Review: ‘The Magic Fish’ is A Stunning, Hopeful Story In Graphic Novel Form

Earlier this year in March, Random House Graphic gave us all a sneak peek of the second wave of graphic novels for younger readers. That was the month of March, which in hindsight, feels like a lifetime ago. I read up on several titles that looked like such GREAT books to read and mentioned a few of them here. Tea parties with a touch of the supernatural, the sweet misadventures of two crafty squirrels, a new witch figuring out found family–the works! As a big fan of both Trungles aka Trung Le Nguyen and fairytales, I knew I wanted to read this one!

Trung Le Nguyen/Random House Graphic

Reading is my favorite pastime. My mom and I are the readers of our family. My earliest memories are being rocked in a rocking chair by her at a young age and being read to. Through her, I discovered my love for reading and my love of fairy tales and folklore. Soon I grew up and was able to read on my own, go to the library on my own, and more; but I never forgot the magical times my mom would read to me as a very young child. It was our time, it was a magical time that will live on preserved in my memories that I’ll keep with me when I’m old and gray. I figure these precious moments with my mom helped form my love of storytelling and how we always look for ourselves in the stories we read and the stories that are passed down to us. In The Magic Fish, our protagonist is young Tiến, a thirteen-year-old kid who is well-loved by his best friends Claire and Julian, and also his parents. As a …