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pam_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Cannibalism
Minor: Murder, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Outing, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, and Violence
theworminbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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? No
4.25
This was a beautiful story on the life of a mother and son, navigating through their hardships and memories through fairytales from Vietnam. The comments on immigration, maneuvering life as a first gen kid and the burdens that come with that, along with the boy trying to find a meaningful way to come out to his mom while life seems to be going haywire were just amazing and honestly could have read even more about it. This just makes me feel so happy that young people have access to books like this (,:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
Minor: Hate crime
megmo's review against another edition
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
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
emily_mh'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
4.75
This graphic novel was so incredibly clever. The way the fairytales Tiến and Helen tell each other are tied into the narrative not only to reflect particular events but, as the author points out, more overarching themes of immigration. The way the fairytales are used to communicate ideas between the characters - this really highlighted the power of stories. And the fairytales were fantastic in and of themselves! The author also explains so many layers of meaning that I missed my first time reading, so I think this is one of those books where you’ve got to reread to pick up on all the nuances. For example, he discusses how imagery of the fairytale being told changes based on who is narrating, which blew my mind when I flicked back through the book. I could just tell that so much thought and detail went into expressing the story.
At its core this book is about a mother-son relationship which it displays impeccably. The love and the care Tiến and Helen had for one another! Their desire to understand and be understood! I especially loved that Helen was included as a character in her own right, as it is rare for a mother-figure to have this. This inclusion brought the theme of a two-sided relationship to life as both sides of the story were shown.
The art was gorgeous. There was super effective use of colour in that only three were used (in different tones) so as to demarcate parts of the book: red for the present, blue for fairytales, and yellow for the past. The detail of the clothing and hair of the characters was wonderful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Death, Murder, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Physical abuse, Medical content, War, Torture, Gore, and Hate crime
Moderate: the refugee experience, sick loved one, loss of a loved one, forced separation from family, death of pet Minor: child bride, drowningjay_bubblez's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
A quiet, heartbreaking, and deeply moving story about identity, understanding and learning to communicate with those you love the most. The art style is simple and endearing, but still holds so much detail, love, and story, and a blend of cultures and time periods is very clearly expressed in the architecture, colour, and clothing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Blood
Minor: Hate crime and Homophobia
dominic_t's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
The art was amazing, and the story was so beautiful. The fairy tales were woven into the story very well.
The ending was absolutely perfect and made me cry happy tears.I loved how the mom used their shared language of fairy tales to communicate her love and support to her son, even if she didn't have all the LGBTQIA terminology.
The ending was absolutely perfect and made me cry happy tears.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing
Minor: Hate crime
flyemtothemoon's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Hate crime and Homophobia
isotope_s's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The way that Nguyen converts emotion on the page is unmatched. There is a sense that these are real people living their lives, not a character arc to pick apart—which is why I feel it’s not fair to judge it based on “character development”.
Most of the content warnings are applied due to the fairy tales Tiên and his mother read together; they do not happen to the actual characters
Most of the content warnings are applied due to the fairy tales Tiên and his mother read together; they do not happen to the actual characters
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, and Violence
orchidd's review
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: Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia
Minor: Hate crime, Cannibalism, Blood, War, Religious bigotry, and Outing