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dogoodwithbooks'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? No
4.5
In a semi-autobiographical take on his coming out experience to his family and friends, Trung Le Nguyen transports readers to the heart of connection through the love of stories in spite of hate and fear.
Not only is this just a graphic novel with pretty illustrations, Trung Le Nguyen has readers sucked into the heart of the story: whether that would be Tiến in the present trying to figure out how he can come out to his family or Tien’s mom reflecting on the sacrifices she’s made to become a U.S. citizen or the various fairytales Tiến reads to his mother.
Full of heart despite the darker topics addressed in the book, readers will absolutely love the underlying message that happy endings are for everyone. If you’re looking for a graphic novel with coming out themes amidst examinations of fairytales throughout the world, you will definitely want to read The Magic Fish.
Not only is this just a graphic novel with pretty illustrations, Trung Le Nguyen has readers sucked into the heart of the story: whether that would be Tiến in the present trying to figure out how he can come out to his family or Tien’s mom reflecting on the sacrifices she’s made to become a U.S. citizen or the various fairytales Tiến reads to his mother.
Full of heart despite the darker topics addressed in the book, readers will absolutely love the underlying message that happy endings are for everyone. If you’re looking for a graphic novel with coming out themes amidst examinations of fairytales throughout the world, you will definitely want to read The Magic Fish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, and Death
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Blood, Gore, and Outing
Minor: War and Cannibalism
tinkeringcheck's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.5
Beautiful and surprisingly layered intergenerational story woven between fairy tales and a real family, but I personally should've minded the content warnings. All of the fairy tales have a more Grimm than Disney edge (and the author's note in the end about their influences was fascinating), but one in particular went pretty dark with animal death, cannibalism, abuse, and murder. Still, the art and story are gorgeously done even if it didn't end up being for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Animal death, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Outing, Violence, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry
Minor: War
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Animal death, and Cannibalism
piperclover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
The art is beautiful and gives the whole story a whimsical fairytale feel. I appreciate that the stories being told inside the story are in a different color- pink/red for the boy and his mother and purple/blue for the stories told within. This helped me follow the different stories better and differentiate between them. I admit I don't quote understand how all the stories told within relate to the boy and his mothers story but they were compelling and beautifully drawn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Cannibalism
sapphic_alpaca's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence, Child death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Outing, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
jac_panic_attac's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Cannibalism
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Homophobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Blood
Minor: Cannibalism
claudiashelf's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Grief, and Homophobia
mbrogs2024's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
bexi's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Animal death