The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
‘Tiến is a second generation immigrant. His parents came from Vietnam to the US. His days are split between his home life, where his parents speak mostly Vietnamese to him and each other, and school, where he has American friends and speaks only English. Since his English is better than his Vietnamese he is worried that he can’t tell his parents one very important thing. He’s gay. Alongside school and reading fairy tales in English for his parents he tries to figure out how he can tell them and what they will think.
This. Is. Incredible. This book is the most stunning graphic novel I have read so far. The art is absolutely beautiful and the symbolism through the three different colors, red, blue and yellow, is just beautiful. Aside from the gorgeous artwork, the story moved me beyond any other book I have read. I kept having to close the book and take a second, either to suck the tears back in, to try and comprehend my growing rage or to quickly scream with joy with a big fat smile on my face. And all of this happened within a day. I simply could not stop reading.
I also really love that our main character does have supportive people in his life. It’s not him against everyone. He has friends that are there for him, no matter the ups and downs. They are there for him through his anxieties about coming out and his excitement about the school dance.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. And as someone who is part of the LGBTQIA+ community myself it is truly an amazing read. This is 100% a five out of five star book for me. And I truly hope you will pick it up and give it a go because I believe it deserves much more attention.’
Beautifully reviewed by Daniela Sarah Gram
Happy reading!