes you happy.
Short and sweet.

This was such a cute and interesting graphic novel. I found myself in Amalia in how she felt having to be attentive to everyone and everything. Barely getting help or having time for yourself. I recommend 👍🏽

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for a honest review.

I really enjoy this story. A slice-of-life graphic novel, Amalia explored topics of burnout, stress, family issues and environmental issues in a way that was really easy to connect to.
Amalia is the mother of 4 year old Lili and stepmother of 17-year-old Nora. She has a full-time job and always running around doing tasks and chores. Her husband is also not much help.
It was so real and amazing how it makes you think about so many things that happen every day.

A very interesting story that I absolutely recommend to understand everyone's daily life well.

I have to admit, it took some time for this book to grow on me. While I found the illustrations dynamic and fun, I wasn't initially a fan of the style. But, by about the middle of the book I started to see that the art style really served the story that was being told. This is the quintessential comic for the 2020s. It's like a metaphor for the existential dread and burnout we're all feeling as the world begins to feel more and more like it's giving us more than we can handle. In some ways, the story being told here is really dark and depressing, but it's masked by simple and fun art that feels more like something you'd ready from the Sunday comics than a graphical novel about ecological disaster and depression. And, I think that happens to be the perfect way to illustrate this book about a family and a woman struggling to deal with work, family, acceptance, self-assurance, and the seemingly constant stream of bad news filling our days.

Thank you Europe Comics for the ARC of the wonderful book.

A whimsical and beautifully illustrated tale of a burnt-out mom and the story of how she got her life back.

It's a lighthearted tale that's full of comic moments, yet it touches on deeper issues like social media addiction and climate change.

The beautiful artwork makes this a real pleasure to read.

**Thank you to NetGalley AND Europe Comics for this ARC**

This was a very realistic depiction of the constant stress we are under, with jobs always demanding more for the same income, ecological crisis... it's no wonder that our main character is burnout.

What is interesting is the way in which this author resolved, at least somewhat, this situation, which is to slow down, learn from nature in that way, and look around you at the beauty of everyday life. The characters find out what they are truly interested in and make time for that in the middle of all of the pressures of living in a capitalistic society. They are true to themselves.

The graphic novel Amalia is a slice-of-life story about Amalia and her family who are going through a difficult period of time. Amalia is the mother, and she gives us the ideal depiction of her hectic daily schedule as she struggles to maintain order at home with her children and husband but lacks the stamina to do so. As the plot develops, you realize that for them, taking a step back and reassessing things might be crucial sometimes. Overall, I thought the novel was entertaining, and I believe it would make a great book for anyone going through stress or burnout.

This graphic novel was extremely relatable! It is the story of Amalia a middle aged mother of a preschooler and teenage step-daughter who is dealing with the stress of her job, family, and life in general during the time of Covid. Even if you can’t relate to all aspects of Amalia’s life, something is sure to resonate with you.

The illustrations were simple, but got the point across. I felt the text was aesthetically pleasing to look at, but difficult to read at times.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The artwork in this graphic novel was beautiful and the plot was relatable. This is a very relaxing and reflective novel, I would recommend to others.

A story of a family who struggles to balance their life, career, & health. Each family member experienced some sort of stress and burnout.

Relatable story that could be happening to any family even today. A good short graphic family story which you can enjoy in one sitting.

Thank you Europe Comics & Netgalley for a copy.


3.8/5 stars

Thank you Net galley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for a honest review.

What a short yet impactful read! Exploring the themes of burnout, constant stress over perfectionism as well as family issues and environmental problems Amalia takes you through a perfectly paced journey of a family struggling with daily life. My only complain was that due to the font the book was hard to read at times and although I understand it was for aesthetic purposes it was still annoying at times.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Amalia in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this was a charming graphic novel, while I didn't connect with Amalia's specific struggles of motherhood, I could connect with the feeling of pressure and stress coming from all sides. I felt like her journey to peace was an important one that would resonate with anyone dealing with mental health issues, but especially adult women with families. I overall enjoyed the art style and found the expressions, in particular, to be very clear and effective. I also enjoyed the main character, her daughter, and her stepdaughter. I enjoyed observing the evolution of their characters as they developed with clear character arcs (to the extent a toddler can, in the case of the daughter).

A major criticism I had was the font choice for the dialogue. While it looked pretty with the open-style pages, it was very hard to read at times, especially when reading digitally. It took away from my ease in reading as I had to zoom and squint to decipher the artistic font. I also disliked the character of the husband and felt that he was not nearly as complex and developed as the others.

Overall it was a sweet and meaningful graphic novel that I enjoyed, but had some trouble reading and connecting with.