Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

6 reviews

indeedithappens's review

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

maple_dusk's review

emotional hopeful relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

I have to say--this is one of the most relaxing books I've read in a while (it's YA, no less!). Yet, somehow, it manages to beautifully discuss things like immigration, war (briefly), cultural barriers, homophobia, etc.

The art is beautiful and eye-catching. I loved the character designs too! The ending is fantastic and wraps up the whole book so well.

No matter what, I know I can't do this book justice, so I'm just going to encourage you to read it.

Favorite Quote:

"<My Vietnamese is weakening, every day. I'm changing.
My past and present selves speak two different languages.
It feels like I died on that boat. And I'm still stuck in the middle of the ocean.
Far away from my mother . . .
. . . and far away from my son.
I'm afraid Tiến doesn't think he can tell me things.
I'm sure he can feel it. I know I do.
And I wish it wasn't that way.

Did my mother feel that way? Did she feel like this all those years I was away?>"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and War

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, and Grief

Child marriage (Minor)

library_of_noxx's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

emily_mh's review

emotional hopeful 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

4.75

This graphic novel was so incredibly clever. The way the fairytales Tiến and Helen tell each other are tied into the narrative not only to reflect particular events but, as the author points out, more overarching themes of immigration. The way the fairytales are used to communicate ideas between the characters - this really highlighted the power of stories. And the fairytales were fantastic in and of themselves! The author also explains so many layers of meaning that I missed my first time reading, so I think this is one of those books where you’ve got to reread to pick up on all the nuances. For example, he discusses how imagery of the fairytale being told changes based on who is narrating, which blew my mind when I flicked back through the book. I could just tell that so much thought and detail went into expressing the story.

At its core this book is about a mother-son relationship which it displays impeccably. The love and the care Tiến and Helen had for one another! Their desire to understand and be understood! I especially loved that Helen was included as a character in her own right, as it is rare for a mother-figure to have this. This inclusion brought the theme of a two-sided relationship to life as both sides of the story were shown.

The art was gorgeous. There was super effective use of colour in that only three were used (in different tones) so as to demarcate parts of the book: red for the present, blue for fairytales, and yellow for the past. The detail of the clothing and hair of the characters was wonderful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Medical content, and War

Moderate: the refugee experience, sick loved one, loss of a loved one, forced separation from family, death of pet Minor: child bride, drowning

thevampiremars's review

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

An enchanting story that weaves together narratives of the past, the present, and fairy tales. The Magic Fish broke my heart and lovingly stitched it back together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Grief, and Outing

Moderate: Animal death, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, and War

housesparrow's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

A gorgeous, fantastic, wonderful book for all ages. The art, the story, the simple complexity, everything about this story speaks to my heart. I genuinely cannot recommend this book enough.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

The book handles these issues with dignity, respect, and care for the audience.