Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

239 reviews

marcel_thelobotomist's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative 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? Yes

5.0

Heartwarming story of a boy and his mother learning to express love through fairy tales, overcoming language barriers.
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thenovelmaura's review against another edition

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emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book has my whole heart! The story of a Vietnamese boy struggling to come out to this family while being beautifully intertwined with relevant fairy tales is 100% my cup of tea. And the gorgeous illustrations take this book to a whole new level, with its detailed line art and use of color. Yellow =  Tiến's parents' life in Vietnam, pink = Tiến in the present day, blue = a fairy tale being told by someone in the present day. Yes, the ending made me cry (which almost distracted me from the thoughtful author's note). If you're only going to read one graphic novel this year, pick this one!
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ritaconstantino's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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rafacolog's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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meganpbell's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

5.0

Through luminous and enchanting fairy tale retellings, the young American-born Tiến connects with his mother, who emigrated from Vietnam, as he struggles to come out to her. What a thoroughly enchanting, quietly moving, and engagingly beautiful tale, touching on so many aspects of the queer and immigrant experiences in such powerful and transformative ways!
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claudiashelf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

I chose this book blindly, and it’s shockingly good. This semi-autobiographical graphic novel about the Vietnamese diaspora takes up fairy tale retellings to explore immigration, communication, queerness, and love. The story in this book warmed my heart and nearly made me cry, while the graphics were exquisitely detailed and striking. The writing and artwork in this book are well-balanced. Unfortunately, though, I found it difficult to get into the story at first since there were parts of it in Vietnamese that were not translated into English. For a while, I was unable to figure out where the story was heading. Overall, this is such a good read.
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dexkit10's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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chroniti's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

A sweet and lyrical story about storytelling, family, love, and acceptance. I like how the story didn't just focus on the son's feeling of being alienated as Vietnamese diaspora, but his mother as well. This story warmed my heart, since I am also a part of the Vietnamese LGBTQIA+ (bisexual butch Vietnamese American woman). The fairy tales are "stories told within a story" and I liked how they connected with what was happening in the lives of Tiến's family. 
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bexi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.75

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shelvesofivy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Don't mind me, just literally crying over everything about this book 🥺
The art had me from page 1, and if possible, it just got even more beautiful. I loved the use of color to help move between the fairytale, the modern, and the flashbacks. And of course, the overarching story has me crying, but it's in a cathartic way ♡
I can't recommend this enough, regardless of what you usually read ♡ 
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