-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Sole Otero
In this moving family saga, a teenage woman uncovers the hushed history of sexual violence that shattered her grandmother's life.
San Martín, Argentina, 2001. Upon her estranged grandmother Vilma's death, 19-year-old Rocío moves into a house haunted by memories. Seeking a deeper understanding, Ro delves into her family history and uncovers the episodes of violence and betrayal that shattered Vilma's dreams. All the while, the familiar scent of mothballs permeating the estate serves to remind Ro of the ineluctable spell of the past that she must break in order to forge her own path in life. Tender, heartrending, and leavened with biting humor, Mothballs is at once a moving family saga and a poignant reflection on the need to hold fast to one's identity, despite how painful it can be. A showcase of tour de force cartooning that marks Sole Otero as a major talent in the global comics scene.
"Otero's brightly colored characters are doll-like yet full of passion, outrage, and schemes, and her storytelling is just as bold and memorable as the drawings. It's an impressive achievement." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Mothballs is a profound, captivating work, which tells us about family, guilt, fears and the search for a way that prevents repeating the mistakes of the past." ―Jon Spinaro, El Diario de Navarra
"An exciting and colorful reflection on family and identity." ―Gemma Veiga, Elle Spain
"Sole Otero recounts her dive into the tragedies of her family, against the backdrop of Argentina in the crisis of 2001." ―Tommaso Koch, El País
"A majestic book that portrays the tribulations of a family saga that moves between Italy at the beginning of the 20th century and Argentina at the beginning of the 21st. A sharp reflection on the concept of family and what surrounds it." ―Borja Crespo, El Correo
This information about Mothballs was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sole Otero (b. 1985, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a comic artist, children's illustrator, and textile designer. She has published the graphic novels Poncho Fue, Intensa, and most recently Naftalina (Mothballs), which won the Fnac-Salamandra Graphic Novel Award in 2019 and the Audience Award from the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2023.
If you liked Mothballs, try these:
by Jo Piazza
Published 2025
From bestselling author and award-winning journalist Jo Piazza, comes a transporting novel rooted in the author's own family history about a long-awaited trip to Sicily, a disputed inheritance, and a family secret that some will kill to protect ...
by Rosena Fung
Published 2024
A powerful coming-of-age graphic novel about how mothers and daughters pass down—and rebel against—standards of size, gender, race, beauty, and worth.
by Thao Thai
Published 2024
A sweeping, evocative debut novel following three generations of Vietnamese American women reeling from the death of their matriarch, revealing the family's inherited burdens, buried secrets, and unlikely love stories.
A library is a temple unabridged with priceless treasure...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
