Reviews

Invisible Differences by Julie Dachez

jentidders's review against another edition

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4.0

I've been looking forward to the English translation of this graphic novel for AGES and am so glad to finally read it. Invisible Stories tells the moving tale of Marguerite, a young woman whose undiagnosed Asperger Syndrome is causing huge struggles in her life including at work, with her partner, and in her daily activities. As a woman who also received a late-diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Condition, I could hugely relate to her feelings of awkwardness, sensitivity and irritability, and her elation when she discovers a description of autism that fits her to a tee. Like Marguerite, after diagnosis I was able to adapt my world so that it works for me, changing my life for the better. This is a fantastic and validating book for anyone who has been through the experience of realising they are autistic, and also a great book to give friends and relatives of autistics to explain what it is and what it is like. I loved the illustrations which perfectly captured and conveyed what was happening in the story. I've already pre-ordered my own copy!

chiaramir97's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

laisreadings's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

zabcia's review against another edition

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4.0

80%

Really quite sad that Europe, with France in particular in this instance, isn't quite as developed on the disability front as the USA; surprisingly, disability awareness and support is something the US has excelled at in comparison with a lot of other countries. It's not perfect by any means, but I've heard from multiple sources that people with disabilities find it especially difficult to get by outside the US. Now if only we could catch up on the social and political fronts, too...

emmadnl's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

4.75

pinkpassionpages's review against another edition

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4.0

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

4.5 out of 5 stars

'Invisible Differences' is the English translation of a French graphic novel about autism. The story of Marguerite shows how diagnosing works, which struggles autistic people face, how to deal with disbelieve, and much more.

First of all: the drawings are very neat. They are simple but still contain a certain amount of detail. The artist was also very creative with color. In the beginning, the drawings are black, white, and greyish. The only color used is red. This is used to mark all the noise and other things that bother Marguerite, or for things, she finds difficult to do. At a later stage, when Marguerite gets her diagnosis, the drawings become colorful.
It is nice to see how the author not only wants to explain autism but also wants to show what it is like for someone to have autism. You soon notice that a lot of research has been done. Mainly because in between the drawings, some information is given about autism or other psychological matters. At the end of the graphic novel, the author also spends a lot of time explaining what autism is. She also tries to provide a brief overview. Like how social contacts go. She also raises the situation in France, which I found very interesting because I did not know this at all.

It is a beautiful graphic novel with pretty drawings and a very strong message. Sometimes it does feel a bit rushed. Which is why it didn't get five stars. Some things could be explained more or explained in more detail.

cayleejanet's review

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3.5

i have nothing to say against this book but it didn’t change my world either; i do really appreciate the author telling her story of late diagnosis and including other peoples perspectives. i don’t understand why they changed her name in the book when she’s used her real name as her author credit and stuff though. i think this is good for neurotypical people who need to understand autism more, but it really is quite introductory in my opinion (which is okay!!)

mandarine's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

angelamirode's review against another edition

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5.0

Amazing and brilliant!!!
Marguerite is not like everyone else. She doesn’t socialize, she likes to have her routine and is very sensitive to noise. And there’s a reason for that: she has Asperger syndrome.

Most people have misconceptions about autism. And they always think about the worst cases.

This book is a great way to familiarize with this disorder and get to know about this particular kind of autism and show you that you may have autism yet look almost normal.

jkw7072's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring tense fast-paced

3.5

Feels a bit older representation of Autism but this is from 2016 - I enjoyed the art and story a lot. I appreciated that it is about an older woman learning about it after her teen years and I also love seeing the transition of her life in black and white to color. Lots of good information and resources in the back as well