A review by rosemaryandrue
Secret Passages by Axelle Lenoir

dark funny mysterious slow-paced

3.0

In an effort to untangle her complicated feelings about the loss of her cosmic twin, author Axelle decides to unspool her life in an off-kilter autobiographical comic.

This is a surreal and funny graphic novel which depicts a year in young Axelle's life as she starts going to school, forms a strange connection with the forest by her home, and begins to suffer in the grip of acute anxiety. The art is both atmospheric and humorous, and I enjoyed the many visits present-day Axelle makes to reinterpret past events and emotions. Axelle's siblings are absolute scene-stealers, and I loved every time they appeared on the page.

However, it's definitely a slow moving story, and while there's some strange elements upfront (alien parents, Tonio's imaginary friend who may be more demonic than imaginary), the cosmic twin and other elements are only briefly shown or discussed. They'll probably be expounded upon in future installments, but in the meanwhile we are left with a lot of questions and very few answers, which made the reading experience of this volume less satisfying for me.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.