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orchidd's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Hate crime, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Outing, and War
phantastic'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
4.5
The artwork is absolutely stunning and innovative; I appreciated the creative decision to make some artwork depicting important scenes be unrestricted by the panel boxes. Sometimes the art and/or speech bubbles don’t follow a linear path, which I thought added a nice touch to the way the story was told.
The writing can feel clunky at times, but that’s not to the detriment of the overall story or message. I recommend it to anyone looking to read a deeply personal, heartfelt story; This is a beautiful graphic novel about the struggle of immigration—being stuck between your old life versus your new life—and coming to terms with your identity.
The writing can feel clunky at times, but that’s not to the detriment of the overall story or message. I recommend it to anyone looking to read a deeply personal, heartfelt story; This is a beautiful graphic novel about the struggle of immigration—being stuck between your old life versus your new life—and coming to terms with your identity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Outing
meaghanelizabook's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War
jessie_h's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This art in this graphic novel was absolutely gorgeous! The story even more so. It gave us a look in what life would be like for a child of an immigrant family and the complications that come with that. Like not knowing a word to describe something in your parents' native tongue to explain an important thing. It's also a story about changes and how you can't go back even if you wanted to. It made me tear up in several spots and gave me the opportunity to see a perspective that I did not have before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Grief
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Outing
Minor: Animal death
lunarxcross's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
lifeonasofa's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-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
The Magic Fish 🐟 Review
Real life isn’t a fairy tale. In fairy tales, the prince falls in love with the princess. But Tien had a different story to tell. His parents are refugees struggling to learn English, and he doesn’t know how to come out to them in Vietnamese. If he doesn’t even have the right words, how can he ever known if his parents will accept him? 💕
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 Stars
STUNNING STORY! I was mesmerised by the way fairy tales were used in this book to move the story forward. The illustrations were SO beautiful and colours used, so simple and clever! With language being a barrier for Tien, this graphic novel captured the story perfectly. 🎨
The relationships were everything in this story. Tien and his mother, his parents, his friendships and his family across the pond. They were so heartwarmingly powerful and necessary when both Tien and his mother felt lost in this world. 🥰
Heads up, this is a really emotional read, check triggers. Some of the illustrations during fairy tale retellings are a little gory. But the representation in this book *chefs kiss* I can hear all the queer hearts singing around the world. 🌈
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Outing
jayisreading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
What a quiet and beautiful story. The intertwining of fairy tales and Tiến‘s life was so well approached to gently open up a difficult-to-navigate conversation. An all-too-familiar situation that many immigrant families find themselves in, Tiến (the protagonist) struggles to figure out how to talk to his refugee parents in Vietnamese, as they are struggling to learn English, about a delicate topic. In this case, it’s Tiến‘s sexuality.
Of course, more that happens than this basic premise. There are so many layers to this graphic novel, exploring the complexities of grief from various perspectives in Tiến‘s family as well as in the fairy tales themselves. As gentle as this graphic novel can be, it will also tug at your heartstrings as Nguyen guides the reader through Vietnamese culture and storytelling.
Lastly, I just want to say how stunning the illustrations are. Each page was absolutely breathtaking, especially when they transitioned into fairy tales. I also thought it was incredibly clever to intertwine what was happening in “real” life and in fiction based on color.
I highly recommend picking this graphic novel up. It’s beautiful in every sense of the word.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
Minor: Emotional abuse and Cannibalism
chrisljm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
This graphic novel is so beautiful. The illustrations are stunning and I loved the utilization of monochromatic colors. The styling is simple, which made all the details stand out and wow they were gorgeous. I really enjoyed all parts of the artwork but what I loved most were, first, the clothing. Some of the dresses designed in the book took my breath away and I enjoyed seeing how they were inspired from real life pieces. The second thing that left me in awe were the illustrations of nature. Just the way the evening sky was drawn and how they transferred so beautifully onto the dresses, or even the flowers in the garden; it’s realistic but still so magical.
The illustrations and the text complimented each other really well, and the integration of fairytales was done so amazingly. This is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I’ve ever read. The illustrations, details, use of color, modern day storyline, memories, and fairytale retellings blended together so perfectly.
The illustrations and the text complimented each other really well, and the integration of fairytales was done so amazingly. This is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I’ve ever read. The illustrations, details, use of color, modern day storyline, memories, and fairytale retellings blended together so perfectly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Outing, and War
ollie_again's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
rachelbug's review
hopeful
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? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Grief