Reviews

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

daibanana's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

5.0

bawling my eyes out 

alyssathinkstoomuch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-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

moyarb's review against another edition

emotional hopeful

5.0

frantic_vampire's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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

This was a lovely, heartwarming read. The mix of fairytales and immigrant family life and coming out in a time when it wasn’t always excepted, were so brilliantly swirled together. The visuals were stunning and the story flowed so beautifully from one fairytale to another. It was so cool to see all of these stories that are so familiar to me through a different lens and different cultural interpretations. I loved this so much and it’s getting five stars from me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Grief

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Animal death, and Cannibalism

caseybug's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

vael's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia

hickorynut's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This was an exquisitely illustrated story of a modern family telling stories that combined elements of Vietnamese folklore with the stories of Cinderella and the Little Mermaid. Tien's mother Helen is a Vietnamese immigrant who uses reading out loud to help her converse with her son growing up in America with English as his primary language. The stories of both Cinderella and the Little Mermaid reflect the journeys of each modern family member and the family's immigration story.

The mythological elements were stunning and had a twisted darkness to them. At times I did wish there was a little more depth and emotional processing by all the characters, modern and mythological. But overall the stories were beautifully woven and a lovely read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

erickasparkles's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

1vyanne's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

leeniela's review against another edition

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? It's complicated