A review by loosetoothfool
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

this was cute and charming  and sweet and with some unexpected emotional events and i don't really have any complaints for what it was. I enjoyed the art style and adored some pages so much, especially when the illustrator uses gorgeous bright colour combinations that pop so gorgeously, interesting dynamic compositions that have movement and a cinematic quality, and pages where there is no text, just still shots that show the story. i love that. the way the illustrator draws faces shows so much emotion, very expressive, especially in quiet moments. can't get over the lovely use of colour for different lighting scenarios, it's my favourite part of the book. i also adore the dress designs and all the costumes the characters wear and how they are drawn. it is reminding me of designing costumes and clothes when I was younger, it is definitely awakening a nostalgic feeling and this book would have been adored by a younger me as well. I would recommend this to kids and young teens, I definitely think they would enjoy it and it is an important story of acceptance and self expression for kids to see. i hope that this is targeted to children because the untypical queer/gender non conforming identity of the prince, which I haven't read or seen any content around a character like this who isn't labelled as gay or trans but is definitely queer, would be so cool for kids to read about to open their eyes to accepting different expressions or those kids who may see themselves in the characters. that is so lovely. it was a simple story with some emotional events that were surprising but did add more weight to to the story as it went on, and a very happy ending of acceptance. i would add though that it isn't fun to read about outing stories and that is a part of this. but there is acceptance in the end. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings