Algeria Is Beautiful Like America

This is the true story of Olivia Burton’s search for her family’s French-Algerian roots. It is a delightful slice of life narrative with flashbacks to the French fleeing Algeria in 1962. There is a wonderful contrast between the black and white art work of her journey to Algeria and back, interposed with color photographs she takes along the way. If you like movies like Driving Miss Daisy or Fried Green Tomatoes, you will love this graphic novel.

This is a loving look at a troubled family history. Her family had roots in Algeria for several generations until they were shattered by the war. And so the granddaughter decides to explore who they were and what it meant to be French Algerian. She travels to Algeria to see for herself what was lost and what was remembered. This is a very moving and well told story.

'Algeria Is Beautiful Like America' by Olivia Burton with illustrations by Mahi Grand is based on the author's trip back to the land of her ancestors and what she finds there.Olivia only knew of Algeria from photographs and relatives. After her grandmother dies, she decides to go back and visit the places that her family left. She travels alone to a with no knowledge of the people or language, but finds so much along the way.I really liked this story of history and conflict and family. I liked the journey and the strangers that take her in. The story is more text driven, but the illustrations are quite nice. I like the use of color for the photos that Olivia takes.I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I enjoyed the illustrations and the author’s story about discovering her roots. It helped me to understand what it meant to the French descendants to have to leave a country where they were born. To leave behind what they called home.

My father is from Algeria and he was not only surprised to see a book like this but thoroughly enjoyed reading it and noted the authenticity of the references. The illustrations are beautifully done.

This graphic novel was a lovely, well written, and beautifully drawn memoir of a girl's adventure to visit her family's homelands. Using a guide, old photos, and her grandmother's memoir, she leaves France to explore Algeria where she learns (and teaches the reader) a lot about Algerian political history as well as her family's history and influence on the country.

A wonderful, charming story, beautifully rendered. Gives us all a reason to think about where we come from. A pleasure.

I received an electronic ARC of this graphic memoir in exchange for an honest review. This is a touching autobiography of a woman trying to make sense of who she is by exploring her family's past. The tone is honest and the pain she felt in being so unsure of her place in the world came through. So does the wonder and confusion of her visit to Algeria. The artwork works well with the story. I thought that the technique of making the pictures she takes be in color while the rest of the novel was in black and white. Worth reading.