Breath of the Giant

by Tom Aureille, Fabrice Sapolsky (Editor), Tarek Abdel Razek (Color Assist)

According to legends, the North is the home of Giants whose breath has the power to bring the dead back to life…

Sisters Iris and Sophia, decide to go on a quest to steal this breath in order to resuscitate their dearly departed mother.

They can count on magic, but above all, they will have to conquer their fears…

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Comics, Young Adult, Bande Dessinée, Adventure

148 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2022

About the author

Tom Aureille est né à Agen, il y a 24 ans. Issu d’une formation en bande dessinée au lycée Auguste Renoir à Paris, et d’un DMA Illustration, il a fait partie des vingt Jeunes Talents sélectionnés au festival d’Angoulême en 2020. Il vit actuellement à Strasbourg où il travaille à temps partiel dans une librairie.
Le souffle du géant est sa première bande dessinée !

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iris and Sophia have lost their mother. Or rather, they have had their mother die on them, and they miss her so much. There is a story that if you can get the breath of a giant, and capture it in a crystal, it can bring your dead loved one, back to life.

And so they set on a dangerous quest to the sacred place where the giant lives, to take his breath to bring back their mother. They have magic in them, magic that their mother did not want them to use as part of the military. Apparently that is what happened to their father, who has long since died. There are dangers, however, out in the wild, including witches and thieves.

The question we dont’ get to ask, but we see as the story progresses, is what happened to the mother before. What made her “leave” her children behind. And what is it the children really need?

If you could bring a loved one back, even if it meant killing another, even though they were a giant, would you do so? And what if that person didn’t want to come back?

Ah, the French, as this was originally a French graphic novel. They have ways of spinning a story which makes you wonder who you should be rooting for, or rather, what you should be rooting for to happen.

This book came out in January, and has great pictures, and expressive visuals. One of those books you can’t put down until the end.

Thanks to Edelweiss for making this book available for an honest review.

[Schausette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pfiu la grosse chialade.

[Griffin Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy I just keep stumbling headlong into beautiful stories about grief these days, huh?

[Myfischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je mets 4 (et non 3) parce que je le prends vraiment comme un album jeunesse d'où une histoire un peu facile à base de quête / d'acceptation du deuil. Quelques idées chouettes tout de même : le bonhomme de la rivière qui prend soin d'elles, un bébé en écharpe, la raison de la mort de la mère comme critique de l'exploitation (pas sûre que ce soit très compréhensible pour des enfants cela dit mais ça n'est pas grave, on peut toujours en discuter), les 2 sœurs qui ont chacune une individualité originale et intéressante.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two sisters embark on a long journey to the wild North, searching for giants. Legend says that if you can kill one of the giants and capture its strength in a magic stone, then you will be able to bring the dead back to life. The sisters will brave any danger and endure hardship in the frozen wastelands if it means they can bring their mother back from the dead. But they are not the only ones searching for the giants.

This book is heartbreaking and hopeful. The sisters are grieving for the loss of their mother, and along their journey they meet other people who are grieving as well. But each culture has their own way of dealing with loss, and they meet a group of people who embrace death just as they embrace life, with grace and hope. Ultimately, the sisters have to find a way to process their grief and decide how to live.

There are a couple of suicides in this book, both of which are tragic and sad. One is a culturally-accepted ritual of assisted suicide, and the other suicide is a violent death. I like that the book brings up these questions about death, but leaves it to the reader to decide what is right and wrong. The assisted suicide is not portrayed as good or bad. It is just the custom of this particular culture. The reader can interpret it in their own way.

I love the art style! Every page is full of shadows and lights that bring an emotional influence into the art.

The worldbuilding of the magic and different cultures in this book is really excellent. With just a few sentences, we get a picture of the bigger world beyond the main story.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Taylor Huber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short graphic novel about grief and moving on.

[Jessica Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this and it was just…okay. I really liked the artwork, but I hoped for more from the story.
Two sisters use their breath to control…elements? Have super strength? Have magic? I’m not 100% confident on what exactly they do, but they set off on a mission to reach the North where they can use a stone to awaken a departed loved one by killing a giant. They don’t know if this is real or folktale, but they are determined to bring their mother back who passed away too young. Except Iris is more determined and sure than Sophia, and the more dangers they encounter (a band of thieves, a Hansel-and-Gretel reminiscent witch, a man who is following them with the same mission to revive his daughter, and more), the less sure Sophia becomes. We also get flashbacks to the mom’s life and story, the girls as younger children. It had all the makings of something truly beautiful, and the characters and style of those characters’ artwork gave me ATLA vibes (mainly Terelle and his village), it just somehow fell a little flat for me. Maybe a bit more development of the world and the characters would have helped, which I recognize is hard to do in a graphic novel but there’s too much exposition and not enough of it was fleshed out. Still solid and again really aesthetically pleasing, just not my favorite personally.

[Elie Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

magnifique BD, sur le deuil et la nécessité de vivre pour soi. chargé de réflexion essentielles quand on traverse une perte.
les dessins sont magnifiques et la palette de couleurs aussi, les personnages sont très attachants, j'ai été très touché par Terelle.
Ça fait du bien d'avoir des persos principaux aventurières féminines.
merci ♡

[(Ellie) ReadtoRamble · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

[HaileyAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story about loss and grief. I feel like the magic wasn't explained super well, but it was still a good read.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book, but it felt incredibly underwhelming. There is a type of story that goes, "character is driven to attempt to revive a departed loved one through reckless pursuit of powerful magic/technology, but in the end it is revealed that the dead should remain dead and the character should appreciate their life and the living connections they have." This book is one such story, but it does nothing creative or distinctive with the premise, and the unique aspects of the setting are not sufficiently developed or described to be particularly interesting. It is kind of interesting how it worked out; in theory, it does a good job of revealing information about the setting while moving the story forward and not getting bogged down in an info-dump; but in practice, the setting doesn't feel nearly engaging enough. Like, there is never a clear explanation of the nature of the quest, of how finding giants can raise someone from the dead, it is just a thing that everyone kind of knows, but most dismiss as myth or legend; though that is a bit strange since it is ultimately linked to magical breath powers (I assume the author was aiming for a sort of Westernized variant of chi/qi/ki) which are common enough that there is a military school focused on developing such talent.

Likewise, I didn't feel like the sister's backstory was all that compelling; with the way flashbacks were interspersed with the main story, it felt like it was building towards some big revelation that would explain the impetus for the girls starting their quest, but that didn't really happen. Also, it is revealed that their father had also gone off in pursuit of giants, but his reasons are never explained; everyone else in the story who hunts for giants does it in hopes of raising the dead, so who did he lose? If he didn't lose someone, what reason did he have?

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the death of their mother, Iris and Sophia embark on a quest to find the Giants that live in the Lost Territories of the North. Legend has it that if you can find a Giant and capture its breath you can use it to return someone to life. Their journey though will be filled with bandits, witches, and other fellow grievers seeking to restore life to a loved one no matter the cost.

This is a beautiful graphic novel that deals exceptionally well with the nuances of grief. The story is straightforward, but Iris and Sophia's journey is not as they navigate new ways to relate to each other and the world around them. There is no simple resolution and it is unclear throughout who precisely is right or wrong (if there is such a thing). I am ranking this 3.5 out of 5 stars. There is something compelling to the novel and I think it will appeal to a wide range of tweens and teens. It can be an excellent story to read for fun or as a way to help processes loss. I wish the story had been a little more flushed out in terms of the girls' powers how/why/where they came to be and more background on the father as he was alluded to a number of times, but nothing more.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly effective and engaging fantasy comic, able to be read by anyone about eleven and older. In this world, legend states that the final gasp of a frost giant's breath can be bottled in the right dooflidonk and will bring someone back to life, hence two siblings who lost their mother due to industrial accident travelling the land on their way north. It's not without danger – and with the dooflidonks in rare supply, someone has cottoned on to their path and wants to get to use theirs for his own purposes…

A well-evoked world is brought to us very ably when it comes to the visuals, and while the art is greater at that than it is the combat scenes, this is still more than dramatic enough. The sisters are likeable characters, their quest a noble one, and this is the kind of fantasy comic I like – untaxing, not desperate for the most modish and unique elements but happy being its own thing and offering damn fine entertainment along the way. Knowing nothing about this before I went in, it proved a charming surprise, and a brilliant debut creation. Four and a half stars.

[kaitlphere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a physical journey and this whole book is a journey. I feel like the doubting of the myth around potential resurrection complemented the stages of grief Iris in particular goes through.

I liked the peeks into other peoples' lives we got to see. The couple with the rural home, multiple cities, marauders, and the small town with different death and grieving practices. I liked the other supernatural entity in the story and how it serves as foreshadowing for the myth of the giants. I didn't think the third person on the journey was necessary to the story other than to contribute to action sequences and add some legitimacy to the legend.

I wasn't sure I would like the art style, particularly when it comes to faces, but it worked well for the story. The expressions clearly conveyed emotions. I appreciated the color scheme especially. There were a wide variety of colors used in the book, and they all complemented the setting and time of day well, but they all had a muted or dusty quality to them that worked well with the travel theme.

[Jacki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried a lot over this one. It opened a whole can of worms for me. I was expecting an exciting northward journey and instead found pieces of myself etched into the pages. I could relate very much to sisters Iris & Sophia, who cling to each other in the loss of their parents. *spoiler* It is insinuated that the mother has chosen to die in some sort of way. Having lost my father who decided to end things, and being very close to my sister myself, the whole thing ended up being very personal because of the characters, even though the setting and magic backdrop themselves added some whimsy to it. I enjoyed this book very much though I realize it is for a lot of personal reasons rather than a critique of the actual work. I thought the art was lovely, the magic was interesting and I thought the author did a good job of showcasing the weaknesses and dark spots that humans carry, but that kindness and mercy and good works are never out of reach, they will always exist.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middling story about two sisters striving to make it all the way North to defeat a giant whose breath can restore their mother to life. It's a common story trope, a struggle to bring a loved one back only to find out they no longer belong in this world. The two sisters also have some kind of qi powers that aren't ever explained and don't do much besides add to the visuals when their hands light up. I thought the flashbacks would give context to their mother but I just found them confusing. They'd come out of nowhere and there's no visual cue to let you know that we've switched to a flashback suddenly. Ultimately, they didn't add anything to the story either.

The art was solid although I'm never a fan of drawing characters with just dots for eyes. It makes it much more difficult to convey emotion that way. All in all, not a bad story, but not a great one either.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is pretty predictable. What else happens when somebody goes on a quest to raise someone from the dead? There's also some development that's missing. The girls both have some kind of magical powers, but I can't tell how common or accepted they are. The story of the giants that drives the whole book doesn't feel like it's fully integrated into the world. Everybody knows the story, but very few believe it, and there's no real reason why that should be the case in a world with literal magic. The bond between the two sisters is done really well, though.

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two sisters undertake the perilous journey to the land of the giants to test out a myth. If they can capture the breath of a giant, it can bring back a loved one. Hoping to bring back their deceased mother, they put their own lives at risk in a long and dangerous journey. There was a lot that I liked here, but I found it difficult to connect with the older daughter and found the story very dark and depressing.

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

70%

interesting concept and good world-building, but oh boy why does the Giant have to look like the gingerbread man from Shrek? Also, a major pet peeve of mine is when main characters throw awesome artefacts away to signify the end of their journey or whatever. Considering both of them almost died multiple times throughout the story, you'd think they'd keep the necklace containing the Giant's Breath just in case one of them almost dies again

[ween_silyums · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about two sisters who go on a journey to try and resurrect their deceased mother. The story is pretty intense and action packed. I really enjoyed the art style and storyboarding. It’s not too text heavy but there is enough to keep to story moving. Overall I really liked the art and found the story entertaining but a bit too predictable and repetitive. Still a nice read though.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two sisters go on an adventure to chase after folklore that might bring a loved one back from the dead. No romance in this book, there is an element of fantasy since some people have powers and others do not.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review written for School Library Journal. Will be published via their website and magazine soon.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good graphic novel. The art style was cool.

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very unique story that I felt was too fast paced. I also had a hard time investing in the sisters bold/friendship.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, has more substance to the story than I expected based on the opening scenes.

[theboneseason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belle histoire, avec de jolie dessins et une relation entre deux soeurs qui très bien réalisé.

[reallee · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai bien aimé ! Une énième bd sur le deuil/l'acceptation du deuil où on suit deux sœurs qui partent dans une quête dangereuse pour essayer de ramener leur maman à la vie ! C'était assez chouette

[David Edmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breath of the Giant by Tom Aureille from Fairsquare Comics follows sisters Iris and Sophia as they travel to the North, home of Giants who can bring the deceased back to life with their breath, hoping to resurrect their mother and reunite their family.

There’s a lot to unpack in this short tale. First off is the fact that in order to resurrect someone, a Giant must die and their breath collected, raising the question, is it ok to kill one being to bring another back to life? Secondly, does the person who is being resurrected even want to come back to life? Just because the person(s) left behind miss them, perhaps the deceased is at peace with their situation.

There’s quite a bit glossed over as well, for instance the girls’ magical powers that they seem to have inherited from their father. Where did this power come from? Why do only some people have it? Other than a convenient plot point at times, there doesn’t seem to be much reason for this power to exist.

Problems aside, this is still a strong story about the bonds of sisterhood and family, and learning to understand and accept the loss of a loved one. I feel like this could have benefited from being a little longer and some of the plot points fleshed out, but overall it’s still a solid story.

#middlegradebooks #graphicnovel #bookreview #book #books #bookstagram #bookblog #bookblogger #frommybookshelf #frommybookshelfblog

[Brian Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the art and the kids on a quest with an emotional arc

[☆ anouk ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bd touchante et à découvrir !

Je ne sais plus exactement comment j'ai entendu parler de ce livre mais j'ai vu qu'il était disponible à la bibliothèque, il me tentait, je l'ai mis dans ma pal du cwc et je l'ai emprunté, puis lu. Et c'est une belle bd que je suis vraiment contente d'avoir découverte !
Une légende raconte que dans les Terres du Nord se trouvent des géants dont le souffle peut ressusciter les morts. Iris et Sophia voient donc là la seule façon de revoir leur mère décédée et se lancent donc à la recherche des géants.

Il y a de l'aventure, des batailles, mais aussi une belle relation entre deux soeurs et un très belle morale. Les dessins sont originaux et agréables à suivre et même si ce n'est pas forcément le style que je péfère, ils illustrent très bien le récit. Les deux soeurs ont des caractères très différents, l'ainée est pleine de colère et base sa force là dessus et la plus jeune est plus douce, plus calme et c'est d'elle que va en partie émaner la réponse à leur quête.

Bref, une histoire qui traite de sujets important sur fond de fantasy avec une histoire très sympa !