sandraagee's review against another edition
3.0
Just the kind of thing you expect from David Wiesner.
theinkwyrm's review against another edition
4.0
A sweet middle grade graphic novel with beautiful illustrations. The ending was a little far-fetched, but there you go. Still, not a bad use of 30 minutes.
fictionfiend74's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mat_tobin's review against another edition
5.0
With prolific writer, Napoli, along for the ride, Wiesner turns his hands to the graphic novel format and succeeds in spades. Riffing on the Anderson fairy tale, it is a story of self-discovery and rite of passage that sees a young mermaid seeks to find the truth to her past. In doing so she discovers the adult world in which she is trapped is full of lies and deception for the gain of others; it is for her to take charge and seek her own destiny.
Set within a sea-front aquarium that is a converted, three-storey building (I loved this concept), a man claiming to be Neptune, king of the oceans, calls the general public to his odd and magical setting. There, visitors get to see sharks and starfish as well as submerged bedrooms and schools of fish. This is the world of an unnamed young girl who must show brief glimpses of herself to the captive audience but never reveal her full self and risk of being taken away. When one inquisitive girl stays behind at the end of the show and discovers her, the mermaid's life changes forever.
With a water-tight plot and riffing on male/parental domination and control, Fish Girl is a fascinating insight into retellings of fairytales through the graphic novel format. Wiesner's eye for pace and perspective throughout is excellent and I enjoyed reading it in a single sitting. Would be a fascinating read for Y5+
Set within a sea-front aquarium that is a converted, three-storey building (I loved this concept), a man claiming to be Neptune, king of the oceans, calls the general public to his odd and magical setting. There, visitors get to see sharks and starfish as well as submerged bedrooms and schools of fish. This is the world of an unnamed young girl who must show brief glimpses of herself to the captive audience but never reveal her full self and risk of being taken away. When one inquisitive girl stays behind at the end of the show and discovers her, the mermaid's life changes forever.
With a water-tight plot and riffing on male/parental domination and control, Fish Girl is a fascinating insight into retellings of fairytales through the graphic novel format. Wiesner's eye for pace and perspective throughout is excellent and I enjoyed reading it in a single sitting. Would be a fascinating read for Y5+
stephisbranded's review against another edition
4.0
This book was beautiful- the story, the illustrations, everything. It was a play on the little mermaid, but about finding where you belong and where friends can be anywhere. So wonderful.
jmonfared's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lovegirl30's review against another edition
5.0
The book follows the story of Fish Girl, who is a mermaid imprisoned inside of a house by Zeus. Everyday she is forced to play find and seek with the various visitors who come in the hopes of getting a glimpse of her. I loved the artwork in this book. I included my favorite page of artwork in this book. The colors are bright and flat like a normal comic book with various text boxes.
The mermaid only knows what she has lived. The mermaid doesn't realize there is something that is wrong with the way she is living her childhood. This is until a little girl her age opens her eyes to her real situation. I do question how the mermaid could possibly have lived this long without having wondered once about who Zeus is and how everything works.
Overall this is a beautiful story. The words are short and simple, it isn't poetic but it is beautiful for a graphic novel in the middle-grade genre. The images are detailed, colorful, and super realistic.
calistareads's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not sure how I really feel about this book. I think I need to throw up a spoiler warning to speak about it so:
SPOILER Ahead
It’s an interesting tale. I believe this is David’s first graphic novel and he certainly pulled it off well.
We have the example of the little mermaid who was a mermaid that wants to be a human. There is precedent. The funny thing is that most children seem to want to be mermaids or something else. This Fish Girl is a mermaid and she doesn’t seem to desire to be human, she simply desires to be free. In the end, she is completely human and she can’t go back. Maybe this is saying as we step into ourselves and stand up, we have to give something up. There are sacrifices needed to take our shackles off. I feel like he is speaking of growing up and getting out of our parents house and into our lives.
Fish Girl lives in an aquarium with some man calling himself Neptune. He has the girl convinced he is THE Neptune. She does find out he uses machines to do the things she thought we his power of the seas. The man is simply trying to pay bills and he is providing for the Fish Girl while also limiting her experience of life.
The girl gets out of the tank at night. She becomes more bold and eventually she finds out she has legs. When she gets back in the water, her tail comes back. At least until the end, when she gets her legs for the last time. She tries to go back in the water and her tail doesn’t come back. She can not ever go back to her home in the ocean. She has a best friend of an Octopus who seems to be able to change sizes and I wonder if he is the real Neptune??? The octopus must go back to the ocean and the girl finds a human family. We assume she is not going to be put in the foster home system, because that would be cruel after what she did.
The artwork is lovely in the giant building of an aquarium. The building must have been reinforced somehow to how that much weight. There was wonder in the story and the story has something to say. I go back and forth between 3 and 4 stars. After discussing it, I still don’t know how I feel. I thought the setting and characters were good and a great seed of an idea for the story. I thought it was a good story, but I don’t have a fully positive feeling after the story either and maybe that’s ok. Not all stories are to lift us up. This story left me feeling sad and unsatisfied over the story I think. THat is why I’m at 3 stars. I somehow feel unsatisfied.
I love David Wiesner as a storyteller. I guess this has to do with where I’m at this moment. The story does ask questions and provokes thought, so it does its job. It’s a story on in the middle on.
SPOILER Ahead
It’s an interesting tale. I believe this is David’s first graphic novel and he certainly pulled it off well.
We have the example of the little mermaid who was a mermaid that wants to be a human. There is precedent. The funny thing is that most children seem to want to be mermaids or something else. This Fish Girl is a mermaid and she doesn’t seem to desire to be human, she simply desires to be free. In the end, she is completely human and she can’t go back. Maybe this is saying as we step into ourselves and stand up, we have to give something up. There are sacrifices needed to take our shackles off. I feel like he is speaking of growing up and getting out of our parents house and into our lives.
Fish Girl lives in an aquarium with some man calling himself Neptune. He has the girl convinced he is THE Neptune. She does find out he uses machines to do the things she thought we his power of the seas. The man is simply trying to pay bills and he is providing for the Fish Girl while also limiting her experience of life.
The girl gets out of the tank at night. She becomes more bold and eventually she finds out she has legs. When she gets back in the water, her tail comes back. At least until the end, when she gets her legs for the last time. She tries to go back in the water and her tail doesn’t come back. She can not ever go back to her home in the ocean. She has a best friend of an Octopus who seems to be able to change sizes and I wonder if he is the real Neptune??? The octopus must go back to the ocean and the girl finds a human family. We assume she is not going to be put in the foster home system, because that would be cruel after what she did.
The artwork is lovely in the giant building of an aquarium. The building must have been reinforced somehow to how that much weight. There was wonder in the story and the story has something to say. I go back and forth between 3 and 4 stars. After discussing it, I still don’t know how I feel. I thought the setting and characters were good and a great seed of an idea for the story. I thought it was a good story, but I don’t have a fully positive feeling after the story either and maybe that’s ok. Not all stories are to lift us up. This story left me feeling sad and unsatisfied over the story I think. THat is why I’m at 3 stars. I somehow feel unsatisfied.
I love David Wiesner as a storyteller. I guess this has to do with where I’m at this moment. The story does ask questions and provokes thought, so it does its job. It’s a story on in the middle on.
lighthartedreader's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5