While it may not be a real place on Earth today, Yop City was based off of Abidjan as it existed back then – with its bustling markets and vibrant culture. The stories are set in an imaginary version of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s largest city at that time. She starts off as an ambitious young woman who dreams big but has yet to find direction for her future-a common theme among many teenagers today! As time p***es, however, she begins to take control over her own destiny while also learning valuable lessons about friendship and responsibility along the way. It’s more like a dreamscape than anything else one where readers can explore different aspects of African culture through the eyes of Aya and her peers.Īya herself is eighteen years old when we first meet her in Yop City, though she ages throughout the course of the story arc (as do all characters).

While it does exist as a place within the pages of its graphic novels, there isn’t actually any physical location that corresponds to this imaginary world.

The answer to whether or not Yop City is real depends on how you define “real”. The series follows the life of Aya, an 18-year-old girl living in Yop City with her family and friends. Ayais the winner of the Best First Album Award at the AngoulÃªme International Comics Festival was nominated for the YALSA's Great Graphic Novels list and was included on 'best of' lists from The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.Yop City is a fictional city created by French comic book artist Marguerite Abouet and illustrator Clément Oubrerie. Inspired by Abouet's childhood, the series has received praise for offering relief from the disaster-struck focus of most stories set in Africa. This second volume of the complete Aya includes unique appendices-recipes, guides to understanding Ivorian slang, street sketches, and concluding remarks from Marguerite Abouet explaining history and social milieu. With a little help from the tight-knit community of Yopougon though, Aya comes through these trials stronger than ever. When a professor tries to take advantage of Aya, her plans to become a doctor are seriously shaken, and she vows to take revenge on the lecherous man. While the stories found in Aya: Love in Yop City maintain their familiar tone, quick pace, and joyfulness, we see Aya and her friends beginning to make serious decisions about their future. Aya is a lighthearted story about life in the Ivory Coast during the 1970s, a particularly thriving and wealthy time in the country's history. The dramatic conclusion to the Aya seriesĪya: Love in Yop City comprises the final three chapters of the Aya story, episodes never before seen in English.

Aya of yop city