Joana EstrelaCritiques

Gr 8 Up—Raquel has a crush on classmate Pardalita, admiring her from afar, and finally connects with her through
theater. The quiet pace of this sweet romance mirrors Raquel’s growing attraction. The art shines, especially in
moments when it’s more evocative than literal in expressing movement and emotion.

i really like the mix of formats here. this isn't just a graphic novel; there are places that are pure prose, places that are more like poetry. it's more like an illustrated novel. (possibly a trend in graphic novels these days? if so, i like it.) this seems to work better for me than a standard graphic novel as it allows for more text, which i appreciate.

regardless, while i liked the format more than an average graphic novel, this was a mixed bag for me. some of the text was lovely, nearly poetic. some fell totally flat. i don't usually find myself noticing, but i wondered if it was the translation that sometimes made it feel out of sync. (using the word "comprehend" instead of "understand" for example.) i liked the theme of irregular english verb conjugation that wove throughout the book, but i wanted more out of most of the rest of it. still, this is nice and generally well done.

a graphic novel for my lesbian book group. Not a huge thrill for me, its about Raquel, who is a high school student in a small city in Portugal, she falls for a girl name Pardalita; and they start hanging out at a drama club. Not much plot, and I wasn't fond of the drawings either. I think maybe younger lesbians would like it better? Will see what the group thinks.

Pardalita. Tekst en tekeningen: Joana Estrela.

Oh, wederom verliefd op een boek. Een pareltje in de prachtige (queer) collectie van Querido Glow.

Pardalita is een soort van Alice Oseman in een Cinéart versie, geproduceerd door Baumbach-Gerwig. Zo, nu begrijp je exact wat ik bedoel ;) Misschien ook niet, maar je weet wel al dat we met een prachtig werk van een toptalent te maken hebben.

Estrela schreef en tekende dit boek/graphic novel (met afgeronde hoeken: zo mooi) met de groots mogelijke tederheid, poëzie en humor. Je sluit de zestienjarige hoofdpersoon Raquel zo in je hart, in een vingerknip. Hoewel er niet zo gek veel gebeurt in het verhaal flakkert en fladdert, vlindert en bruist er zo veel onder de oppervlakte dat elk woord, elk beeld betekenis heeft.

Pagina’s vol tekst wisselen af met stripverhaal-hokjes waarna er weer een pagina vullende prent verschijnt. Alles in het juiste tempo, de meest geschikte vorm, eenvoudig mooi.

Pardalita voert je terug naar je eerste verliefdheid, laat je weer even zestien zijn. Dit keer ben ik niet verliefd op een langharige gitaarspeler, wel op een meisje (Raquel), haar schepper (Joana) en een boek (Pardalita).

I flip through a lot of gender-diversity picture books that we get in when I catalog them, and while I support the message they share, many feel like they're pushing tons of vocab and can seem a little "preachy" in a way that bothers even me, let alone those who are less familiar with gender identities. This one gets at basically all the same lessons and ideas without cramming in vocab, and it rhymes and creates good rhythm without getting on my nerves by being too clunky/completely disregarding meter.

Sixteen-year-old Raquel lives in a small town in Portugal. She hangs out with her friends Luisa and Fred, and breaks up with her boyfriend Miguel as she becomes fascinated with Pardalita, who's a year older and closer to going off to college in Lisbon. When Fred wants to audition for a theater production Pardalita is involved in, Raquel goes along and gets sucked in to the ancient story of Hero and Leander.

A gentle coming-of-age story.

See also: This One Summer; Heartstoppers

Quotes

I switched to airplane mode
but it feels like I've landed.

This was really beautiful and expressive. The combination of forms (prose, sequential art, others) really worked here. A really lovely coming of age story, really set in a very specific time and place. I loved this story.

"Pardalita, I don't comprehend you. You're an irregular verb. One to be learn by heart"

If you are big on stories that explores the themes of self-discovery, first love and finding beauty in the little things in life, it is highly likely you will enjoy reading Pardalita, a piece of fiction written by Joana Estrela.
The plot revolves around Raquel, a teenager who lives in a small town in Portugal who has a crush on a girl called Pardalita.
What lifts this fiction above others of its type is how the author combines different styles such as poems, letters and drawings with and without dialogue to narrate the story. A story that invites the reader to accompany Raquel on her journey of finding out her sexual and individual identity by offering a glimpse of her everyday life and childhood.
Another point that is worth mentioning is the exquisite delicacy of Joana's narrative content and prose, which can be spotted throughout the book in the form of well-turned phrases and brief passages containing views of life that are so simple yet so meaningful.
If I had to change something about this work, it would be the way in which it was advertised: this book is not a romance one since there is little interaction between Raquel and Pardalita. However, Pardalita is a character that is used as a metaphor to represent the journey and truly desire of Raquel to come to terms with her identity.
All in all, I would highly recommend this title to those who are looking for a touching and beautifully written story.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.