A review by melbsreads
The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Nguyen
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Trigger warnings: refugee experiences, war (in the past), coming out, death of a parent/grandparent. The rest relate to the fairytales that are told in the story: murder, animal death, forced marriage, cannibalism, blood.
Oh, my heart. This is a beautiful graphic novel about a 13 year old boy struggling to come out to his parents because he doesn't know how to express it in Vietnamese and he's worried they won't understand if he tells them in English. Each day, he and his mother read aloud together, and the fairytales that they read are recreated as part of the story.
I was initially a little hesitant because I'm not a fairytale person and the early stages of the book are VERY fairytale heavy. But ultimately, this was a beautiful and emotional and heartfelt read, and I really loved the family dynamic. The art is GORGEOUS and I'd love to read this again in print form to appreciate the art properly next time around. Definitely going to have to get a copy of this for work because the kids will LOVE it.
Oh, my heart. This is a beautiful graphic novel about a 13 year old boy struggling to come out to his parents because he doesn't know how to express it in Vietnamese and he's worried they won't understand if he tells them in English. Each day, he and his mother read aloud together, and the fairytales that they read are recreated as part of the story.
I was initially a little hesitant because I'm not a fairytale person and the early stages of the book are VERY fairytale heavy. But ultimately, this was a beautiful and emotional and heartfelt read, and I really loved the family dynamic. The art is GORGEOUS and I'd love to read this again in print form to appreciate the art properly next time around. Definitely going to have to get a copy of this for work because the kids will LOVE it.