Reviews tagging 'War'

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

64 reviews

emily_dunn's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and War

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent

mokkekitty's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death of parent and War

Minor: Hate crime and Cannibalism

koreanlinda's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The artwork in this book is amazingly beautiful, and the writer's alternating colors for reality and fantasy add to its aesthetic. 

The story falls short for adult readers though. This book is clearly for young adults, and the story lacked the depth to be believable to the level of my satisfaction. For example, Tien's mother is fully accepting of his queerness when he comes out to her; however, the story provides no context in which she might have learned about LGBTQ identities. After fleeing the war in Vietnam and working 24/7 with limited English in the US, it is hard to imagine that she had a chance to read much about the LGBTQ community. This resolution makes the book quite idealist and open to debate whether it is beneficial or not for queer YA readers. It can be beneficial by giving them hope about how parents' unconditional love can play out; however, many of them might have a hard time relating to Tien's experience. 

One aspect that I enjoyed of the story is the author's reimagination of classic fairy tales such as Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. In the new versions, the author integrates elements from Vietnamese culture and queer community.

Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in September 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Violence, and War

starrynox's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Violence and War

lightningmc_logyn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I am blown away. This is now one of my favorite books of all time. The visual and textual story are breathtaking. The author really understands the medium and the power of graphic novel storytelling, as self-stated in the authors note end of the book. It’s woven together so beautifully. It is heartbreakingly profound and emotional. I was very moved by Tiên and Helen’s stories. The bond they have is beautiful. It was so raw and vulnerable. The art was simply beautiful, the line and color work amazing. It is powerfully delicate. It is inviting and detailed. The composition of each panel was purposeful and communicated the story perfectly. I particularly loved when only a sliver of something was shown in the panel-a wonderful use of spacial storytelling. I was shocked, moved, filled with joy and fear and tenderness and love while reading this book. I borrowed it from the library but I know I must own it someday. I wish I could put this book in the hands of every person on earth and have them read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia and War

Minor: Hate crime and Colonisation

All the listed content subjects are handled seriously and with care in the book. The tone is very much one of accepting painful life experiences and turning to loved ones to guide eachother.

palmkd's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is a touching story about relationships and family. Tiến's parents immigrated from Vietnam to the US. They speak a mix of languages at home and sometimes it's hard to find the right words in the right language. They read stories together which is a way to practice the language, but also a way to come together.

This story focuses mainly on Tiến and his mom, but is sprinkled with fairy tales, including some gritty dark ones, to highlight some great truths.

Highly recommend!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Blood and War

Minor: Cannibalism

gillianengelbrecht's review

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Outing

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and War

i_like_books123's review

slow-paced

1.0

It was a looooooooot darker then I thought, see my contact warnings to see what I mean.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, and War

Moderate: Violence and Blood

lunarstrudel's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I don't have words for how good this is. Truly amazing! The way all the stories are woven together is just breathtaking. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent

Minor: Hate crime, Outing, and War

michaelion's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Trung Le Nguyen you have a fan in me for life for the art style alone. It felt like I was watching a film. It's so vibrant! For life!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Outing

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Incest and Cannibalism