Gosh, this was a good book. I didn't love the art but a wonderful look at family and exploring grief.

Thanks so much NetGalley!
I loved the way this book explored trauma and I’m going to recommend it to my mother because I think she’d find some healing from it. I, too, found some healing from it because I’ve had similar experiences to the main character.
I think one of the best things about Mothballs is that it adds cultural context to things that are inherently Argentinian! I’m Mexican-American, and while there’s overlap between cultures I don’t know a lot about Argentinian media. But whenever they referenced a magazine or a type of candy in Argentina, they’d always add a little not at the bottom of the page to clarify. Greatly appreciated it 10/10! And super super fun character design, I loved the big body/little head people and the CAT was such a good character.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ePub!

Mothballs by Sole Otero is a truly heart-wrenching experience in graphic novel format and deeply personal to me now. I’ve lost grandparents before, and I learned so much of their lives only after they passed. In that sense I was able to connect to the main character, Rocio, as she spent the entirety of the graphic novel trying to unravel the secrets her grandmother left behind.

The Good: The art style was very unique. I loved seeing the very large bodies and small heads, and I adored the use of color and how it changed depending on what narrative was being explored. I thought it did a phenomenal job exploring the trickle-down effect of generational trauma, and how it negatively impacts generations to come unless healing occurs.

The Critiques: I don’t have many issues with this book, but I do think that the cursive writing becomes difficult to read at times. About half of the story is written using the cursive handwriting, and while I understand it’s likely to give it a handwritten feel, it’s a little inaccessible.

All in all, I thought Mothballs was a great read. While NetGalley did not have the original Spanish copy of the story, I absolutely plan on reading Naftalina when it’s published in 2024 to compare the translation with the original text!

⅘ stars.

I’d love to read Naftalina to compare the English translation with the original Spanish writing :)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

5/5 stars overall
5/5 stars for art
4/5 stars for story

Wow. A gut punch for sure. Mothballs follows Rocio as she moves into her recently departed Grandmother's house, where she works through her grief and learns her grandmother's life story. Sole Otero's art style is gorgeous and kind of funky; everyone has a very tiny head compared to very large bodies. I loved it. The colors were deeply saturated, and I found it a bold but effective choice to have no separation between panels. Truly a remarkable graphic novel, one that I definitely recommend to those who love graphic novels, as well as to those who aren't as familiar with the genre.

(*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.