Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

112 reviews

phantastic'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? No

4.5

The artwork is absolutely stunning and innovative; I appreciated the creative decision to make some artwork depicting important scenes be unrestricted by the panel boxes. Sometimes the art and/or speech bubbles don’t follow a linear path, which I thought added a nice touch to the way the story was told.

The writing can feel clunky at times, but that’s not to the detriment of the overall story or message. I recommend it to anyone looking to read a deeply personal, heartfelt story; This is a beautiful graphic novel about the struggle of immigration—being stuck between your old life versus your new life—and coming to terms with your identity. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Outing

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War

lunarxcross's review

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

erin_362's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The art style in this is gorgeous and I loved the way the fairy tales were integrated into the story 
also the use of the colors showing the different times/ locations vs fantasy stuff was so cool  
I really liked this 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Outing

Moderate: Homophobia and Blood

nohousekey's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death of parent

lifeonasofa's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring tense slow-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

The Magic Fish 🐟 Review

Real life isn’t a fairy tale. In fairy tales, the prince falls in love with the princess. But Tien had a different story to tell. His parents are refugees struggling to learn English, and he doesn’t know how to come out to them in Vietnamese. If he doesn’t even have the right words, how can he ever known if his parents will accept him? 💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 Stars 

STUNNING STORY! I was mesmerised by the way fairy tales were used in this book to move the story forward. The illustrations were SO beautiful and colours used, so simple and clever! With language being a barrier for Tien, this graphic novel captured the story perfectly. 🎨

The relationships were everything in this story. Tien and his mother, his parents, his friendships and his family across the pond. They were so heartwarmingly powerful and necessary when both Tien and his mother felt lost in this world. 🥰

Heads up, this is a really emotional read, check triggers. Some of the illustrations during fairy tale retellings are a little gory. But the representation in this book *chefs kiss* I can hear all the queer hearts singing around the world. 🌈

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Outing

idlereader's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Blood

birdieblue'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: Body horror, Death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, War, and Classism

Minor: Religious bigotry, Outing, and Abandonment

chrisljm's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This graphic novel is so beautiful. The illustrations are stunning and I loved the utilization of monochromatic colors. The styling is simple, which made all the details stand out and wow they were gorgeous. I really enjoyed all parts of the artwork but what I loved most were, first, the clothing. Some of the dresses designed in the book took my breath away and I enjoyed seeing how they were inspired from real life pieces. The second thing that left me in awe were the illustrations of nature. Just the way the evening sky was drawn and how they transferred so beautifully onto the dresses, or even the flowers in the garden; it’s realistic but still so magical. 

The illustrations and the text complimented each other really well, and the integration of fairytales was done so amazingly. This is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I’ve ever read. The illustrations, details, use of color, modern day storyline, memories, and fairytale retellings blended together so perfectly.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Outing, and War

thevampiremars'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

4.5

An enchanting story that weaves together narratives of the past, the present, and fairy tales. The Magic Fish broke my heart and lovingly stitched it back together. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Grief, and Outing

Moderate: Animal death, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, and War