A review by sgrizzle
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings