In Maurel’s sumptuously drawn time-travel fantasy, teenage Luisa is transported from the 1990s to the present to meet her 30-something self. Tamaki (This One Summer) adapts the translated French with freshly worded dialogue . . . In stand-out art, Maurel renders attractive characters with open, emotive faces and detailed Paris streets drenched in sunset-toned watercolors. There couldn’t be a lovelier setting for this winning story of romantic self-discovery.

A funny, touching, and beautifully illustrated and colored story about self-acceptance with equal appeal to adult and YA audiences.

***Featured on NPR's Guide To 2018’s Great Reads***

***Featured in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY's Best Summer Reads, 2018***

“A work of tender soul searching and honest dialogue.” 

“An excellent book which tackles identity, sexuality, family pressures, and love in all its splendor….Funny, relevant, poignant, and fascinating.”

“A stunning book. … Unique and sweet.”

“A poignant time travel story with a queer romance angle.... Tamaki has significant experience exploring teenage characters in books like Skim and the Eisner Award-winning This One Summer, and she takes Nanette McGuinness’ translated dialogue and adapts it for an American ear…. Maurel and Tamaki take these women on a powerful journey through their past and future.”

"8 Best Sapphic Comics & Graphic Novels" (alongside Lumberjanes, Giant Days, and Goldie Vance)

" A queer, transformative tale about self-acceptance and sexuality that is already generating rave reviews 

"Luisa tackles familiar queer coming-of-age themes with a time-travel device that makes it perfectly suited to the comic medium."

A “beautifully illustrated and expressive graphic novel about self-reflection, acceptance, sexual identity, and time travel, Luisa: Now and Then. Who better to translate that into English than Mariko Tamaki?”

“LUISA: NOW AND THEN is a great comic book about teenage angst and the fear of failing. How sometimes our younger self would be disappointed by the choices we make as adults. A beautiful and nostalgic story, about discovering who we truly are, and not forgetting our inner child.”

“Insightful and funny, this is a feel-good coming-of-age story.”

***Featured in ICV2's Summer YA Graphic Novel Pick Hits***

***Featured in SHELF AWARENESS's Stand Up Comics: Same Love***

"I recommend it wholeheartedly."

"Luisa: Now and Then is a powerful story that anyone who may be questioning their ability to accept themselves should read. . . . I would highly recommend this graphic novel."

A graphic novel masterpiece throughout its 272 pages, Luisa is a modern coming-of-age tale without compromise which confirms the talent of Carole Maurel, a cartoonist whose every stroke is full of energy, emblematic of her generation.

An unlikely encounter brilliantly told by a talented cartoonist. A singular narrative that is authentic, thought-provoking, intimately touching, sensitive yet funny. Flawless.