Pardalita

By Joana Estrela, translated by Lyn-Miller Lachmann

YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Ages 12+, grades 7+

Summary

Raquel lives a fairly straightforward life in a small Portuguese town. She is 16, she goes to school, spends time with her two best friends Luisa and Fred, and teaches her divorced mother how to navigate the internet. One day, a girl catches her attention and something in her shifts. “I feel weird when I see you,” Raquel reflects. “Maybe I envy you.” When Fred decides to audition for the theater troupe in which Raquel’s person of interest, Pardalita, is involved, she is unexpectedly pulled in as well. Through simple, daily ruminations, Raquel grapples with her feelings and her identity. The standard insecurities of teenage life, the relief of a breakup with a sweet but mismatched boyfriend, and the comfort of her long-time friends provide the backdrop to the confusing but quietly titillating development of her new friendship, and she begins to wonder what she can’t fully bring herself to say. “How does a person know they are? / Is there a test?” she ponders over her unspoken sexuality. “Because I can’t be the only one / who is / here / now. / And what if?” 

Justification

Pardalita came to my attention through the YALSA Great Graphic Novels list. The two-tone artwork immediately brought to mind another of my favorite graphic novels, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I was also excited to see the LGBTQ themes represented, and was drawn in by the understated snippets of text I was able to preview. “Understated” may be one of the most accurate ways to describe the book. The story is a low-key slice of life peppered with flashbacks, told through a combination of lyrical prose, comic-style strips, vignettes of mundane reflections, and scratchy illustrations. Contrary to what one might expect from this constant shift in format, the story flows beautifully and closes with an abrupt but appropriately simple ending.

Response

I can imagine this book may not be everyone’s cup of tea– no book is. The mix of styles between poetry, stream of consciousness, and graphic novel may turn some away; however, I appreciated how quietly engaging it is and found that the shifts in format added to the storytelling, giving me a greater clue to Raquel’s state of mind at any given point in the story. As a slow-burn teen lesbian awakening story, I think it’s an excellent book for LGBTQ representation, as it lacks any overt language or plot that is likely to be challenged and focuses almost solely on Raquel’s internal experience. With little actual drama but lots of very personal and relatable introspection, I found it to be powerfully contemplative in its simplicity. This made Pardalita a comforting and easy, but very worthwhile read. 

Estrela, J. (2023). Pardalita (L. Lachmann, Trans.). Levine Querido.