Super cute! I've read a few books by Marissa and I have enjoyed them all. This love story just gave cute and cozy vibes.

This book was magical in all the best ways!

After visiting Sommerland (a stand-in for Disneyland in this story) with her dad as a little girl Tabi wants nothing more than to work there & to be one of the costume princesses but as a curvy girl she's not exactly the type of person they're looking to play a princess.

I loved that this titled explored lots of different themes, from body positivity to dealing with the mean kids and working towards achieving your dreams. The romance was sweet & wholesome.
The art by Joelle Murray fit the story perfectly from the color palate to the imaginings of a magical theme park.

Thanks to Net-Galley & Macmillan Publishing for an advance copy of this title.

We Could Be Magic by Marissa Meyer was absolutely adorable! The story had such an important message for young girls with big dreams and who may feel like they can’t fit in to society’s beauty standards. I loved seeing Tabitha’s confidence throughout her journey with trying to achieve her goals. The art by Joelle Murray for the story so well and a made it fell so magical.

This story is for anyone who has ever dream for working at a Disney-like park. The art work is nice, the characters are fun and the story is grounded but very wish fulfillment. It is an enchanting tale that will remind you what theme park magic was like and why we all wanted to be princes and princess.

This was a sweet graphic novel with a cute love interest story and a good dosage of body positivity.

I've had a really hard time articulating my thoughts on the novel. The artwork is good, but the story is where the problems lie. I'm just not entirely sure if this story should've been told the way it was.

Such a delightful story! The illustration was fantastic and there was a ton of character diversity. This is such a fun lighthearted graphic novel

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

This graphic novel was so sweet. While it of course had a happily-ever-after, it had so many great themes and plot lines along the way. Growing up, I loved Raina Telgemeier and this was easily comparable. I really liked that the story was centered around someone who works at a place similar to Disneyworld who realizes that at first, it isn’t as glamorous as she’d expected. I think this is a reality that many people face when doing something like the Disney College Program so it was really nice seeing this represented. I also liked how persistent the main character was. She didn’t give up on her dreams after the few curveballs she was thrown. There are so many things in this book that young people can relate to. It was a quick and cute read that I really enjoyed and think many people will too come publication day.

All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

I loved this so much! The art was stunning - beautiful, bright, vibrant colors and the style choices were breathtaking. I loved the diversity of the characters, and how it felt natural and organic - as opposed to diversity for the sake of tokenism. I’ve never worked at the real life Summerland, but have many friends that have and it felt authentic to the real experience as well. The story was cute, lighthearted, and fun. I teared up a little at the end. Overall I really enjoyed this.

*3 Stars*
Summary: A super cute amusement park romance that wears too thick rose-tinted glasses without enough substance.

Overall, I’m bummed I didn’t enjoy this one more. I’m not the biggest fan of the art style (more so of the desaturated and pastel/cool-toned color palettes) so that didn’t help, but my real gripes were with the content and story arcs themselves. More about what I did and didn’t like below.

Things I Liked:

- The Setting: I don’t think I’ve ever read anything from the perspective of/set in the behind-the-scenes of an amusement park like Disneyland. It was super unique and made for interesting scenarios and a setting for the story.

- The Romance: For the most part, I enjoyed both characters in the romance and thought their development was believable and super sweet. That’s not to say it didn’t have its faults, but I was never rooting against them! I’m sure I would’ve loved them even more in novel format. What bothered me the most was that they never once spoke about their lives outside of the park. I don’t feel like I know who the love interest is at all outside of his job. (Also, what’s his age? He’s one year out of HS, so 18/19, right? And she’s a junior, so 16/17….???).

Things I Didn’t Like:

- Let me start with the main thing, because it’s what really took me out of the story. The amusement park in this is very blatantly meant to be a version of Disneyland, even down to the creator/owner living in the park. Now that’s totally fine, because, you know, copyright reasons. But the fact is that this fictional park is based in reality.

On Tabi’s first day, she’s bombarded by people complaining about what it’s actually like to work there (terrible conditions; boiling weather; rotten children; disrespectful adults, etc). Tabi is confused because she thinks the park is the literal happiest place on earth, so why should they complain? And then her views are backed up when the love interest enters and complains that the employees complaining are full of themselves and ungrateful that they get to work in such a magical place. Um, hello? Now, maybe it’s because I know a lot of the hidden stories behind the glitz and glam, from social media and from classes on the history of Disneyland, but I think employees are allowed to complain about terrible working conditions. I thought maybe that’s where Tabi’s general arc was going, that she would learn that her dreams (more about them later) weren’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s good to learn that. And her resolving to make the magic where she can despite the lack of perfection behind the scenes would have made a much more interesting arc. The way this story came across, we should all be praising these parks and getting annoyed when the employees don’t uphold the same beliefs. Glorifying the parks was just uncomfortable to read imo. And it never felt like Tabi was proven wrong.

- In the same vein as the above ^ — Maybe this is because the blurb spoiled the inner conflict, but how in the world does it take Tabi nearly the whole story to realize why everyone’s being so backhanded when they insist she can’t be cast as a character princess? She claims that this is her childhood, life-long dream, yet she is woefully unprepared for the auditions and doesn’t realize that in a park where “the authenticity of our characters is something [they] highly value,” none of the princesses are curvy or plus sized? How did this never dawn on her? And why wasn’t anyone being straight up with her about it at all? It’s like they were all dancing around the topic.

- The Deus Ex Machina Ending: No spoilers, but yeah. They were very convenient and unrealistic circumstances to get Tabi where she was for the finale. Also, when asked her name in a situation where she believes she’s getting fired, she has the nerve to stay in character as a princess instead of giving her real name lolllll

- Small Details: The blurb talked about how she’d be doing this with friends and a new crush, but she only ever had the new crush and one catty roommate who’s suddenly nice in the end. Also, the love interest plays a prince at one point who was drawn to be Asian throughout the rest of the book. They care so much about character authenticity, then let the non-Asian, lighter haired love interest be the prince with no talk of how that might appear? Also, they definitely pressured him into doing something he could’ve seriously gotten fired over.

- Another Small Detail: LI gives Tabi a penny for a wishing well. She says, “I can afford my own wishes,” before handing the penny back. Lol what

That being said, the overall summer and amusement park vibe was fun to read, but the story just didn’t take its own concepts and themes far enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Tabitha LOVES Sommerland. She loves the princesses more specifically. When she was young, she was obsessed with the entire Sommerland universe. She loved love, happiness, and happily ever afters. When Tabi grew up, she got an opportunity to work at Sommerland! All she wanted was to be cast as a princess. The only problem? Tabi doesn’t FIT in with the princess idea. All princesses are thin in Sommerland. So she ends up at the nacho stand instead. Tabi is determined to get a coveted princess role and she will rely on a cast of characters to help her along the way.

This is VERY Disney coded! From the characters to the cast, it screams summer job at a Disney park. I LOVED IT! I’m a Disney lover (I wouldn’t say I’m a Disney adult but maybe?) and this was such an inside look on what potentially happens at Disney. The art is FANTASTIC! The characters are great and it is a well done graphic novel. I enjoyed the pacing and the well thought out plot of the overarching story. If you have a young teenager who loves Disney who may not fit the “ideal” Disney princess mold, this may be for them! Overall, it’s a 5/5 for me.

I really loved this graphic novel, it was a very uplifting and positive book! Tabi is a wonderful protagonist and it was so healing to see her find her way throughout the book. I just wanted to give her a big hug 🥹

It was a very wholesome graphic novel, and it was a quick read! I picked it up because of Marissa Meyer, but the art style was so pretty too. It encapsulated the magic of Sommerland, and it brought the graphic novel to the next level.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I would like to thank Macmillan for an eARC of this book.

This was a really nice and heartwarming book and I also loved the illustrations!

Perfect for people who were obsessed with Disney and things like Winx club when they were younger.

Even cuter and more adorable than I'd expected! With a great message about courage, perseverance, and kindness, this sweet read was filled with hope from beginning to end. As a past annual passholder, I particularly loved the nods to the Magic Kingdom, but Sommerland also felt like its own real place with a magical lore I wanted to know more about. I almost didn't want this story to end.

We could be magic was super delightful. I enjoyed the messaging of the novel and was cheering for Tabitha the whole time. Tabitha kept going after her dreams and didn't give up. I can't wait to read more from Marissa Meyer's.

I adored this book/comic.
Tabitha loves Sommerland (Think Disney). She attended the park as a child and idolized the princesses at the park. When she became an adult she obtained a summer internship to work at the part. She learned quickly that as nice as the idolized vision of the park is, behind the scenes you deal with grumpy coworkers, rude guests, hot weather, and more.

This doesn’t stop Tabitha from pursuing her dreams of being a character actor and making people smile.

I really enjoyed this. It’s light hearted but has a good message of perseverance.
Additionally, there is a great amount of representation.

This was a fun read.

We Could be Magic is sweet as a fudge pop on a hot sunny day! This graphic novel is quick to read, but full of empowering lessons about working hard, taking risks, and never giving up on yourself. I really enjoyed it, and although the age of the characters puts it in the new adult range, I wouldn’t hesitate to share this with my tween. I really enjoyed the art style as well.

Thank you NetGalley for this graphic eBook arc. As a theme park girlie, I’m obligated to read this.
- Super cute, the author has DEFINITELY worked for the mouse, or heard the nitty gritty of how it works because the details were spot on
- A bit short, but a fun sugary sweet story. A total joy to read.

This was my most anticipated read of the year and it was absolutely amazing!! It completely broke my book slump that I’ve been dealing with for months. Tabi and James are the definition of adorable and I loved their story so much. I can’t wait to for this to come out so I can get a physical copy. This book just filled me with so my joy and happiness!

i thoroughly enjoyed this book and am so glad that there was a happily ever after. it really gives off the magic vibes that tabi was searching for.

as someone who has been overweight her whole life and never seeing characters with my body type, i really felt for how tabi felt when everyone said she wasnt fit for the role. it broke my heart especially experiencing similar situations firsthand. but her getting a happy ending makes it seem possible for me too!

i will definitely pick up the physical book when it’s released because i adored the story and characters and the art style sooooo much. i will be recommending this to everyone.