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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
tak_everlasting's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, and Death
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
warlocksarecool21's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
This story was absolutely beautiful. The art was gorgeous and I loved how the stories of multiple generations were interwoven with the fairytales and they each reflected something different about the characters reading them. I thought it was brilliant how each fairy tale represented something about being Vietnamese, an immigrant, and queer. This story was so sweet and it made me tear up multiple times. I loved Tiên’s relationship with his mom and how supportive she was of him. His friends were a delight as well, they were both so sweet and I loved their unconditional support of Tiên. I also adored all of the fairytales and the grittier, darker elements in each of them as opposed to the sanitized movie versions. This graphic novel was a quick read with a beautiful story and artwork, you won’t forget it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
rtaire's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
wenwanzhao's review
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
- 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
What a beautiful story. I love the way the fairy tales and the life of the Tíên were interwoven. I got really emotional and found it to be quite personally relatable at times. It doesn't hurt that the art is gorgeous. Great graphic novel all around
Content Warnings
Minor: Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse