4.5

This is a cute story, but I would've liked a bit more about Angelica's burnout getting resolved and maybe a bigger reaction to finding out who's in the bear suit.

I love the casual diversity. There's Vietnamese and brown characters, characters in same-sex relationships, a fat character, and a non-binary (and possibly trans? it's never stated in the story) love interest.

The art style is almost too detailed for my taste, but I love the faces the characters make.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author, for an eARC of this graphic novel in exchange for my review.

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Tung Le Nguyen is a sweet yet serious graphic novel that deals with some of the challenges around grief, big feelings, growing up, growing older, relationships, family, community and responsibility. It takes on such big themes with heart, humor, lessons learned, and gorgeous artwork. The story within the story is compelling and ties it all together.

This graphic novel is a delightful read for any age!

Absolutely stunning art with a sweet plot! I liked how the different characters all had depth and the multiple overlapping storylines. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Angelica is a teenager who is making a slow, thoughtful recovery from burnout. For her first big project, she gets an internship at the local theater, where they tell stories that Angelica has grown up with. Along the way, she’s found a special source of support and comfort, Per the bear prince, the mascot for said local theater. The begin exchanging message online and a bit of a romance begins to bloom.
This was such a sweet graphic novel, with a heartfelt approach to sharing emotions and how each person manages them in their own unique way. Angelica spends some time untangling her own emotions and learns how respecting and caring for the way that others engage with theirs is a way of showing love.
In addition to Angelica’s story, Trung tells the tale of the Bear Prince, based on “East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” As someone who is not familiar with that folk tale, I was disappointed that we didn’t get the end of his story. I even went back to check if I missed it somewhere. I would have loved that addition to help bring the entire story closure.
I’ll be recommending this book to anyone looking for a cozy romance or to read about tricky adolescent experiences such as, burnout, grief, or navigating relationships with friends, significant others, and parents.

I picked up this book, looking for something cute and romantic to read. I was expecting a lot from this book, and I didn't get it. It was too light for me, I do understand that it is intended for a younger audience than me, but I have read books meant for younger audiences and still have enjoyed them greatly; this book did not do it for me. At times I felt it was going too fast, other times it was too vague, so I was thrown off reading it. The base story was good, but I didn't feel the romantic plot either. This book may not be suitable for some readers due to some topics that it shows during the story.

All that aside; the art is beautiful and the letters from the author made me understand the work and thought process that goes behind a book.

note: I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for this opportunity.

This was a delightful read, despite some of the heavier themes. The art is absolutely stunning and there's a lovely balance of sweet moments with reflections on grief. I'm absolutely recommending my library pick up a copy, can't wait to share it with students :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the digital ARC for review!

I very much enjoyed this graphic novel. I had a really fun time reading it. While it had its lighter moments, it also had a lot of emotional depth.

Jelly is burned out.

"I was just happily skipping along when suddenly my battery died, and everything inside me stopped. Everything I used to love started to feel so far away from me."

A mysterious pen pal, masquerading as a bear character from a theater show, has been helping her get through a tough time.

This story has a little bit of something for everyone. It mainly focuses on lives of teens, but it also explores the issues of the adults in their lives. I like the balance of this, especially for older readers like me, who relate to both the teens and the older adults.

Another part of the story I really enjoyed was the queer representation. The characters are diverse and unique. I like how there are queer characters, but that is not what defines them. They are like real people, with real struggles and they don't always handle things perfectly. They make mistakes and react out of heightened emotions.

The art is also very very cute and I very much enjoyed every panel.

I want to leave this review spoiler free, as I think if you are interested in the subject matter, you should give it a go yourself. I hope you will love it!

A year after burning out and dropping all of her extra curriculars, Angelica lands a sought after internship at a local community theater. She's sure that she can handle the stress better now that she has a support system in place - one that includes private messages shared with the account of the theater's beloved mascot. Angelica hopes to find out who's behind this account and in doing so, maybe reconnect with an old friend.

Weaving bits of the fairy tale that the play is based on with what's currently happening in Angelica's life, Nguyen gives his readers a hopeful tale about the different ways people process grief. It's beautifully told, and I'm now obsessed with Per the Bear. I will definitely be recommending this one in the future!

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

Jelly is struggling. She has spent most of her young life being as busy as possible and fixing problems as soon as they come up. Then she burnt out and is now trying to figure out how to keep going without giving up completely. It doesn't help that her mom is very similar and won't focus on her feelings, and her dad is a good person but focuses on making jokes instead of helping. She's been sharing her feelings with the social media account of Per the Bear, the main character of a famous local play.

He offers her some good advice and after speaking with his grandma, comes up with a plan to help her out. This allows her to starts to focus on feeling her feelings instead of logically solving everything. It allows her to be a better friend, a better daughter, and a better person.

The story of the Princess and the Bear add a little extra fun to the story, but I don't really understand how the ending comes about. It doesn't take away from the story, but the ending seemed abrupt. It was a happy ending with lots of love and growth.

I was a big fan of this author’s last graphic novel,so I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately it fell really flat for me. I figure this should have not been a romance at all or it should have been only romance. We get legit half a panel of back story about the two main characters past. There’s a lot of time spent on a bunch of different subplots that never really pay off like I was wanting them to. The result is that I have zero connection to any of the characters except maybe the bear costume because it’s cute.

Also, what in the stranger danger hell made someone think a young teen girl texting a random actor in a mascot costume that she didn’t know the true identity of was a good plot point. MC’s out here using a stranger as therapy at best and aiming to be abducted by a psychopath at worst.

This was the cutest, sweetest graphic I will probably read this year. Interwoven with an equally adorable folk tale, this graphic novel tackles important conversations surrounding burnout, friend & family expectations.
I loved the art style and the characters and just everything about this book. It is absolutely worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Graphic for the eARC.

3.5 stars!
A lovely story about grief and burnout with a sweet romance at the center! I loved the art style so much, I could feel the snow in the air. It was a real treat for the eyes. I also quite liked Angelica, her family, and her friendship with another girl. I liked the set up dealing with Angelica's grief and how time complicates it, and how that led to her taking on too much. That story was incredibly strong. Unfortunately, I think the story suffers from being quite short. I would have really loved more on Gable, their personality and family. I was also underwhelmed with how little the theatre setting really mattered. I would've really liked more focus on that, and how it helps burnout to be more creatively fulfilled. Overall, I think the central story was well done, but I wish we had more time with the many side elements introduced. I would've liked staying in this world longer. I hope Trung Le Nguyen returns to it again, and I will definitely be picking up the author's previous work.

Thank you to Random House Graphic for the eARC.

This is a sweet and pretty graphic novel that delves into some deeper topics, such as grief and burn out.

I enjoyed the art style, illustrations, and story line. I really enjoyed the background pen pal story, a little You’ve Got Mail-esque (which I love). And despite some of the deeper and harsher topics covered, the story still felt mostly cozy and sweet.

This just cements it for me that I really enjoy graphic novels and need to read more of them.

Wow, this was absolutely the most charming, whimsical, gorgeously illustrated graphic novel I've read in a long time. It has just the right balance between serious and sweet, and I loved how characters were given room to feel their feelings and to grow in how they handled them. Will absolutely be recommending this to teen readers once it's added to our library collection.

After the success of his first graphic novel, The Magic Fish, Trung Lê Capecchi-Nguyễn is back with another enchanting graphic novel that combines the whimsical nature of fairy tales with more serious themes. Unlike The Magic Fish, Angelica and the Bear Prince is more contained, telling the story of Angelica “Jelly” Hoang, a 17-year-old, as she tries to move on with her life with an internship at the local theatre after suffering from burnout. Eventually we come to learn that Jelly is also dealing with grief in addition to anxiety and that she’s not the only one with problems. It’s clear that Jelly’s mother is having some difficulties with her shop while also trying to find the best way to connect and bond with Jelly, all the while her best friend Chrissy is dealing with her own relationship troubles with her boyfriend. In fact, every character has their own way of dealing with their issues, and for Jelly the one bright hope spot in her life is finding a fairy tale story about a bear prince and finding comfort with her chats with Peri, the bear mascot of the local theatre, or rather the person behind his socials, who readers come to learn is an old, forgotten childhood friend of hers. I adore how, once again, Trung is able to seamlessly tie his protagonists’ favourite stories back to their current situation in a way that feels realistic and authentic to the tone of the story. And like he did with The Magic Fish, Trung continues to pay homage to his Vietnamese background with Angelica and the Bear Prince. As a reader of Vietnamese descent, I particularly loved seeing Jelly making bánh chưng together with her friends and family. A cozy and heartwarming book, Angelica and the Bear Prince features a cast of characters who are diverse in race, size, sexuality, and gender identity, all depicted in a refreshingly honest and casual way. Mental health and grief are represented with accuracy, and the relationships among family and friends are depicted as far from perfect. As in real life, the characters come to realize that the key is to show up for their loved ones in the way that the other person needs. Angelica and the Bear Prince is an excellent combination of dreamy with its fairy tale sequences and rather sweet romance but also touching, adorable, and even hilarious at times, especially with how the characters’ emotions and reactions are drawn.

Thank you to Random House Children's Books, Random House Graphic, and Net Galley for a free Arc of "Angelica and the Bear Prince."

My daughter actually picked this book to read based on the cover, title, and the artwork.

I enjoyed all the characters in the pretty pictures as we wander through the story about coping, relationships, and grief.

I really enjoyed the mixed media with seeing the texts back and forth between Angelica and Per the Bear fan account throughout the book.

It is a very cute easy read for the holiday season.

This book was amazingly whimsical and beautifully drawn. The same dreaminess that Trung Le Nguyen captured in The Magic Fish continues to flourish in this book. The focus on community across generations in this was truly heartwarming and went really well with the winter setting.

The artistry and the story in this graphic novel are beyond stunning. I love how this author deals with grief, growing up, and dealing with mental health burn out. Everything is handled so beautifully, and I know that this will resonate with so many readers. I am so excited that they will get to read it soon. This will certainly be a graphic novel I will suggest to any tween and older readers.
Thank you so much to Random House Children’s Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

BEAUTIFUL. Trung Le Nguyen does it again! I love their stories and their beautiful art. This flows beautifully. I love the idea of the story so much and enjoyed the execution even more.