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erebus53's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
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
As someone who is a reader of queer and migrant fiction, and reinterpreted fairytales, this was a really cool way of exploring some issues.
This is beautifully illustrated with super clean lines and a subtle colour palette. It's really easy on the eyes. The author's notes after the story fleshed out a lot of the ideas that he had developing the characters and the influences that were integrated to give each character, time and country a unique sense of place. The ballet scenes gave me Revolutionary Girl: Utena vibes.
This is a story of hope, that explores what it is like to find belonging when you are between worlds. It's a way to find words when your language doesn't quite match up with your deepest feelings, and though it's told through shared fairytale stories, these serve as a starting point for understanding real life.
I'm going to try and convince my daughter to read this one because I think it might be right up her alley... and isn't sharing stories what it's all about?
This is beautifully illustrated with super clean lines and a subtle colour palette. It's really easy on the eyes. The author's notes after the story fleshed out a lot of the ideas that he had developing the characters and the influences that were integrated to give each character, time and country a unique sense of place. The ballet scenes gave me Revolutionary Girl: Utena vibes.
This is a story of hope, that explores what it is like to find belonging when you are between worlds. It's a way to find words when your language doesn't quite match up with your deepest feelings, and though it's told through shared fairytale stories, these serve as a starting point for understanding real life.
I'm going to try and convince my daughter to read this one because I think it might be right up her alley... and isn't sharing stories what it's all about?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Blood
shoohoob's review against another edition
fast-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
so sweet 🥺 resonated with me so much as queer child of immigrants. one of my faves :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War, Grief, and Homophobia
jenny_d's review against another edition
emotional
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent and Outing
megmo'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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Cannibalism
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: War and Hate crime
katiemack's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
The stories are beautiful, but I didn't expect to get choked up at the ending. Wow.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Abandonment, and Death
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Death of parent
Disconnection from culture, refugee camp.lri_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
Minor: Outing
littlecake's review against another edition
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
5.0
"This little book [passport] took me eight years to earn. Was it worth the last eight years of my mother's life ? And what sort of daughter does that make me?"
Wow, this book made me feel so many emotions. It might be my favorite of all the graphic novels I have read in 2022.
At its core, "The Magic fish" is a mother/son story. Tiên is a young Vietnamese boy struggling to explain to his mother, Hiên, that he is gay. It explores their relationship, the language gap, and how they create new ways to communicate by mixing English and Vietnamese. As an immigrant child myself, it was such a relatable setting. We all forge these new vocabularies within our families. Our parents lose a bit of touch with their original language. Still, we also integrate part of their vocabularies to describe our realities. This mix is a beautiful bridge created between different generations, and Le Nguyen depicted them beautifully.
Often, in mainstream media or books, our immigrant parents are depicted as these stiff figures - unwilling to change their habits and stuck in another time and/or place. However, it fails to celebrate our parent's sacrifices, resilience, and adaptation to a hostile world. Through Hiên's (the mother) character, Le Nguyen celebrated each of those sacrifices - which felt healing to my heart. Hiên's point of view was touching: a longing for her country and her family, the price she pays to live a new life and allow the next generation to live more comfortably.
I also loved how Tiên viewed his mom: someone that shelters him, someone he wants sincerely to connect with. But, at the same time, he feels they come from different worlds and is afraid she won't be able to accept him. This is, of course, enhanced by his homosexuality. The coming out is treated with so much love and empathy.
As a lover of fairytales, I enjoyed the different retellings in the book. They are all used to convey lessons important to the characters. The art is stunning. Furthermore, I also loved how Le Nguyen incorporated each teller's imagery to create a world and a story unique to them for each fairytale.
The last page made me teary. This book is truly a celebration of immigrant families and their resilience, and it will stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
Homophobia is shown but addressed in a subtle way.risten's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Hate crime, Death, Homophobia, Grief, Murder, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Blood
misosoupp31's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-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
The way the fairytales connected with the story of Tiên and his mother worked so well and the story was so cute and so sad at the same time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent