Samantha Milfort &
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

a stunning story with beautiful art

3.75 ⭐️ Such a wonderful queer, vietnamese graphic novel about a boy and his refugee parents exchanging their own versions of fairytale stories with a twist. It’s a wonderful and unique way of storytelling with a gorgeous art style that tackles grief, feeling disconnected with one’s roots, acceptance, family, and friendship.

Throughout the book is about family, sacrifices for love, self esteem, and choices. Family is blood. Family is found. Family is friendship. Sacrifices can be leaving loved ones behind. They can be missing important events because money is tight. It can be having to mend and re-mend old things because new things are out of reach. Self esteem is self love. It's keeping secrets. It's leaving toxic people behind. It's taking chances on who to trust. It's being open. Choices are what gets a person through life. Good choices. Bad choices. Choices made when no option seems good. http://pussreboots.com/blog/2021/comm...

when tien said, “i just don’t know how to… ask for things. i don’t want to trouble anybody. i just… i feel like everybody’s problems are so much bigger than mine,” i felt that. i’d also been listening to the how deep is your love cover from bridgerton s2 while i was reading the little mermaid part and it really added to the vibes (so i highly recommend lol) okay i just cried HAHA wow that was so beautiful, that’s all i can say

I loved this book from page one!I knew I was getting into a story about a little boy trying to connect with his mother, but I wasn’t expecting the mother’s story line to be such an integral part to the book. It was an incredible surprise! And one that made so much sense. When you’re trying to tell a story about connection, it helps so much, as the reader, to know both sides so well.I was in love with the characters by page two. I cried when they cried, I was in rage when they were being treated unfairly, I hugged it close to my heart when I finished, so that I could give the characters a hug.A special mention to the friend group, that even if it wasn’t a big part of the story, they were fantastic all the same.The fairy tales, and the way they are woven into this book are without a doubt my favorite part. I loved seeing the different interpretations of fairy tales and the way they changed with each culture and character. I loved the extra content the author wrote and drew at the end, explaining all the little nuances that went into this particular aspect of the book.The art is stunning. It’s very rare that I pick up a graphic novel in full color, which would be worth it just for the aesthetic of it, but the way Trung Le Nguyen uses color to tell the story along his intricate beautiful drawing had me in love.It is a story about a boy trying to come out to his mother. But I think it’s above all a story about connection. Connection between a mother and a son that are not from the same country. Between a mother and her mother, that was left behind. The mother and the new country she had to run to, not knowing a word of the language. And how stories and storytelling will always help us with that.

rip fishy.

beautiful and very well-crafted narration with the color selection used. it's such a feel-good book without sprinkling the harsh trauma and stigma surrounding these topics. the ending caught me by surprise and after finishing this book, i can't stop thinking about page 147 and how it went full circle.

it's just so beautiful and magical :"

"Joy is a precious thing. And precious things are few. So we learn to hold on to them" Yes, this did make me tear up. Beautiful illustrations and frame narration. It was cool to see the main characters reflect into the stories' characters.

I heard someone say that we should be a little more lax with our top tiers and while I can see how that would fit with other books, “The Magic Fish” truly is a 5 star book for me. I cried a lot. I enjoyed myself. The art is mesmerizing. Love defies language but that doesn’t mean you can’t have both.

Beautifully written, visually enchanting, and a final page to hit you right in the feels. Absolutely brilliant.

Every single thing about this was beautiful.

Woah. This comic tackled so much in so few pages, and pulled it off beautifully. The main character, Tien, is a Vietnamese kid with a crush on his friend. Interspersed between his troubles and conflicts as a kid exploring what it means to be queer are modern/different takes on fairy tales told between Tien and his mom. The fairy tales are twists on traditional tales (Cinderella, Little Mermaid), but are told with gorgeous visuals and parallels to Tien's life. The color palette of the panels changes to indicate what is being focused on, which I think is a neat touch that really lends itself to this comic. The visuals and artwork are absolutely stunning, and I appreciated the author including thoughts and concept art at the very end. I don't fit into any of the groups this story is aimed at, but I still found myself drawn into the stories being told. It really hit me in the feels, honestly. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this comic in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book. The art is gorgeous. It's a 4 instead of 5 stars because none of the Fairy Tales are kind of "finished", and it does leave me wondering about what happens in them, or who certain characters are.

Explores character conflicts through fairy tales, those fairy tales reflect characters in the graphic novel. Elegant, and short experience, packed with research and care. The drawing style is clean and really pleasant to look at.

not the ending of this book genuinely making me cry???

beautiful illustrations & adore the layering of stories

brb crying

This is a beautiful book. The art is gorgeous. It's a 4 instead of 5 stars because none of the Fairy Tales are kind of "finished", and it does leave me wondering about what happens in them, or who certain characters are.

4.75 the art style the fairytales tiến and his mom’s relationship… ❤️ everything about this

i really liked this! super pretty illustrations and cute ending. felt slightly rushed but still really goos

i love the art style and how he managed to express his identity to his mum through stories!!

4.5, only because I was a little lost at times (probably my own fault!) Gosh… that tale of Cinderella was very intense. This graphic novel was absolutely stunning and. ahoy to absorb. Struggling to communicate with parents and learning to through stories hit my heart just right. I can’t wait for more from this author (perhaps even more in the fairytale world?)

Beautifully illustrated and stirring to read! I finished it in one night!