Life Without Nico

January 18, 2016
When Maia’s best friend Nico moves to Australia for an extended time, “the emptiness follows Maia everywhere she goes,” in this story first published in Mexico. Several spreads of the book, the English-language debut for both Maturana and Olea, dwell on Maia’s lonely unhappiness, but eventually life goes on: Maia gets a kitten, makes a new friend, discovers a love for the piano, and “with the arrival of spring, everything begins to bloom.” When Nico’s return becomes imminent, Maia grows worried: “Her life has become so full. Will there be enough room for Nico, too?” Using expressionistic graphic elements and an offbeat palette of brown, yellow, and teal, Olea’s drawings capture moments that are both recognizably realistic (Nico’s father points on a map to show just how far away the family is moving) and deeply private: when Maia is at her lowest point, Olea shows her forlornly looking through a huge, schematically drawn telescope at very distant stars. Maturana’s minimal, lyrical text, set
in a wistful, handwritten-style font, embellishes the artwork and beautifully modulates the mood from melancholy to lighthearted. Ages 4–7.

Starred review from January 1, 2016
In this Mexican import, Maia and Nico giggle through endlessly interwoven days of best-friend bliss, until Nico moves, and "a hole appears in Maia's life." Before, Maia had Nico. Now, she has a hole: round, dark, benign, but quite weighty. It sits next to her, occupying a chair. It changes shape, ballooning with her blues. It grows lighter gray at times, but it's always with her, sometimes even covering her little heart. "Sometimes the days feel dark to Maia. Other times everything feels far away." Empathy brims on the pages of this artful and articulate book about overwhelming feeling. The ecstatic joy found in the mutuality of effortless friendship surfaces tenderly on the very first pages, where both Maia and Nico beam, and objects in the room (a dresser, a teddy) appear as transparent as the unfiltered feelings shared by the children. The hollow numbness that arises (and lingers) with loss couldn't be better represented than by Olea's unobtrusive, obstinate hole, which trails Maia even as she begins to discover new interests (the piano) and friends (a kitten, a girl schoolmate). Earth tones and cool sea greens and blues balance and support one another throughout these painterly illustrations, appropriate enough in a friendship story. Nico's return provides both Maia and listeners an opportunity to consider how holes not only signify absence, but also keep room for the people who edify our lives. (Picture book. 4-8)

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Starred review from June 1, 2016

K-Gr 2-When best friends are separated, it may be difficult for them to express their feelings. When Maia learns that her closest friend Nico will be moving with his family to the other side of the world while his father pursues further education, she is heartbroken. Without her friend, Maia feels that there is a hole in her life. She feels gloomy until she finds a kitten, and the dark hole gets a little smaller. Then Maia meets a new friend and eventually embraces a new passion (the piano). She happily talks with Nico on the phone and thinks about his return. Her feelings are mixed: she looks forward to seeing him but worries that her life has become so full that she will not have time to spend with him. This is a sweet story about experiencing separation and loss, with illustrations and words that can assist children in expressing their feelings. The author provides an excellent representation of abstract feelings in a concrete way that children can grasp: a dark hole that needs to be filled. The flat, graphic-style illustrations on glossy pages are simple, vivid, and quite lovely. VERDICT This thoughtful and well-done exploration of loss and recovery is an important addition to library collections.-Mary Hazelton, formerly at Warren & Waldoboro Elementary Schools, ME

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Best friends Maia and Nico are inseparable until Nico's family moves and "a hole appears in Maia's life." Maturana conscientiously and respectfully addresses emotional subtleties of missing a friend; Nico's blue, ghostly appearance and eventual "return" (visually, to Maia's heart) suggest applicability to darker types of loss. Unfortunately, the always-with-you message is ill-defined, and Olea's wistful illustrations, while beautifully layered, are sometimes static.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)