The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang ~ 288 pages ~ published 2/13/18 by First Second

Goodreads Synopsis:

Paris, at the dawn of the modern age:

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride―or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia―the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances―one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.

What I Thought:

I picked up this book because I heard Liberty on the podcast All The Books rave about it. If Liberty likes it, that is generally enough for me 🙂 I had just gotten finished reading a fairly dry non-fiction book, and a book I wasn’t super crazy about before that, so I needed a light, somewhat fluffy novel. This delivered perfectly!!

I absolutely loved Sebastian. I wanted to squeeze his little cheeks! I also liked Frances, as I found her devotion and excitement for her craft to be admirable. Their relationship, although built on a very large secret, was sweet, innocent, and genuine. Even when the plot hit the inevitable point of crisis, their friendship was so heart-warming. *squeeeee*

The artwork in this graphic novel was just wonderful. I loved the rounded, cartoony style of Wang’s drawing. I’ve only read a couple of other graphic novels, and I really enjoyed the ease of reading with this one. The colors were slightly muted and beautiful. Here is an example:

Overall, this was such a wonderful look at friendship and being true to yourself. The journey was sweet and the ending was thoroughly satisfying. This is a great quick read if you happen to find yourself in a reading slump, or just needing something light and lovely to read.

Rating:

5.0/5.0

I gave this one 5 STARS! I thought it was precious and heart-warming. This is a great, quick read for when you need a pick-me-up kind of book!

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Are you interested in learning more about this book? Check out the links below! 

Jen Wang’s Website

Jen Wang’s Twitter

The Prince and the Dressmaker on Goodreads

Purchase The Prince and the Dressmaker on Amazon.com

(Please note that this is an affiliate link. If you purchase this book, you will be benefitting me 🙂 )

 

Have you read this book yet? Do you like graphic novels? Let me know in the comments below!! 

 

Love and happy reading,