2023 Reads: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Genre: Fiction: Fantasy Age Level: Young Adult Format: Graphic novel
Summary: Tiến connects with his parents through fairytales, which help him connect to them through their language barrier as Vietnamese American immigrants. But now that he’s coming to terms with his sexuality, it’s harder than ever for him to share his feelings- how can he bridge the disconnect when he doesn’t know how?
Thoughts: SO cute! Most of the plot took place within fairytales, and I think they were written / drawn so so beautifully. I think their order fit thematically really well too!!(the first was an American one that Tiến knew, the second one was a Vietnamese one his mom knew, and the third one was a mesh of both) I 100% recommend this, especially to any Vietnamese people looking for a cute queer story. ESPECIALLY for the art. Holy SHIT the lineart is so good.
Rating: 5/5 Trigger warnings: Homophobia, internalized homophobic shame, cannibalism(in fairytales), death. Rep: Vietnamese + gay MC, mostly Vietnamese characters, sapphic fairytale.
