Where do I start with how much I loved The Magic Fish? Let me begin by saying that I adored not only the drawing style of Nguyen, but also the color palette in the entire graphic novel. The different color panels, for the stories versus the POVs made it both easier to understand, but also a beautiful tableau of colors. The illustrations were phenomenal, both whimsical and magical, while also being delicate.

In The Magic Fish, Nguyen is able to balance fairytales with Tiến struggling both with his potential coming out as well as his family struggles. I loved reading about Tiến's relationship with his mother, the stories they share before bed, and how The Magic Fish emphasizes the ways we find pieces of ourselves in stories. How they impact, influence, and create the worlds and possibilities swirling around us.

I enjoyed this book, but found it lacking something. I'm not sure what - but perhaps some more substance. While it has a great frame story narrative, I grew tired of the fairy tale. I do think the main story is an important one and I enjoyed that.

This was an absolute pleasure to read. The Magic Fish tells such a heartfelt tale of love, family and fairytales. I loved our main character Tiến and his devotion to books and written word. He was incredibly relatable with a unique sparkle of a personality. His friends and family were also amazing to see and read about. The formatting of this book is also something I thoroughly enjoyed. The artwork is incredible! It is so detailed and intricate. I would love to have an art print of any of the scenes! The book has a colour scheme of three colours, pinkish red, golden yellow, and a deep indigo purple. The way the graphic novel is told is also through the colour scheme. When the scenes are pinkish red they are about the present with Tiến. When they are golden yellow they are of his parents’ past and their story of immigration. And finally the indigo purple is of the fairytales that Tiến reads to his parents. The artist limited the scenes to varying shades of these colours and it brought out the true beauty in the drawings. I was immediately sucked into this immersive story as soon as I read the first page.

The entire book was beautiful, that is the word I would use to describe it best. I cannot begin to talk about how much I loved the art style, but the story itself was very touching to read. Seeing Tiến struggle against hardships like his teachers’ homophobia but also being able to enjoy himself at a school dance, showed his strong character. At many points I wanted to give him a hug, this book definitely brings out a lot of emotions. I may have teared up a bit when I read the ending. This book has definitely reignited my love of graphic novels and even fairytales! I’ve always been interested in how fairytales change depending on culture and I found it captivating as I saw them played out in front of me. It almost felt like a collection of mini stories throughout the bigger graphic novel which I enjoyed immensely. I left this book feeling very happy and content. Which I think so many of us need right now!

With that said I have to tell you that this has become one of my favourite graphic novels of all time. Between the artwork, heartfelt story of family, and fantastic fairytales, this is a book you cannot miss!

The Magic Fish uses the story within a story format and seamlessly.

Tien needs to tell his mother something important about himself but he doesn't know the word for it in Vietnamese and his mother struggles with her English. His mother is also suffering from her own internal struggles with her family back home. I loved how the fairytale retellings were used to help with their communication as they sat and read to one another. No spoilers but the ending was fantastic!

Absolutely a powerful and heartwarming graphic novel. The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen treads delicately heavy subjects through fairytale retellings. This is one of my favorite graphic novels this year!

I was raised in a family where we rarely communicated our ‘feelings’ openly to each other. I couldn’t remember if we had a moment where we verbally told we loved each other. It was that, or my memory just failed me. Anyway, even now, expressing my feelings openly is just hard and awkward for me. That was why I could somehow relate to Tien and his mother. They both had personal struggles and emotional baggage they carried. Tien wanted to tell his mother what he was going through but finding words to say them was just hard. His mother felt and knew that Tien was going through something, but she did not know how to reach him. Communicating was harder for them because of their language barrier, generation, and cultural context. However, through the stories they read together, little by little they were able to connect and convey what they felt and wanted to say.

Speaking of stories, this novel had multiple ones. It was fascinating how the way the fairytale stories paralled and changed depending who narrated them. I really liked how this novel emphasized how even when stories changed in different generations, their core values remained unchanged and these values connected peoole in different ways.

The artwork is just as beautiful as the plot itself. The color changed depending on whose perspective the story were being narrated. I also appreciated how each panels where drawn elegantly. I also enjoyed reading the notes and researched the author included in the end of the novel. On the other hand, the characters were all fantastic. The author nailed fleshing-out both adult and teen characters. I especially love Tien’s two best friends. They were supportive, understanding, and loyal. I think it was really important for Tien to have such solid friends, especially when he was having a hard time coming out to his parents.

Overall, The Magic Fish is a touching coming-of-age story that also tackles family, grief, and love. I highly recommend this novel!

5/5 stars!

The Magic Fish was such a unique and beautiful story to read. I love the illustrations and how the author weaved the fairytales with Tiến and his mother's life. I was so captivated by the tales and the ending to the book was so pure. I also enjoyed the included part of the author talking about the stories he chose and the specific artistic choices he made.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen is a comfortable mix of fairy tales and real life. The characters are likeable and the art work brings the story to life. The story within a story works well.

I had several ARCs expiring in the next couple of weeks, and when I noticed almost all of them were graphic novels, I decided to make a day of it and read them all.

This was the third and final one I tackled, and it is by far the most complex.

Tiến's internal struggle to come out to his parents is woven with the story of his mother's escape from Vietnam and the various fairy tales they read aloud as a family. The fairy tales are beautiful and horrible, splendid and grotesque. (And, in some cases, bloody and violent.)

While I absolutely adored the diverse fairy tales included throughout the story, they also seemed to overshadow Tiến's storyline. There was not near enough time for Tiến to develop and have meaningful growth--but I loved the fairy tales so much and can't imagine the story without them.

And the artwork? Fabulous--just gorgeous. I mean--there were times I just stopped reading so I could examine the illustrations in all their glorious detail.

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.

I absolutely loved this story, and the author's note at the end was brilliant. This is on the level of The Princess and the Dressmaker. The artwork is phenomenal! And that ending!

It's so beautiful, and I loved how the stories woven and changed depending on who was telling the story, and how everyone's histories wove together. This is a book about finding a new life, grief, regret, love and family. And the magic of fairy tales to bring people together and connect.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Really beautiful art, the lines are so clear and clean. The style goes a little more art deco for the fairy tale portions and are a little more sparse for the real world, providing a great and easy contrast along with switching from cool to warm tones in the color palette.

I don't have a lot of familiarity with Vietnamese visual language, but some experience with Japanese anime and manga helped (especially Ghibli and Ponyo), and I doubt any of it would be confusing for an American audience, it's just a quick moment of "oh that's why the artist made that choice". That's the sort of thing I like with graphic novels, so I really liked the notes at the back describing some of the art choices.

For most of the book, I wasn't really sure how old Tien (sorry for the loss of accent marks) was supposed to be, his mother eventually says he is almost thirteen, but I would have guessed slightly younger. If you are choosing this book for young readers, be aware that the fairy tales are based off of traditional versions, with the violence and cannibalism intact, although I will also say that I read every folklore book I could get while in grade school, and I turned out fine. I think some of these are in Andrew Lang's fairy books, even. The actual art is never gory.

Just really beautiful, and I can't wait to get this in print from the library to look at the art in person.

This was beautiful. Trung's use of color allows each story to feel like a separate part of the same whole, without any confusion of plot or storyline. Being a queer child of an Asian immigrant, I identified so strongly with the struggle of coming out to a parent. Definitely going to purchase for the library and keep an eye out for all of Trung's future works.

I loved how the fairytales tied in with the present day story. This book was sweet, emotional, and a touch whimsical. I enjoyed it.

I’m picky about the art in graphic novels, and this book was beautiful. I love fairytales in general, so it was no surprise that these illustrations were my favorite.

This gorgeous own voices graphic novel tells the tale of 13 year old Tiến, a first generation American in 1990's midwest, and his mother and father, immigrants from Vietnam. To practice English the family members take turns reading out of illustrated books of fairy tales. At school, Tiến has come out as gay to one of his best friends, a darker skinned girl, and has a crush on the other, a boy named Julian who plays on the soccer team. Despite research with the school librarian on how to tell his parents he is gay, he finds there are really no words in Vietnamese to describe how he is feeling.

His mother's perspective is also shown in this tale, and depicted by a change of color in the art. She is dealing with her own mother's illness and subsequent death half a world away. When she returns alone to Vietnam for the funeral, she finds solace in her aunt's grisly retelling of the Vietnamese version of Cinderella, learning that they stories change over time as we need them to. She brings this lesson home to change the tale of the little mermaid into a queer story to let her son know even without the language to say it explicitly, that she loves and supports him.

The art felt like a stunning mix of CLAMP, Miyazaki and woodblock print styles. Tiến's and his mother's perspective, and the fairy tales were each presented in a different color, giving a visual cue to the change in perspective. One of the most incredible things about this GN was the costume design. Beautiful fairy tale dresses based in real high fashion, as detailed in the notes in the back.

My only real criticism is that while Tiến has a father that lives with them, the man plays almost no role in the story. This however, serves to reinforce that it is a tale of love between mother and son.

A heartachingly beautiful story about a young boy and his complex family life and how the power of storytelling brings people together. I could not pull myself away from this book once I started it and by the end I had tears in my eyes. It really was a beautiful story and I am excited to purchase the book once it is published.

Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse for this ARC!
This book is just amazing. I did not realize it was a children's title until I read it, but it is so sweet and beautiful. What a sweet and sensitive exploration of mother-child communication using fairy tales as a medium! Just exquisite--the story, the art. LOVED this book so much!

An important book that deserves the awards it's definitely going to be nominated for. The interplay of fairy tales and the more modern storyline is effective and the art style is beautifully suited for the task. We need more books like this.

An achingly beautiful story of family and identity, told through the lens of a Vietnamese immigrant and her teenage son, who transcend the barriers between themselves through storytelling and crafting. I especially loved the monochrome illustrations, color-coordinated so the reader knows at a glance whose perspective the story is being told from at any particular moment. The way the author weaves in folklore that ties in with the main characters’ experiences is masterful and makes for an immensely enjoyable, heartwarming read! Thanks to #NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Joy is a precious thing. And precious things are few. So we learn to hold on to them.

This was the most amazing graphic novel. It's a fairytale retelling, a coming out story, a story about immigration and communication and love.

Tiến is 13, has a crush on his best friend Julian, and loves to read fairytales with his mother. Woven through Tiến's high school days we hear different versions of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. Not only is it stunningly drawn, it also merges Tiến's mum's escape from post-war Vietnam and her return almost a decade later when her mother passes away. The author combines history and magic and the result is magnificent and powerful.

The Magic Fish discusses so many things with so few words and brushstrokes and I'm in awe of the nuance and beauty captured between these pages.

The Magic Fish is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that weaves together fairy tale and real-life for a moving exploration of family. In the novel, Tiến and his mother use various fairy tales to communicate with each other across a language divide. Through the struggles of the immigrant experience and the unknown of coming out, the fairy tales add depths and layers to the fairly simple narrative. Coupled with the illustration, this is an unmissable book with a lot of heart.

One critique I have is the author's explication of process and narrative at the end. While interesting, it felt unnecessary and doesn't allow for the reader to ponder the meanings for themself.