(*2.75) i want to start out by saying i really enjoyed the art style, especially the use of color to make the emotions feel bigger and more cinematic. however, i do think there are pacing issues that would've made the point about grappling with grief, more specifically learning about someone after they die and how that conflates with a previous version of that person, stronger. there were also smaller themes such as repeating our parents mistakes that i would've likes to read more of.

This graphic novel is beautiful both in its artwork and its plot and characters. Following Ro, a college student who has inherited her grandmother’s house after her recent passing, we see the troubled events her grandmother went through that led up to her existence and why her grandmother had been so hard on her. Theme’s of feminism, queerness, sexual violence, and unlikeable characters all shape the story into a deep and gripping narrative.

However, I do believe that the edition I received as an ebook may be missing its final pages. The page count is over 100 pages off from the description and based on the synopsis, I believe I am missing key character arcs that would add even more to the story. I look forward to hopefully being correct and being able to read on in the future.

This author shows through a graphic novel how the life and decisions of our predecessors have an influence on our own one. How what a grandmother has been through and has been scarred by it, leads to a granddaughter fighting to break the generational cycle. This novel draws parallels between both lives and how they are so alike.

It’s 3,5 ⭐️ for me.
I did feel like there was a lot about the grandmother and even though of course her life and actions are important to understand our main character, I feel like we didn’t get enough of her.
Pure visually, I thought the text balloons when talked about the grandmother’s life weren’t always as clear and easily readable

"Why does a person turn out that way? What has to happen to a person for them to become so isolated?" asks Rocio after her grandmother's funeral, as she rummages through her house, rekindling memories and trying to piece together her grandmother's life. A life full of sadness and disappointment, of forced choices and moments of happiness too rare and too brief. An investigation during which Rocio realizes that there is much in common between her and her grandmother Vilma, and one big difference - these days, women have many more choices - real choices...

The feminist agenda of "Mothballs" is not forced, even if it seems incredible that a woman could suffer so many injustices that seem unacceptable today, but were commonplace in the last century. And yet, Vilma's story is very similar to that of my maternal grandmother, for example: she too was forced to marry out of self-interest, she too suffered because her career was brought to an end and she was forced to become a housewife...

A graphic novel that reminds us all that the rights we consider inalienable today were once just dreams; indeed, they still are in many countries around the world. But if the heart of the story is serious, the way it is told is playful, nostalgic, colorful and sometimes funny, toning down the tragic elements as much as possible, so that the 300+ pages are easy to read and Sole Otero's Argentina is less depressing than it probably was in 2001.
Great read, a must for all girls and boys of today.

Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This didn't influence my opinion in any way.