The Jellyfish

“Miss, you have a jellyfish in your eye,” an optometrist tells 20-something Odette in the opening pages of this quietly courageous slice-of-life graphic novella from Boumeries cartoonist Boum. The jellyfish, a distracting floater in her left eye, appears hovering around Odette’s head as she goes about her daily routine in an artsy French Canadian neighborhood: working at a bookstore, hanging out with friends, tending to her pet rabbit, and pursuing a romance with her manga-loving crush, Naina. She tries to ignore the darkness encroaching on her sunny existence—an approach that Naina, who struggles to cut ties with her abusive father, has trouble understanding—but another jellyfish appears in her field of vision, and then another. “I feel like my eyeballs are grinding in their sockets,” she remarks to herself as they multiply, as do other problems for her and Naina. Boum’s sinuous artwork makes Odette’s world pulse with life. The settings feel lived-in, and her charmingly designed characters are constantly moving, changing, and emoting. The result is a graceful and empathetic story about learning to see what’s important. (May)