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koreanlinda's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.0
The artwork in this book is amazingly beautiful, and the writer's alternating colors for reality and fantasy add to its aesthetic.
The story falls short for adult readers though. This book is clearly for young adults, and the story lacked the depth to be believable to the level of my satisfaction. For example, Tien's mother is fully accepting of his queerness when he comes out to her; however, the story provides no context in which she might have learned about LGBTQ identities. After fleeing the war in Vietnam and working 24/7 with limited English in the US, it is hard to imagine that she had a chance to read much about the LGBTQ community. This resolution makes the book quite idealist and open to debate whether it is beneficial or not for queer YA readers. It can be beneficial by giving them hope about how parents' unconditional love can play out; however, many of them might have a hard time relating to Tien's experience.
One aspect that I enjoyed of the story is the author's reimagination of classic fairy tales such as Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. In the new versions, the author integrates elements from Vietnamese culture and queer community.
Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in September 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda
The story falls short for adult readers though. This book is clearly for young adults, and the story lacked the depth to be believable to the level of my satisfaction. For example, Tien's mother is fully accepting of his queerness when he comes out to her; however, the story provides no context in which she might have learned about LGBTQ identities. After fleeing the war in Vietnam and working 24/7 with limited English in the US, it is hard to imagine that she had a chance to read much about the LGBTQ community. This resolution makes the book quite idealist and open to debate whether it is beneficial or not for queer YA readers. It can be beneficial by giving them hope about how parents' unconditional love can play out; however, many of them might have a hard time relating to Tien's experience.
One aspect that I enjoyed of the story is the author's reimagination of classic fairy tales such as Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. In the new versions, the author integrates elements from Vietnamese culture and queer community.
Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in September 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Violence, and War
starrynox'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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Violence and War
i_like_books123's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.0
It was a looooooooot darker then I thought, see my contact warnings to see what I mean.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, and War
Moderate: Violence and Blood
chalchiuhtli'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? No
5.0
A masterful story woven with metaphor, a tale of how tales serve as their own language when the languages you speak don’t have the words you need. Very layered and beautiful narrative expressed in layered and beautiful artwork.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Homophobia
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Blood and Cannibalism
tinkeringcheck's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
Beautiful and surprisingly layered intergenerational story woven between fairy tales and a real family, but I personally should've minded the content warnings. All of the fairy tales have a more Grimm than Disney edge (and the author's note in the end about their influences was fascinating), but one in particular went pretty dark with animal death, cannibalism, abuse, and murder. Still, the art and story are gorgeously done even if it didn't end up being for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Outing
Minor: War
the_world_is_quiet_here's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A beautiful read that I would highly recommend for tweens-young adults. I am 25 and I really enjoyed it
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
there are several fairy tales told throughout the book, and the instances of murder and/or cannibalism in the stories are not shied away from. Very little is shown and its done tastefully imosapphic_alpaca's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Outing
Minor: Death of parent
readbykatherine's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Outing, and War
cahypa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Gorgeous art and storytelling. I took my time with this one. I’d love to read more of this author’s work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and War
Minor: Violence
meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
Through luminous and enchanting fairy tale retellings, the young American-born Tiến connects with his mother, who emigrated from Vietnam, as he struggles to come out to her. What a thoroughly enchanting, quietly moving, and engagingly beautiful tale, touching on so many aspects of the queer and immigrant experiences in such powerful and transformative ways!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail