I didn't know anything about this book upfront, just that it was a graphic novel and it was about life in Seoul, both of which I usually like.

The author Samir Dahmani's name is obviously not Korean, so when I figured out that this was a story that takes place in Seoul, has only female Korean characters, and is actually about a queer experience between those characters, I got pretty skeptical. I thought that maybe the author lived there for a very long time (he didn't, as far as I could tell) or maybe he's queer. I wasn't able to find too much information about the author so I won't judge these aspects for now but I'm still not sure why he felt like telling this particular story and not something he experienced as a foreign person when he lived there.

I also wasn't sure what the point of this story was. It had quite a few problematic elements and it actually paints queer relationships in a pretty bad light.

What I did like was the art style, I just love the dreamy watercolor. The fact that the entire story takes place during the nighttime also appealed to me, as well as the moody, lonesome cityscapes.

I didn't really mind reading this as it took less than an hour to finish but it's not something I'll ever return to or gained a lot from.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Humanoids Inc, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

*****Thank you Net Galley for this e-arc*****
I enjoyed the muted artwork and the main theme of this story, but I don't think this was as impactful as it was meant to be. I wanted to end this book with some kind of after though but all I though was, "okay what did I just read?". So, I am not sure how to feel about this one. The artwork was beautiful and the muted colors helped present the sadness of the story and growing pains.

Sorry, this was a bad choice on my part. The water colours were the best because the airy fairy ghost painting walls was to far out for me. The lesbian story at the start and the convoluted coming of age did not help.
An independent review for NetGally /+ Life Drawn

I didn't really enjoy this one much, it was too surreal and didn't explain enough of what was going on. I had a hard time connecting with the main character, and couldn't really follow the relations between some of these characters, or the reasons behind some of their actions. The art was the best point for me, it was very atmospheric, relying on dark colors and cool tones which seemed to match the mood really well.

MMM. I don't know how to express what I felt when reading this graphic novel. Confusion will be 80% of what I felt and then a total disconnection with the characters, and this is something totally personal (the above too, but this more than anything), I did not feel comfortable with the illustrations.

Seoul Before Sunrise is a graphic novel that I think only the author can understand 100%. That's wrong? Partly. I have read novels and I have seen many movies where I feel that I really do not fully understand what the author wants to tell us. And it's not bad, it leaves us thinking. But when most of the time I'm reading is confusion and I don't understand which way he wants to go or tell us... it's strange.

I liked it because it is a journey of self-discovery on the part of the protagonist and I felt that it was good in that sense. Beyond that, I didn't connect at all and I didn't feel motivated to read it.

Thank you Humanoids Inc | Life Drawn by the ARC I read on NetGalley.

This book was both muted and understated. In tone and illustration style, it was a bit dark and introspective. It draws the reader is as you begin to notice the little things even in the subtleties.
It challenges you to inspect your own life with the main character as she embarks on a journey of self discovery in this coming of age story.
Thank you for the eARC!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So, to start with, let’s talk about the art and decision to use watercolors, because holy crap was this a gorgeous read! The art was absolutely beautiful and gave off a dreamy vibe that won me over immediately. The art alone bumps this graphic novel up to three stars. I just wish the plot was cohesive enough to warrant a higher rating.

The writing itself wasn’t bad. The dialogue was good, very easy to read and it felt very natural; the characters were also well-developed, which was impressive considering how short the novel was. The pacing was interesting in that there were quite a lot of time skips, so it felt overall more like a series of vignettes rather than a story set within a specific timeline. The biggest issue I had with this novel was the ending.

The ending was so lackluster that it almost felt insulting. There is zero sense of closure, it ends on what couldn’t even be described as a cliffhanger but instead was more like leaving a sentence half-written…If this were the first part of a series, I’d be willing to give it more grace. But as it was, the ending ruined so much of the book’s introspection and dreaminess that I can’t bring myself to rate it any higher. It wasn’t a bad read, and it was all lovely on the eyes, but it wasn’t a good read either. It was just okay.

Haunted by a lost friendship, Seong-Ji (re)discovers herself during nocturnal exploration of a dreamlike Seoul.
A story about mourning a lost friendship, growing into adulthood and learning more about oneself. I really liked the art style of this book, I think it fit well with the story and just brought the vibes to life. I also liked having little notes included to help the reader - even though I think it'd be ok if they weren't there. The story was short but is pretty deep. "When you think about it, it actually doesn't take much -- one or two degrees difference. A tiny detail that changes everything."

Beautiful artwork, but the story did not move me as much as I had hoped. only bc of the artwork did I manage to finish, but the artwork was so beautiful and subtle and detailed yet simple. i love that sketched look very much!

I hoped to get more info on Seoul as it is a place that interests me, but it was not the book for that.

Friendship can be uneven - one always gives more than the other. That’s the discovery a teenage girl makes as high school ends and her best friend, the one she exchanged texts all day long, vanishes from her life. Despite their shared childhood, despite all the “best friends forever” reassurances and the cosmetic surgery they did together.

Working by night to pay for college doesn’t help, as she has a lot of time to wade further down into depression. Until she befriends a mysterious woman that takes her on a voyage of discovery… After all, there are treasures that only the night reveals.

A poetic investigation of discovering one’s own sexuality, and a cold shower on teenage dreams. Well, 99% of the time, first love isn’t all that amazing, you know? :)

Loved the art, loved the story, but this never straddles into "very good" territory, and the second ending doesn't help either. So only three stars (remember, that's "good" on Goodreads).

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

one thing i'll say about this book is that it is a brilliant story !! i love every detail and it gave chills with every page omg i can’t even tell you how uneasy i was reading this (in a good way of course. it’s a nice element to it !) it kept me wanting to know more with every scene.

this book is about a girl and her relationship with a friend so dear to her and her struggles to cope up with the fact that they won't be together forever. and so with that, she meets a woman she calls a "ghost" who likes to sneak into people's houses to sit there and observe the life those people are living so she can find out why was she so out of touch with society.

this book greatly portrayed what it takes for you to be able to find yourself. sometimes, it is through rejection. sometimes experiences, sometimes it's through solitude, and sometimes it's through people. i love how my mind interpreted this book to be honest <3 i love everything about this book.
it's fast paced, yes, but it didn't feel rushed.

i actually thought the book has some paranormal ingredient to it (though it can be, it's up to your interpretation really) but personally, i do feel like it's all a metaphor. i gave this a five star because i can't stop thinking about AT ALL. the moment i finished the book, the ending is all i could think about HELP

the ending was.. something else.. it's kind of creepy but like it's really not. it's just confusing if you look into it without trying to understand what's the meaning behind it. for me, the meaning behind the ending is that our main character is still in the process or adventure of trying to find herself.

ALSO CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT HOW STUNNING THE ART STYLE IS? i picked this up because of it hehe if you want a deep, chill, and a graphic novel that will keep you on your toes, you should definitely pick this up !

Seong-Ji and Ji-Won are inseperable friends at school. But when they go to university, everything is suddenly over. Seong-Ji suffers from the loss until she meets a weird woman during her nightshift at a store. She explores the night with her and discovers the truth in herself.
It's a soothing coming of age short story about a girl who finds her true self. The drawings and colouring are a bit blurry, which emphasises the atmosphere of the night and also the protagonist's state of uncertainty.

Thank you to Netgalley and Humanoids Inc. for an advanced copy of this graphic novel!

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. From the stunning art (it looks like it's watercolor and reminds me of the jaw-dropping style of Slow Storm), to the story itself, it's a joy to read. I also love the way the Seoul is drawn. I love kmart-realisim-type tragedies, and this fits that with the show of the cityscape and the monotony of night.

The story itself is also very sad to me. I think my only complaint is how sometimes cheesy it would be. It felt almost like a manic pixie dream girl moment at times, but those scenes led to some of the prettiest graphic novel pages I have ever seen, so I don't think I can complain much. Beyond that, the fading relationships and sudden realizations when you reach college hit hard for me. University can be a very social, but also a very lonely time, and it's good to see that represented. I'd definitely recommend this as a quick read when it comes out. It will likely stick with you afterwards.

A dream-like coming of age story, about a young woman learning to be herself.

This was quite a short story and I’m not sure I got everything from it that it was meant to be. Seong-Ji wasn’t a particularly fleshed out main character and her motivations weren’t altogether clear. The side characters felt a bit flat, more there to further her story than anything else. The art was very effective in setting the dreamy atmosphere, but I think some of the expressiveness of the characters got lost through the style.

All in all, an okay, quick read. Not too excited about the homophobia and stereotyping of women, though.

Seong-Ji is a high schooler who is moving to Seoul for college with her best friend Ji-Won. After moving to Seoul, her best friend ghosted her. Later, while working in a grocery store at night, she meets a mysterious woman who visits other people’s empty houses to observe their lives.

This comic is about exploring friendship, loneliness, and self-discovery, and it has lots of metaphors.

I love the way the author has portrayed the atmosphere of busy life during the day. This graphic novel shows the beauty of the night. During the daytime, people have to look presentable and organised because some people can be judgmental, and at night it is quiet and peaceful.

I liked how the book was going until Seong-Ji and the woman entered other people’s empty houses without their permission to hang out or paint or talk about life and with no consequences; this could be a metaphor that I didn’t understand. The ending left me all confused, like what was that?

The artwork was good, it was different. I liked the use of watercolour.

Overall, it was a decent read.

The artwork is beautiful and matches the story perfectly. I really enjoyed the flow of the narrative and how it tells this complex story with elegance and respect.

I don’t get it. There wasn’t even an ending. There was intense homophobia that never even got resolved. The storyline makes no sense whatsoever. There was young teenage girls getting plastic surgery and nowhere in the book did it challenge this idea. It’s almost as if it was normalizing it. There is so much wrong with this book, and I’m honestly just too frustrated to write it all down sufficiently. I wish I would’ve just given up and not finished it. I kept waiting for something to happen, for there to be a twist or a storyline somewhere, but there wasn’t. I have no idea what the plot of this book is even supposed to be. Just a girl who happens to be either gay or bi and has a crush on her friend who is also a girl but her friend is a massive homophobe who’s extremely mean to her for being queer. Then she meets an older woman who breaks into houses for some reason. Then she realizes she’s queer and tells her friend about it, only for her friend to physically attack her and tell her that she’s disgusted by her for being queer. Then at the epilogue it tells us that she has been fired from her job for hanging out with that woman and not looking after the store. There. That’s the whole book. I hate this book. This is my very first actual one star review I’ve ever made on a book I finished. I’m sorry to the author, I don’t mean to make anyone upset, but this book itself was upsetting. I do not recommend this one to anyone.

I have to admit this was my first graphic novel! I thought I would give it a go mainly because it was set in Korea. Touches on aspects of Korean life and I loved it! Beautiful illustrated. I read it in one sitting.

I am very grateful to have access to the ARC for this book, a genuinely cool graphic novel, I believe. And I've decided to give it 4/5 stars.

I appreciate the concept of this book: the fear of abandonment, rejection, feeling lonely, and losing yourself due to whatever life throws at you. I bet everyone will experience these feelings, especially in their college life. The author truly captures the dullness, the not-so-easy life in a big city, and even more so when we're in the college state. The illustrations emphasize that feeling, making me a little depressed, to be honest (because yes, I can relate). Wow. A really great way to let us know that life is hard, and choices matter because everything will change.

I love this short graphic novel. The watercolour pictures itself was beautiful, plus the themes it delves was just a cherry on the top. Highly recommend! Sweet and short 💖