A review by thistle_and_verse
I Am Magical (magnifiqueNOIR, #1) by Briana Lawrence

5.0

I heard about this book online, and for some reason, I thought it was a graphic novel, but it's a book with illustrations and mini-comics inside. The format is almost like a collage or mixed-media piece but in written/ book form. I can tell that the authors and illustrators put a lot of heart into this book. In shows about girl groups, it's common for each girl to fill a trope, but all the characters felt fresh and real. My personal favorites were Marianna and Lonnie. Bree makes a lot of pop culture references, which I got, but I don't think it's too distracting if you didn't. I didn't realize how much I needed to see Black LBT+ women being happy and having friendships with each other. Even the side characters had fuzzy interactions. I loved Rodney and Raye's relationship and their gym. The author also did a great job of escalating the monsters and the conflicts throughout the book. The interpersonal issues she chose to address really resonated with me. I don't really watch much of the magical girl genre, but I still loved this book, and I hope to see more installments of magnifiqueNOIR.