Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Magic Fish

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Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

240 reviews

erebus53's review

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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?

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starklinqs's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This was SUCH a beautiful graphic novel. The art was STUNNING and took my breath away at quite a few points. I love how this dealt with heavy topics, while also intertwining fairy tails into it. I absolutely loved this book.

I do wish the homophobia from the school was acknowledged more though, personally. I felt like everything was acknowledged except for much of that!

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shoohoob's review against another edition

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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 :)

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wrenny03's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

This was one of the most genuinely beautiful graphic novels I've ever read. I adored the art style and how the composition was used to show all the private and powerful emotions of the characters. It's over 200 pages but it still felt like a very short story, possibly because I devoured it in one sitting, or perhaps just because of the wonderful quality of the writing and art. I loved the way Vietnamese was integrated even into the English conversations Tiến and Hiền (why does my computer make the double accent look so weird) had, though I do wish there had been a glossary/translation page somewhere in the book so I didn't have to use google to understand them. The different styles of clothing/setting used for each fairy tale were wonderful, and I loved the 'between words and pictures' section where the author explained all their choices in artwork and storytelling.

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saltylane'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? No

5.0

Beautiful artwork, beautiful story. I really enjoyed how the plot progressed, and the ending was lovely.

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sgrizzle's review

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dark 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? No

4.0

A sweet graphic novel that primarily focuses on a Vietnamese immigrant to the US and her son. She is learning English and his Vietnamese is not as fluent as he needs it to be to share something about himself, so they connect through fairy tales. Along the way we get two versions of Cinderella (one DECIDEDLY darker) and a version of The Little Mermaid, all three conveying the words our main characters can’t say. I enjoyed the author’s note and the art process pages at the end.

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