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.

This graphic novel has a lot going on. Themes on immigration, queerness, Catholicism, I wasn't sure how all of the story threads would tie together. They blended beautifully. Gorgeous art with a limited but effective pallette. I really valued the joy of the family together and the friends' support of each other. I hope this book normalizes some of the language used between friends.

I'm blown away by this graphic novel and trying not to cry at work because of how poignant and moving it is. Nguyen tackles generational relationships as well as the struggles of immigration, language, family, queerness, and societal pressures. It's an incredible look at how our histories are all entwined but in different ways and how small changes can make a world of difference. At the end, Nguyen talks about the various inspirations behind the outfit designs for the fairytales and how each aesthetic is colored by who is telling the story. It's a beautiful homage and the artwork is breathtaking. 100% if you can get a copy for your shelf or library, please do!

Just wonderful. I loved the weaving of stories and fairy tales throughout the novel, and how they were used to portray information about the present day and what Tien was experiencing. The mother and son bond is so lovely. Past the moments of sadness and uncertainty, there is a strong feeling of hope throughout. The use of color was also spectacular. Each color theme used for the different settings really conveyed the tone. Highly recommend it, and it will find a home in any collection.

Trung Le brilliantly weaves together a handful of story tracks, allowing the art to flow seamlessly via color transition between them. A coming out story, an immigrant family dealing with language barriers and loss, familiar fairy tales retold in new (but very old) ways. An absolute beauty of a graphic novel.

This coming-of-age graphic novel braids together a young man's desire to come out to his parents, their family's immigration story, retellings of several classic fairy tales that Tien and his mother read to each other, and truly exquisite artwork. That little twist at the end completely stole my heart! Because the main character is 13, I believe this graphic novel is best suited for middle school library collections, but I will definitely recommend it to my 9th grade readers, too!

For a short graphic novel, this was truly incredible. Beautiful artwork and a truly moving story.

I loved the way the fairytales intersected with Tien's story, it worked perfectly and it was never confusing. The colour shifting in the background really helped with that and was a clever tool to utilize. I enjoyed both the elements of the story equally, although did perhaps get more excited as we spent the time with Tien.

Tien struggling with sharing his sexuality was handled very sensitivity, I especially loved how his friends just accepted it without question. His teachers reactions just showed why people are still nervous about sharing those parts of themselves with others, and made me want to be sick.

The ending was absolute perfection. I may have shed a little tear or two. Absolutely wonderful and highly recommend it.

This book definitely tugged at my heart strings - as a Vietnamese Canadian, this reminded me of my own childhood when I would share what I was reading with my own mom, and how she would tell me that there was a story similar in her own upbringing within a Vietnamese context. The idea that we in a way share the same stories regardless of generation, language barrier, and cultural context is extremely special.

The story follows Tiên who borrows books from his library and reads them to his mom and they both bound over learning new stories and learning English since his parents primarily speak Vietnamese. He is making attempts to find the words to say what he wants to tell them. We get stories within the story as we get to see the stories that Tiên is reading to his mom. And from there, there is another lens since we kind of see how the story relates to Tiên's mother's history and the stories she grew up hearing about too. The artwork is simply stunning, and I love how the color palette changes to indicate to the reader which story is being told and from whose perspective.

This was such a special book in allowing Tiên to be able to find the correct words and way to convey to his parents that he is gay, and also for his parents to find a way to convey that they support and love him. I think this is a story that all readers will enjoy, but especially those with immigrant families/parents who sometimes struggle to convey what they mean. And while that is a struggle, it's the affirmation in the story that the simply act of storytelling is what ties people together.

I read an eARC of this but I can't wait to see the physical edition come October. Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for sending me a review copy.

A wonderful story of acceptance, love, and friendship. This book is beautifully crafted! I love the transition and the colour changes with each events. Definitely well-made.

This book is endearing and thoughtful. It is a book that my daughter and I both read. The discussions and questions about this book have helped us to discuss issues and perspectives of others in a new way. Thank you

The illustration style varied from what I usually see in graphic novels, and I especially loved being able to understand the process of the author though an illustrated essay at the end of the book.

Read this in one sitting -- it's sweeping and transportive and a lovely mix of slightly sad and quite hopeful. (Then I read the author's note. And now I have to read it all over again.) This gorgeous graphic novel will be enjoyed by many, but it will be FELT by some, and I hope those readers find this gem.

Families can be complex, especially if you are bilingual Tien who is trying to find the right words to use to tell his parents, who are learning English as a second language, that he's gay. Thankfully, Tien and his family have fairy tales to unite them as they read to each other every evening.
I found this story to be very relatable, coming out can be a big scary moment that we want to get right and be accepted for. Tien's struggles are very real, thankfully his friend support him and his family loves him. I loved that fairy tales are what bridges so many moments where the right thing to say is just beyond reach. Stories can bring us together because while the fairy tale may sound similar to others, it's the intention that's different.

The Magic Fish is a beautiful graphic novel. I loved the fairy tales woven in; they really helped to tell the story and tie everything together. I will say that there wasn't a lot of real-life story, so I did wish they gave us a little more backstory.

Overall I thought this was a heartwarming read that I think many students and adults will enjoy. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this one!

This sweet graphic novel is about a boy who struggles to communicate with his mother, a Vietnamese immigrant. They read fairytales to each other instead. I love the fairytales chosen for this book because 1) they're not the Disney versions, so many kids will not be familiar with the details, and 2) they just feel fantastical, between the magic and the beautiful illustrations. The MC is gay, and he has a crush on his friend who plays soccer, but he doesn't really have any struggles with being gay. His only worry is coming out to his parents. There is most definitely a happy ending.

This graphic novel is probably not suitable for elementary school kids, solely because of the graphic and violent details within the fairytales (think original Brothers Grimm). But for kids who can handle that, this is a moving tale about an immigrant mother and an American son dealing with family, love, and connection.

I could not get into this. I don’t know if it was the monochrome illustrations or the story line. Just not my thing, however I can think of a few library patrons who will like it.

I’ve been excited to read this book for awhile now, and it certainly didn’t disappoint! I felt so much for Tien and also his mother. I enjoyed learning about both of them, and I loved their bonding over fairytales. I also liked how the fairytales mirrored real life. It kept me entertained, and I read it in one sitting.

The artwork is also gorgeous. My favorite is the coloring of the scene around the peach trees. I think it would be good for YA readers as well as some middle grade readers. Bonus: it ended on a sweet note.

What a gorgeous graphic novel! The illustrations feel magical and timeless. The story is very fairytale-esque and I love how it ties into the main character's family story. I also found the author's note added complexity in thinking about the elements of the story from his lens of being an immigrant from a marginalized background. Great storytelling and execution.

This book was beautiful in terms of both the artwork and the story. It took me a little time to get into it, but the fairy tales were so well woven into what was happening in the "real" story of Tiên and his mother and I ended up really loving both stories. The retelling of The Little Mermaid was especially beautiful and touching. I particularly appreciated the back matter where the author described why the fairy tales were chosen and how they were changed to suit the story, and when I have access to a physical, finished copy I would love to go back and read the book again with that knowledge in mind.

Overall, a unique way of telling the story of a mother/child relationship which has been told many times and yet never quite in this way.

With that in mind, I probably won't order this for our collection right away. Even though I really loved it, I'm not sure this is something our teen readers will gravitate towards. Tiên is thirteen, which seems a little young for the audience this writing and art style would most appeal to, especially since he looks so childlike. I'll order if there is interest in the title from our patrons.