I was drawn to this book because of the cover and artwork, and I loved that this book deals with mental health and neurodiversity. Representation is so important to me, and I think very important for a young adult audience, so I would recommend it to anyone based on this alone. However, the content can be a bit difficult to deal with, since it may bring out feelings that would trigger someone with mental health issues. I do think it's important to read about this, and this story really hit home, especially when I reflect upon my own experiences with COVID and my anxiety. I appreciate the author's raw, real experience.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Lavender Clouds is a graphic novel/comic book not just for people who are neurodivergent, have anxiety or/and depression but is also for people around them to give them insight into what life is like for people with any of these things.
As an anxiety sufferer and sufferer of depression I could relate to so much of this book, and it made me feel understood and less alone.
The colour scheme is relaxing and beautiful through the book, and the book feels like a hug from someone who understands and accepts you for who you are.

Admittedly, I picked this one because my favorite color is purple. But also, May was Mental Health Awareness Month… and topics like neurodivergence, mental health, and self care are becoming more openly discussed.

It would be hard to discuss “story” here, as the book is more a collection of different – albeit multi-pane – comics about the topics at hand. A few themes travel across multiple pages in a row, but some don’t.

Our main character, the avatar for the author, has long pink hair and a cute, anime-influenced look. She is clearly a writer and artist, as some of her work-related worries within the panes indicate.

And while deadlines and schedules are certainly among her worries, social interactions and her attitude toward herself are also high on the list.

There are no big “solutions” to these issues, and certainly our main character doesn’t find any – except the idea of acceptance. Trying to be “ok” while still in the mess. Which all of us could use a reminder to do sometimes.

As an educator with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, I thought this graphic novel would be excellent for upper middle school to high school students.

The illustrations are beautiful and I love the colors used. I will say that think I would recommend this to students saying that you may need to prepare yourself to be in the right headspace for it.

Given the topic, it *is* heavy. A lot of it is also very relatable which can be a lot for people to contend with and I had to take breaks to finish it. That said, this is a great "you are not alone in feeling this way with your neurodivergent brain" book.

I found this book quite charming. An an autistic person, I found the content relatable. Bex doesn't hold back from illustrating the difficulties neurodivergent people can experience; the barriers, the stigma, and the heartache. But she also holds space for hope, encouragement, and joy.

The art style and colour scheme is quirky and each page is pretty much self-contained, so you can really dip in anywhere and still enjoy it.

Having said that, I did find that the overall book lacked flow, in terms of an overarching "storyline". It does feel a bit like a stack of single comics that have been compiled without much of an order (as far as I could tell, anyway). As such, some of the comics felt a little repetitive and disjointed. I recognise this may be a reference to the nature of neurodivergent minds and tangential thinking, but for me, I would have like to see at least a vague path through the book.

Nevertheless, I really did enjoy this book and I think it's a good representation of neurodivergent experiences, particularly in the relationship between autism/ADHD and experiences of co-morbid mental illnesses like anxiety disorders and depression.

As a side note: Having completed some Compassion-Focused Therapy myself, I noticed some of that in Bex's exploration of her critical internal voice and how she challenges this. For anyone who relates to this book, I would recommend looking into CFT, as I found it really helpful in this regard.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing, via NetGalley, for review purposes.

This is a very insightful comic that talks about neurodivergence. A neurodivergent person is someone whose brains processes information differently than most people. It also showcases various scenarios that a person experiences in life.

I love how colourful this literary content is. The illustrations are beautiful and simple making it very pleasant on the eyes and the mind. I love the abundant content that the creator has outlined in this book on mental health. Mental health is a super vital matter, I learnt it in my early 20s given my education in psychology. It’s good to know that people have been talking about it and giving equal importance to it as physical health.

The best thing about this book is that everyone, regardless of age, job, background, no matter how different you are, you will find this relatable to you. There were moments while I was reading, I was nodding along because it felt like I was reading about me. Sometimes I feel whether I’m the only who’s having such thoughts but it’s a relief to know that it’s not something weird and there are many people experiencing it.

I love reading contents like this that just feel close to my heart and relevant. It highlighted so many important things without making me feel like a loser, in fact the book feels rather uplifting. It ended on a very sweet note and it just felt like the book was giving me a pat on the shoulder saying ‘It’s okay, you’re not alone, just take one step at a time and it’ll be alright’.

This was such a splendid read. I love reading comics and haven’t read one in quite some time so this felt very nice.

I picked this up because it’s a look into one person’s neurodivergent experience with life, mental health, and burnout. As a neurodivergent person, I thought it was an excellent book to pick up. It was great to see Bex Ollerton (aka @Schnumn on Instagram) share their experiences with Autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. I could feel their emotions coming through the pages, which is quite bleak at times. I think that this is an important read because it’s very enlightening and relatable for many, but I think that you’ll be okay if you don’t go in expecting a light and fluffy read.

The artwork is beautiful. I also really like that they used art as their way to share their experiences. Reading about Bex’s feelings and experiences spiked my anxiety at times, but I think it’s an excellent read. I don’t know if I would say this was uplifting like it was mentioned in the summary, but it certainly is relatable. If you’re looking for a light pick-me-up read, this is not the book for you. It’s not all bleak, but Bex shares a lot about their struggles with their mental health, which isn’t always always something bright and happy.

4/5

I think this was very well illustrated and written. I do also think you need to be in a good headspace to ingest this. I must admit I don’t think I was in the best headspace while reading this. It is thought provoking and relatable, because I feel during the time reading this, I was going thru similar things that were being expressed. I really enjoyed this, but I also think it was very heavy. I also know that this is the point of the messages I think I just wish with every hard hitter afterwards you would get something lighter or like how to go about combatting right away versus later. I do think this book is good for people that have experienced these things in the past to help them realize they are doing better; I don’t think if you are currently going thru, it that might be the answer only because the “good” was at the end. I thought expected some of the harder stuff and to not be sugarcoated I just wish there was a break in parts versus waiting until the end.

Lavender Clouds is a collection of comics that Bex Ollerton has created about self-esteem, imposter syndrome, depression, and being neurodivergent. Though the comics are personal, Bex is great at expressing themselves in a way that really feels universal.

This graphic novel about beating one's inner bad-thought demons and depressive states into submission felt welcoming to me, as someone who also fights negative thoughts that sprout from mental illness and neurodivergence. Very glad to have been introduced to Bex Ollerton and to folow her on Instagram.

4.5/5 stars, rounded up

let's get into it! this is a graphic novel about neurodivergence and mental health based on the author’s audhd experiences. this book felt like it had 3 major acts: the first third was more humorous, the middle third was more dark, and the last third was more hopeful. while some of it was hard to read, all of it was relatable. i laughed and was touched more than a few times by the author’s lovely writing and expressive illustrations.

i will say, based on the title and my experience with the author’s other work, this wasn’t the upbeat and self-help type of informational that i originally expected it to be throughout. however! i think i had goofy, unrealistic expectations, given their previous work involved a lot of collaboration/perspectives. i'm sure people who haven't lived through the synapse-snapping layers of built up neurodivergent exhaustion will find this more humorous throughout than i did. either way, the main conclusions i took away from the book were optimistic, which does make reflecting on the reading experience satisfying.

all in all, i definitely recommend this to my neurodivergent siblings and i will continue to look forward to the future work of this creator!

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advanced reader copy of Lavender Clouds

Lavender Clouds is a very personal book from the author. (Which, thank you so much for writing something like this and sharing it with the world.) The comics touches on mental health, neurodivergence, burnout, asking others for help, and a lot of other things.

For me, this is a very heavy book to read especially if you have depression. Throughout this book, I found myself relating to a lot of things. I wish that it had a little more uplifting pages, and a little less heavy pages.

Comic Books and Graphic Novels are one of the main types of books that I read. A lot of them combine heavy topics and feelings with humor or something a bit uplifting. This book doesn't really do that at all. Which with my opinion is good and bad.

I think anyone who is neurodivergent, who suffers from depression or anxiety would find this book to be incredibly relatable. Just maybe read with caution if some things are a bit triggering.

As someone with ADHD and a plethora of mental health issues from years of undiagnosed neurodivergence, this book hits hard. I loved the graphic novel aspect of the book, it makes it easy to digest but also show the emotions in such a visceral way.
There have been a few mental health / neurodivergent graphic novels that have been released in the last year and we need more! Lavender Clouds was so honest and heartwarming. I only wish I could have had books like this when I was growing up. Knowing that I was not alone in my own mind, trying to understand why I felt different from everyone else. It would have been life changing.
This is a book I will reach for over and over.

This took me a bit to get through because after reading the first half I needed to take a break before picking it up again; the subject matter was hitting a little too close to home so, while it was extremely relatable, the majority of the panels in the first half (and the rest of the book, too, honestly) were touching on heavy topics such as depression, anxiety, burnout, overwhelm, and loneliness. However, the creator ends the book on a hopeful, positive note, giving readers a beautiful rainbow at the end of a very stormy journey.

The illustrations were really cute and simple but effective in telling that particular panel's story. I'm so happy I have a colour e-reader now so I could enjoy the full experience of this book!

Bex Ollerton's comics will definitely provide comfort, catharsis, laughs, and even hope for readers looking for authentic, bite-sized stories on mental health and neurodivergence. You can tell that she made these comics from a vulnerable, genuine place, and I'm so glad she decided to share her stories with us because I know a lot of people will see themselves on the page and find community in the panels of Lavender Clouds.

this pretty little comic collection feels very much born out of 2020. the struggle of everyday depression and anxiety, magnified and distorted by the isolation of quarantine.

i really appreciate the way ollerton presents herself in this book. she makes art about being neurodivergent and mentally ill, and also makes it soft and pretty purple and pleasing to the eye. her art style is adorable, and it's really nice to see dark and lonely moments portrayed in such a lovely way.

some reviewers are critical of the bleakness of the book, but i'm glad ollerton didn't sugarcoat anything here. it's a picture of a person who is struggling every day to find hope in the hopelessness, light in the darkness. i see someone who is trying.

if you are someone who shares similar struggles to ollerton's, i would be mindful of finding the right time to read this book, as it could bring you down. but it may also be a balm, reminding us we are not alone. kudos to ollerton for being so real.

💜💜💜

Hello!

Recently it’s been super rainy where I live so I have been spending a lot of time after work reading in the coziest spot in my home. I usually grab a blanket, light a candle, and grab my stack of books that I am reading or want to read. But on one particularly stormy night I decided to read some E-ARCs of graphic novels on my Kindle and the first one that I picked out was Lavender Clouds (thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions).

SPOILERS AHEAD

This is a very cute (I love the illustrations and colors) graphic novel about a person who is trying their best in life. Struggling through their day-to-day and trying to come up with ways to cope with being neurodivergent in a busy and ever-changing world can be very tough.

I kept the summary super short for this graphic novel, it was very good but it is also one person’s experiences, and while I can find many of them relatable everyone has their own real-world/life experiences and may not be able to relate. However, I very much enjoyed seeing this person’s perspective on the world and the struggles they faced in their day to day life. I definitely recommend checking this graphic novel out when it hits shelves on July 4th!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

***Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

The great comic about mental health. It's so relatable. I love how the author make conclusion about every little thing detail that make life colorful but somehow overwhelming. In the end, the sky doesn't need to be clear to be beautiful.

I love graphic novels and this one looked so cute. I found this book to be extremely relatable and I really liked the illustrations. This book flowed really well and I finished it in one sitting.

I really wanted this book, but my library didn't carry it and it was not on order. I was, however, lucky enough to snag it from Netgalley for an honest review.

I read a few reviews about it being negative, and I honestly didn't feel that way. Maybe because I got that real deep down depression, and I've hit some truly low lows that any "negativity" in this book wasn't even clocked by me. The author would have had to write something actually negative, and not just her lived experience with depression and neurodivergence.

I wholeheartedly related to a lot of what was in this book. There was a lot of reflection and introspection that helped reframe things for myself, and the art was really pretty. It's also easy to sit down, and absorb this book in one sitting. I would definitely recommend reading this book at least once.

Very short (page long), cute and all too relatable comics about struggles as an anxious and neurodivergent person. There is much comfort to be found in seeing how you're not alone in experiencing such things. I really enjoyed the simple art style, and especially the color palette.