Started: 27 Jan. 2026
Finished: 27 Jan. 2026
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
You'll want to zoom on every panel for all those textured, luscious details and reread this at least twice, it's so nice.
Started: 27 Jan. 2026
Finished: 27 Jan. 2026
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
Short and bittersweet, this novelette isn't about an imaginary friend, but an invisible friend. You see, just because only Ella can see her doesn't mean that Isabella Francesca isn't real. For the lonely little girl, the difference between imaginary and invisible is easy to see, and the reality of Isabella's existence seems unshakeable. No matter what shape Ella needs her to take, Isabella is there to fulfill her role providing love, comfort, praise, and understanding.
Each vignette from Ella's life, told through the eyes of her invisible best friend, shimmers with sentimentality even as the crumbling shape of the world takes more concrete form around the growing girl. The older Ella gets, the more impatiently the world intrudes upon their playtime. And when Ella begins to outgrow each role her best-friend-surrogate-mother-idol-crush has played, when she begins to shape her to a new and ever-more grown-up world, Isabella stays Isabella at her core. When other friends drift away, Isabella stays loyal and loving. Through tragedy and sorrow, Isabella stays.
The subtle hints of the neglect and tragedy that Ella survives intrude into Isabella's memories like wafts of smoke after the fire has been put out. The implication that the little girl may be repeating a generational pattern is gut-wrenching, but all Isabella wants is for Ella to be safe and loved and beautiful. Until the very end, that's all Isabella will ever want.
