Other Ever Afters StoriesNew Queer Fairy Tales

Melanie Gillman — 2022

Once upon a time . . . happily ever after turned out differently than expected. In this new, feminist, queer fairy-tale collection, you’ll find the princesses, mermaids, knights, barmaids, children, and wise old women who have been forced to sit on the sidelines in classic stories taking center stage. A gorgeous all-new collection in graphic novel format from a Stonewall Honor-winning author and artist. What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom? Award-winning author Melanie Gillman’s phenomenal colored-pencil art creates another "ever after" for the characters who are most worthy of it.

Reviews

Sabrina D. @readingsofaslinky

Sep 26, 2023

The short sweet queer fairytales everyone needs.

Paige Green@popthebutterfly

Sep 9, 2022

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Other Ever Afters

Author: Melanie Gillman

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Sapphic characters, people of color main characters, plus size characters, trans character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, graphic novel, LGBT, fantasy, queer, retellings, fairy tales

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

Genre: YA Graphic Novel

Age Relevance: 13+ (illness, gore, violence, death, poverty)

Explanation of Above: There is some illness depicted in the book. There is some gore with blood and violence shown with weapons. Death is mentioned and shown in the book. There is also extreme poverty shown.

Publisher: Random House Graphic

Pages: 240

Synopsis: Once upon a time . . . happily ever after turned out differently than expected. In this new, feminist, queer fairy-tale collection, you’ll find the princesses, mermaids, knights, barmaids, children, and wise old women who have been forced to sit on the sidelines in classic stories taking center stage. A gorgeous all-new collection in graphic novel format from a Stonewall Honor-winning author and artist.

What if the giant who abducted you was actually thoughtful and kind? What if you didn’t want to marry your handsome, popular, but cold-inside suitor? What if your one true love has all the responsibilities that come with running a kingdom?

Review: I really liked this short anthology of queer fairy tale books. I love the overarching story theme and I loved how diverse the book was. The book did well to keep the ton of the fairy tales and to also have important life lessons in them. I especially liked the trans analogy one and the one with the flowers. The book was also beautifully illustrated. I also think it could be good for children younger than the intended audience, as it was overall sweet and had very little graphic details.

The only issue I had with the book is that it ended really short. I think it could have fit in a few more stories and offered a bit more LGBT aspects to it.

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!