This cute graphic novel depicts the love life of a mother, her eldest daughter and her younger son during one late summer’s day following the death of Princess Diana.

The illustrations are beautifully drawn and the storyline is simple yet comforting, especially considering that one of the main themes is the lgbtqia+ community.

In this short graphic novel we can see how love is love and it can be difficult and hurtful between two adults, two teenagers or two kids regardless of their gender. There’s also the familial love between a mother and their children and the one between two siblings which is as much as important.

I appreciated the way Lulu is described here, I felt a connection with him because I did similar things when I was a kid too and I think his character is extremely accurate and genuine especially in the relationship with his mother and sister.

This reading was like a cozy blanket despite the angst, it was realistic and I enjoyed it very much!

I am in the minority because I had difficulty connecting with this story. It certainly should have been tagged LGBTQIA+. I feel like the references to Princess Diana's death was thrown in just to draw interest as the parallels to princesses was very faint. The story really was lacking in substance. I only felt sorry for the mom who had to deal with the breakup of her marriage with a husband who has wanted out for so long. He's never around enough to show the least bit of care or interest in the kids. The artwork was fuzzy. I kept wondering if I had an issue with the content on my tablet, but I think the style of art was intentional. It's doubtful I would recommend this book to anyone.

Three bittersweet stories intertwine starting on the day Princess Diana is in a car accident and dies. Lulu loves princesses and his best friend Yoyo. Cam loves a secret boyfriend who is much older and unknown to her family. The mother, at one time loved her husband, but he fails to return home on this particular day. When he does though, things start to end. Three members of a family are impacted by the rumblings of each other's relationships to those they love, but in the end, find a stronger love.

All Princesses Die Before Dawn is a family story as much as it is a love story, or bittersweet love story. Each character thinks they're in love only to find out that love isn't what they thought it is. Lulu and Yoyo are on two different pages and on this particular day and night, Lulu is determined to find some things out. Lulu also notices his father's absence as well as Cam's secret boyfriend. Cam is semi-aware something is happening with her parents. The dynamic between all three is very caring, despite the teasing typical between siblings. All in all, this story is at once hard to describe and bittersweet. It'll be for some readers and won't be for others. A solid read.

Three love stories, three different lives. All on the day of Princess Diana’s passing. This is a story about a family, each member having their own problems with love. We mostly follow a boy named Lulu who struggles with a growing crush he has on his friend.

The art style is whimsical and loose, really complementing the themes and topics being told. Everything just ties together in a somber current that concludes in a bittersweet ending. I’m giving this a 3/5- star rating because though it was beautiful to read and really well paced for a story told within a 24-hour time frame, the topics aren’t really topics I enjoy reading about. The romance described and shown for Lulu and his older sister are both very adolescent since the two are still on the younger side of the scale. Everything was pretty much described to a ‘T’, and it was all pretty similar to the lifestyle of kids during the time period I was growing up in, but it gave me a few flashbacks of my own childhood that I choose not to relive.

Beautiful piece of art, just not quite my cup of tea.

My thanks to Abrams ComicArts and NetGalley for the Digital Advanced Reader’s Copy. This book is expected to be published November 12th, 2024.

At time heartbreaking, this graphic novel follows a family on the day of Princess Diana’s death showing the pain of love as the mother deals with marriage issues, the daughter has an older boyfriend, and the son has feelings for his male best friend. I connected to these characters and was touched by the conclusion.

I think this graphic novel was very well executed. Its story takes place over one full day and it managed to incorporate symbolism and foreshadowing well. A lot of the promotion talks about “three love stories” but I don’t know that I’d call any of them love, and while they’re the experiences each character is navigating throughout the day they don’t feel like the point of the story. What I saw as the main love story was the familial bond between a sister and brother and their mother. I found the ending scene very beautiful and joyous despite the pain the characters all go through leading up to it. The backdrop of the historical event of Princess Diana’s death was interesting, but I’m not sure if it added much to the story itself or what I saw as its message. I don’t think it felt significantly out of place or took anything away either. Overall I enjoyed it and think it was a very realistic look at three very different stages of romance and the way love of other kinds is still there when the romantic kind lets you down.

5/5 Stars. August 31, 1997 – Princess Diana has just died and Lulu is playing with dolls, dreaming of becoming one of them, and fantasizing about kissing his best friend. Meanwhile, Cam, Lulu’s teenage sister, is having steamy cigarette fueled make-out sessions with her secret older boyfriend, and Lulu’s parent’s marriage is falling apart. All Princesses Die Before Dawn takes place in just one day and is told through super dreamy and ethereal graphics. The three stories weave together to paint a window into this family’s slice of life. YoYo, Lulu’s best friend, is trying so hard to be grown up, it makes me want to wrap Lulu up in a fuzzy blanket and say it’s ok to be little, it’s ok to play make believe, it’s ok not to like “boy” things, it’s ok to wear your t-shirt hair, it’s ok to just be a kid a little bit longer, it’s ok to just be you. I loved the imagination and fantasy scenes and the art altogether! This graphic novel was charming and heartfelt and I love the sibling relationship between Cam and Lulu. Thank you Abrams ComicArts, Quentin Zuttion, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for review!

On the backdrop of Princess Diana’s untimely death, a boy navigates his crush on his friend while his family struggles with their own changes around him. It was a well-set story, taking place over around 24 hours, and the characters were likeable, but it did lack some true running plot. It was a slice of life, real story, and while I enjoyed it as it was, it was, in a way, rather forgettable. Perhaps I missed some of the nuance.

So much was packed into this one 24 hour period captured in a graphic novel. The story examines queerness and femininity in such a touching way. I liked the connection of using Disney princesses as a way to highlight the forbidden romance between Yoyo and Lulu, but also to show the difference between a fairy tale and the real life of Princess Diana. All of the romantic relationships in the story fell apart in some way because one partner didn’t live up to the other partner’s expectations, mirroring the demise of Diana and Charles’ relationship. I also felt that queerness was tenderly illustrated in this book, both with the burgeoning sexuality of Lulu and his desire to flaunt traditional patriarchal gender expectations. I also really loved how accepting his sister and mother ended up being with his identity at the end of the book. Reminiscent to Tilly Walden’s work, this novel will sit with you long after the last page.

why was it so adorable but sad at the same time? the background being princess diana's death only hightened those feelings. the art style is very soft, dreamy, and does a great job invoking this specific summer feeling we all get sometimes, the melancholy maybe. the comic beautifully shows the confusion of a child dealing with sexuality and the environment's reaction. i absolutely adored the relationship between the two siblings, especially the scene where the sister dressed her brother (for now?) in a dress.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel detailing three different relationships over the course of a day. News of Princess Diana’s death hits the news as our three main characters (a son, daughter, and their mom) experience the bitter sting of failed romance. Three characters, at three different ages and in three different stages of relationships/friendships find themselves disillusioned. I recommend listening to the song The Rose by Francoise Hardy as you read the song lyrics on the last few pages. That song really captures that disappointment in love portrayed in this graphic novel.

I had SO many feelings about this book. All Princesses Die Before Dawn is a beautiful graphic novel telling slice-of-life stories about a boy, his sister, and their mother each in their own relationships. All of the stories take place on the day that Princess Diana died, but she is not a big factor in the book.

I loved the watercolor illustrations and dreamy vibe throughout the book. I was invested in all of the characters, but especially in Lulu (the young boy) and his ongoing realization that he is gay. I would have liked to see a little bit more development in all of these plot lines, but I understand that the timeline for the story was very short. Because of the short timeframe the story was told in, there were certain issues like discussing consent that were never fully fleshed out in the characters.

That being said, it was truly beautiful graphic novel & it definitely made me feel connected to all of the characters. Thank you to NetGalley, Quentin Zuttion, and Abrams ComicArts for the chance to read & review!

I thought this was a beautiful read. Reading about the three different relationships was beautiful and each brought their own lessons for the reader and characters to learn. Pair this with the backdrop of Princess Diana's death, showing these characters a sense of instability and seeing that life is precious and you need to love those around you and yourself. The art was beautiful in this and you can see the care and techniques used to make these lively panels that help to tell the stories. I loved the parts where the youngest couple played make-believe, and the artist showed how the real world morphed into their adventures with the art. This is a quick but beautiful and touching read.