No way, my dragon trainer also told me that!!

Since my mental health journey is similar to Joanas this was a nice and beautifully illustrated refresher.

Plus, I loved the 'magic, but make it corporate' setting, bc aren't we all just corporate witches doing our silly little office jobs nowadays?

Thanks to NetGalley and OniPress for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Confesso que peguei esse quadrinho achando que seria uma história fofa de uma jovem bruxa enfrentando a vida adulta, mas foi muito mais profundo do que eu esperava. A autora trouxe uma excelente perspectiva sobre essa transição para a vida adulta, falando sobre as dinâmicas do mercado de trabalho, relações de poder, saúde mental e amizade.

Senti falta de mais magia, já que é um mundo de bruxas, mas no geral foi uma excelente leitura. E as ilustrações são muito fofas. Se tiver oportunidade, leia essa HQ, vale muito a pena.

Obrigada #NetGalley e #OniPress pelo ARC.

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Honestly, I picked up this comic thinking it would be a cute story about a young witch facing adulthood, but it was much deeper than I expected. The author brought an excellent perspective on this transition to adulthood, talking about the dynamics of the job market, power relations, mental health and friendship.

I wish there was a little bit more about the magical world, since it's a world of witches, but overall it was an excellent read. And the illustrations are very cute. If you have the opportunity, read this comic, it's worth it.

Thank you #NetGalley and #OniPress for the ARC.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that explores the themes of mental health and good support networks, wishing a lovely magical world.
I loved this story so much and loved the attention to detail within the characters own emotional journey as it reflected my own at points in my life.

Loved to pieces and will be buying a physical copy upon release.

I’m not sure what I expected from <i>I Feel Awful, Thanks</i>, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be that deep. For me, I kind of went into this thinking that it was going to lean more heavily into the fantasy aspect, and instead I find this book his rather an exemplary metaphor for mental health struggles and how we deal with them.

I spent the first few pages of this book feeling a little disappointed, wondering where the more fantasy and magical elements of the story were. It truly felt more like the story of a young girl getting her first job and it not being what she thought it would be, but without the rom-com nature I’ve come to expect from stories that begin that way. After all, I’m not really the sort of person who generally picks up realistic slice-of-life office stories. So to have that out of nowhere, as far as I was concerned, in a book that I expected to be about magic felt a bit odd.

But boy oh boy did my mind change as I worked my way through Joana’s story. <i>I Feel Awful, Thanks</i> takes your typical day-to-day life struggles as they compound, unresolved and seep into impacting everything you touch. Emotions become dragons you can either fear or tame. Experiences all of us might have can build or break us and our decisions to care for ourselves truly informs how healthy a life we will have. We can have the best intentions, but the truth is that we all need support in this journey of life we have.

I was incredibly pleased with how mental health was handled in this book. All of the challenges that Joana faced are challenges that any person could theoretically find themselves dealing with. The support systems she built and the help she sought out portrayed something so viscerally real to me that I truly could not have expected it. And I related so much to a vast amount of what she went through and the feelings she had along the way. I may not have experienced the same things in my life, but I can certainly relate to how the things I faced matched the feeling they left behind and the way we attempted to work through them.

I <i>loved</i> the way our emotions were portrayed in this book, bringing in the magical elements of this world that Lara Pickle built for her readers. Joana’s journey was one that I think anyone who reads this will feel an incredible connection with and I cannot possibly overstate how immeasurably important I think this story will be to so many people. I can definitely say I’ll be recommending it to a lot of people and I may even be purchasing it as a gift for one of my closest friends as I write.

Bravo, Pickle. Bravo.

Thank you Oni-Press for the ARC!

The art in I Feel Awful, Thanks is gorgeous and helps create a cozy atmosphere of magical real and is gorgeous to look at.

The story line, however, is unmatched. Joanna's journey to self-acceptance and self-love is an experience that is incredibly relatable and written in a way that is raw and doesn't undercut the struggles of mental illness. As someone with anxiety, I am always looking for media representations that feel genuine, and I Feel Awful, Thanks is great representation.

I loved how you could visually tell how much Joanna was suffering under the weight of her anxiety and emotions based on how large her emotions chest was and how fractured the panels became around her. It was a devastating, yet perfect, representation of the crushing feeling when everything is closing around you. The on-page therapy sessions were great. This is the most page time I have ever seen given to therapy and I LOVED it. I am pretty sure I've even had some of these same conversations with my therapist.

I appreciated how it was emphasized that friends, diet, positive thinking, etc can not be solutions alone and how supportive her friends were of her healing journey.

I don't have enough words to properly explain what this book meant to me, but it means everything and I will recommend this for the rest of my days.

A beautiful graphic about a young witch who's trying to get the hang of her new job, social life, and loving situation. The major themes of mental health and learning to accept negative feelings and how to manage them instead of suppressing in a magical world really resonated with me as someone who also has challenges with emotional regulation as well. The art and the in world representation of emotions was so wonderfully done and I really felt for the main character throughout. Also, the boss character was so realistically infuriating to the point that I had to put it down a few times and call myself down. This graphic is great for those that love magic but in a more grounded urban setting and strong themes of mental health.

— 4.5 stars ✰

“I feel awful, thanks” is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel set in an enchanting world of witches, centred around a young witch Joana, as she moves from Spain to London and starts to navigate her adult life. It showcases therapy and how important it is to deal with your emotions rather than suppressing them until they boil over. It is very common for people to pretend they are fine and try to put a positive spin on every situation. Whilst this can be healthy, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that sometimes you need to take time to let yourself feel all of the negatives, to process them instead of hiding away before emotions become too overwhelming.

Through the eyes of Joana, who is working for a witchy laboratory type company, Lara Pickle depicts primary emotions such as anger, happiness, sadness and explores the reasons behind them existing, without sounding too preachy. We follow Joana as she deals with drama from a new flatmate, manages relationships with people surrounding her and mitigates undesirable workplace dynamics. This graphic novel is a journey of self-acceptance and learning to love yourself while figuring out how to deal with unwanted feelings.

I really recommend this both to teenagers and adults, it was such a cozy read with adorable illustrations and vibrant characters.

“I feel awful, thanks” is both an inspirational and a fun read, which may teach readers a few things in an engaging way. And it had references to The Princess Bride, so extra points for that!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing me with early access to this amazing story, I really appreciated it!!

As someone who suffers with depression and anxiety I really felt like I connected with the main character here. I’ve also been through a work issue just like her and every emotion she went though, I went through. I also went to therapy in which I went through the figuring out like our main character. Basically I’m trying to say that the author did her research and portrayed the emotions well. I also loved the fact this was told in a witchy world of which I’d love to see a full novel set in.

4.5 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

Thanks NetGalley, Oni Press publisher, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

🧠 My thoughts
Have you ever felt like everything in your life has been going wrong in your 20s? Work, colleagues, bosses, roommates, relationships, everything is just a mess? If yes, this book is your comfort zone.

I'm so glad I had a chance to read this comic. It's therapy in disguise. Reading this, I felt like the author was telling my story. I'm sure many of you would feel like this too because of all of the things that happened in the comic, we all had been there one way or another. I wish I could have read this comic when I was in my early 20s. The artwork was so cute and easy to read. I'm just amazed.

👍 What I like
- Nostalgic and comforting feelings
- Stunning and clear artwork, easy-to-read texts
- Meaningful and related story
- Therapy in disguise. Trust me this book can save you a lot of money for therapy
- Nice world-building

👎 What I don't like
- Maybe the story is a bit long for a comic

Joana is a young witch who moves to London to pursue her career in potion making. She quickly finds that city life is hard and building professional relationships is even harder. Joana eventually develops friends who support her while things with her boss go downhill. Joana sees a therapy witch to help sort out her feelings, learn how to manage her "dragons," and help her keep her emotional health on track.

I love the story overall, but I especially love the mental health message. Joana starts off pretty toxically positive and finds that in her new environment she is no longer able to force herself into happiness. This is where the illustrations begin to shine. You notice her world cracking around her, you notice a large bag that she carries beginning to peak open, you see colors start to spill out. She shoves them all back in and tells herself that she's fine and everything is ok. But it isn't. Those colorful dragons are tired of being locked up and they want out. Now!

This beautiful graphic novel is written for young adults, but would really work for most everyone. I will be buying it for my library collection and for my teenage daughter when it's released. I think it's a lovely way to explore mental health, while also maintaining a story rich with romance, friendship, work drama, and more.

Big thanks to Oni Press Productions and NetGalley for the egalley copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary.

At first I found the main character annoying, but I appreciated her growth through the book. I believe this is something a lot of people go through and it isn't really talked about.

Highly recommend this book for young women (teens to early 20s).

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary

The synopsis tells the tale accurately. It's a book about how capturing one's dream can come with its own challenges, especially internally. Relaying the importance of not losing sight of achieving said dream, or yourself, e.g. self-care.

It was a good read.

I enjoyed this book and really loved the style that it was written in, even if it’s not my usual go to.

I really loved the theme and the way it was explored.
Seeing Joanna’s journey of self love was wholesome and something that so many people go through.

Wonderful graphic novel about self acceptance, self-love and learning to understand yourself better.
The message of this graphic novel was beautifully wrapped with gorgeous artwork and a very good storyline. I loved every single page of it. The characters were nothing but lovable from page one and I learned so many things about handling your emotions and dealing with them. I actually kind of needed that and I’m glad I read this graphic novel!!
Highly highly recommend it to people struggling with those things too.

Wow never have I felt more heard in a graphic novel before. In this translated graphic novel we follow Joana a witch who after landing her dream job moves to London. But with this comes a list of challenges that at times becomes overwhelming for her. She must learn to face her dragons. With the help of a mind witch she learns that all emotions good and bad have a purpose some are to protect others allow us to embrace the world in front. I felt so connected to this character as someone who struggles with mental health this gave me a whole other perspective to the emotions I struggled with more I definitely think I will start making my own appreciation lists . Thankyou for giving people like me a voice and making us feel validated so well

Joana has just landed her dream job and can't wait to get her first apartment in the magical city of London. Her first week at work lands her in trouble with her team lead, however, and even though she finds some supportive friends, both her roommate, her work team, and even her budding romance wear on her until she isn't sure she'll ever be happy again. Joana does her best to beat the sadness and irritability, but without help, she might as well just give up on her dreams.

First off, the illustrations are adorable. I love Joana and her friends with their cute clothes and excellent sense of witchy fashion. You can tell right away that this story comes from a passionate author with real experience to draw from. The therapy sessions feel a bit overexplained and consequently slow, but I'll give this book credit for explaining a number of coping techniques clearly and in context. The magic is well-integrated, and the characters well-crafted. Overall, this is a charming tale with a deep understanding of anxiety. I'd definitely recommend it to older students and anyone who could benefit from the reassurance that they aren't alone facing discrimination and incompatibility.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. The artwork is gorgeous and I loved all the witchy things and the message behind it. I'm going to buy a copy of this for my son when it comes out, because I think he will both love this and needs it.

This is a really beautifully drawn story about a girl named Joana. It follows her as she starts a new job and she starts to struggle with some deep negative emotions and how it affects her because she just keeps punching her feelings down and locking them into a box. This is definitely a really great story for anyone who is struggling with this kind of mental health. The story mixes some serious topics with a mix of magic and fantasy. The way they describe emotions and explain each one I thought was amazing. I have a son who struggles with understanding his emotions and I think this book would be great for him and anyone else who struggles with this as well. Would definitely recommend this story to older elementary, middle school, high school and even adults.

I Feel Awful, Thanks focuses on Joana, a young witch who moves to London to begin working as a potions master at WitchCo. But city life isn't what it's cracked up to be for Joana. She struggles to find an apartment, is bullied and undermined by her boss at work, and has a hard time managing her emotions. Over time, Joana's feelings grow completely out of control and turn into dragons. As work worsens and her relationships fall apart, Joana's dragons come out more and more. Finally, Joana begins working with a "dragon trainer" so that she can begin setting boundaries and learning to manage her "dragons." It's a sweet story and I think it might be appreciated by a young adult audience, but I found the plot to be quite didactic. The "dragon trainer" is essentially a therapist and readers end up spending quite a bit of time reading about these training sessions. It felt very much like reading an argument to go to therapy. Maybe it's just because I don't personally need to be convinced to attend therapy, but this part of the plot felt preachy. I think teens will probably enjoy the magic element and reading about life in the big city. And it may help those who don't understand the value of therapy.

Everything is going exactly the way Joana hoped. She got her dream job in her dream city and now she is moving to London to start her career as a young witch in the big city. But from her first day of work, her job in the potions department of Witch Co. is not what she expected -- her teammates are unfriendly and her boss is unwelcoming. When she finally finds an apartment, her roommate is a demanding clean freak who pesters Jo about every single thing. Though she is able to make friends and find a boyfriend, Jo struggles to keep her mental health in shape and struggles. After a dramatic incident at work, Jo seeks therapy to learn to manage and live in harmony with her emotions.
This graphic novel didn't go exactly where I expected it to go, but I liked the world building and the therapy work quite a bit. I think there may have been some translation issues, because I struggled with some of the diction a little bit. Overall, I liked this nuanced, witchy read and think it represents new adult life really well.