GD (July 10 Birthday)

So, remember a few weeks back when I was reblogging a bunch of comics and art from a little wholesome blog called @geraldineetmona? Well, look what I ended up buying and having shipped all the way from France.

Yes, it's the book for this adorable little comic series. And, I figured I'd make a little post about it and my thoughts.

Now, the thing I love about this series is just the slice of life aspect of it and its approach to the concept. I always love stuff like that, so Geraldine and Mona was pretty much my neck of the woods in interests. I came across this series randomly while looking for art elsewhere and it caught my eye for how different the vibe is from most slice of life comics and in general the wholesome factor.

I mentioned this in a previous ask, but I get major Hilda and Johanna vibes from this whole series. Maybe it's the single mom/daughter character duo or just the more Euro vibe of it all compared to what you might see in an American made story of a similar manner that Hilda similarly has got, it just makes it work. And speaking of, yes, the book is all in French.

While there are English translations on the main blog, the book is French (duh, it literally came from France, lol). But that also makes it kind of unique in my book collection, as it's the first French book I got instead of English. Plus, it was a good chance to refresh myself on French, a language I literally spent 6 years learning in public school (spoiler alert, I still suck at it and yet ironically, I've been to Paris but not Montreal, lol). But TBH, it's so worth it cause the visuals in this book are amazing. @francoisl-artblog, you got some mad talent!

Speaking on the characters, I love the dynamic between Geraldine and Mona. They're both super funny, wholesome and all around fun. Geraldine is a pretty sweet and caring mom and Mona is hilariously funny and yet also adorable. You love them both instantly.

One thing I find pretty interesting about this book and comic series, is the whole ever present realistic struggles of parenting, work/life balance, and the ever obvious effects that all has on your waistline, lol. And yet despite that, it's all explored in a really fun, innocent and body positive way. It even says on the book's official page that it's a great balance of a story in anxieties on appearance and life, through a pretty fun and childishly innocent way. You don't really see something like that in books aimed especially at younger readers, so it was fun to see how it portrays it in a way that you feel almost able to relate to. You'll find Geraldine's struggles and highs and lows all so true, while also finding fun with Mona's antics and hilariously child like ways to deal with things you probably can relate with too. I mean, who hasn't wanted to eat a mountain of pancakes, or crash out Windows being Windows?

All in all, Geraldine and Mona is a truly wonderful book/comic series. This was without a doubt, one of my better impulsive buys made at 12 AM with little idea what I was getting myself into. I was genuinely surprised and loved it. There's just a charm to stuff like this that as I've said above, you just don't get from most American shows or comics. Hilda was probably the closest I've seen to that and now Geraldine and Mona. Guess that's what happens when you're like me and grew up on Canadian made cartoons that had a similar vibe or with Euro studios in collab (cough cough Babar). If that doesn't make any sense at all, don't worry. I can't explain it but for me, that's just what I enjoy seeing most and this book does that well.

If I had any nitpicks, it would probably be the page count being 48 when the website said 56 (though maybe that includes everything rather than just numbered in book pages) and of course, an English version of the book would be nice, given there are English translations on Tumblr already. Though, if that may be down the line fingers crossed which I've heard could be, I'd 100% buy it.

But those are nothing really in the grand scheme of it all. This is a solid read. I'll leave the purchase links below. I ended up getting it from Amazon cause in Canada it is sold there and also cause the official site wasn't loading for me for some reason till now (maybe my browser was broken, lol).

It's always nice having a physical copy of something you see online IMO. Be it merch from a show you love or a book for a comic series you enjoy. And on top of that, I love finding new stuff to obsess over or talk about beyond my usual Gravity Falls stuff or more.

So, if Geraldine and Mona is something you find interesting, get a copy and support a super wholesome series and a great artist.

this is not life-threatening, but also who wants weeks of diarrhea and a fucking parasite in them lol. if you suspect you've already had this and it's passed, i would see a doctor. you might need an antiparasitic anyway. if you're actively sick, see a doctor and they might be able to prescribe medication to help you get over it faster.

try to avoid eating raw vegetables, scrub fruit with a produce brush and rinse thoroughly with water. again, don't bother with premade greens or bagged salads. if you buy lettuce, remove the outer 2-3 layers of leaves.