Member Reviews
Told in a rougher illustration style and stunning colors, this was a quick graphic novel following multiple generations of one family throughout a single day and each of their different struggles.
This story held my attention but sadly didn't stand out to me. I can't pinpoint anything necessarily "wrong" with it and found it to just be average in comparison to other comics that discuss the same topics.
Beautiful artwork and a cinematic story. The dialogue flowed and even though it was short it was a tender journey and a captivating read. I wasn’t too sure about Lulu kissing YoYo while he was asleep, I know he’s young but it felt a touch concerning. Other than that, really enjoyable and beautifully illustrated.
This was a beautiful and moving graphic novel that followed three love stories over the course of one day. It beautifully captured the innocence and struggle of beginning to find your identity through the main character, giving a glimpse to an experience I know a lot of people can relate to.
Grazie Netgalley per avermi permesso di leggere questo fumetto in anteprima!
Trovo molto difficile dare un parere come si deve su questo fumetto, perchè tratta tematiche davvero difficili da affrontare. La storia si svolge il giorno della morte della principessa Diana, è estate e ci viene mostrato uno stralcio della vita di questa famiglia francese. Subito possiamo percepire che ci sono diverse difficoltà tra i vari componenti della famiglia: i genitori non si amano più e il marito sta probabilmente tradendo la moglie, la figlia maggiore fa entrare di nascosto di notte un ragazzo nella sua camera e il figlio più piccolo inizia a scoprire se stesso e a percepire le sue tendenze omosessuali.
Paura e tristezza sembrano dominare del tutto le loro vite, e quando il marito sceglie finalmente di andarsene, i tre membri restanti della famiglia devono riscoprirsi e accettare di ricominciare da capo. Chi facendo posto a una nuova vita da single, chi scoprendosi più matura e responsabile e chi invece affrontando le paure di essere giudicato e accettarsi cosi come si è.
E' una storia particolare, ma assolutamente da leggere per affrontare queste tematiche difficili coi più giovani.
Anche i disegni hanno una loro particolarità e originalità, che rendono il fumetto molto artigianale e semplice.
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Thanks Netgalley for letting me read the preview of this comic!
I find it very difficult to give a proper opinion on this comic, because it deals with very difficult issues. The story takes place on the day of Princess Diana's death, it's summer and we are shown an excerpt from the life of this French family. We can immediately perceive that there are various difficulties between the various members of the family: the parents no longer love each other and the husband is probably cheating on his wife, the eldest daughter lets a boy into her room secretly at night and the youngest son starts to discover himself and to perceive his homosexual tendencies.
Fear and sadness seem to completely dominate their lives, and when the husband finally chooses to leave, the three remaining family members must rediscover themselves and agree to start over. Who making way for a new single life, who discovering themselves more mature and responsible and who instead facing the fears of being judged and accepting himself.
It's a particular story, but a must-read to address these difficult issues with the youngest.
Even the drawings have their own particularity and originality, which make the comic very artisanal and simple.
I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This graphic novel covers one family's life on the day that Princess Diana died. The main characters are Lulu, the eight-year-old son, Cam, the teenage daughter, and the mother. All three members are visited by heartache and sadness during the day, however, by coming together they are able to grow past this and come together as a united family in the end.
This was a moving story about self-acceptance and the love of family. I do not normally read such stories, but I enjoyed this one. It is definitely for older readers who can understand the more mature themes.
<i>Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>
A quiet, reflective glimpse into the love lives of a mother, daughter, and son. It’s brief and very much character driven, but still heartfelt and sweet. Perfect for anyone who likes quick coming of ages stories about family, friendships, and making sense of the world.
With delicate, chalky illustrations and an intensely personal perspective, Zuttion's "All Princesses Die Before Dawn" is -- at its most impactful -- about a queer boy, Lulu, falling in love with his best male friend. The push-and-pull of their relationship is at once delicate and strained, and our protagonist's inner emotional life bursts from the page as a series of fantasy tropes that protect him from his family's various struggles.
Zuttion captures the surreal, dreamlike quality of childhood play with sensitivity and intention, but the novella tries to do too many things at once: capture a nation's reactions to Princess Diana's untimely death, peek behind the curtain at a crumbling marriage, explore a teenage girl's traumatic sexual experience, and even address issues of gun violence.
When we leave Lulu's point of view, we are eager to return to his world; his experiences are the story's strength. Within this short book, we see a glimpse of what could have been -- and still may be -- a magical coming-of-age story if Zuttion has the chance to dive deeper in future works. As it is, our favorite element -- Lulu himself -- is buried under too much peripheral drama to fully connect.
I really enjoyed this book. The story follows three family members experiencing the same day, and their lives are completely different but they still come together as a family unit. It also parallels the day that Princess Diana died, which makes sense for the title and Lulu’s story. The artwork was beautiful as well. It was heartwarming to see how Cam and the mom came together to support Lulu and each other in the end.
I loved the artwork in this graphic novel, it’s very simplistic and beautiful, and I loved Lulu and his innocence, and watching that blossom. However I couldn’t really connect with the story, and I left feeling a little confused as to what it was trying to do. The different plot points with the different characters didn’t seem very cohesive and overall effected the way I saw the story! I would still recommend this book to anyone interested through! It’s a cute way to pass the time
3,5 stars
This is a beautiful book about the importance of being your true self, regardless of what other people think of it, and the importance of family support through several stages of our lifes.
It sends a very important message about how it's okay, and normal, for our love relationships to change over time, or to not be ready for certain steps at the same time as other people our age, or for boys to like dresses, makeup and princesses.
I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book, and the way the story was written!
Thank you to Netgalley and Europe Comics for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.
This was a really sweet, well written graphic novel that has a great story and amazing illustrations. Reading this was a whole journey, and led to lots of emotions but in the end I was crying from happiness
One day, three love stories. Lulu, a young boy, is in love with his neighborhood friend. His sister Cam, is hiding her relationship with an older man. Finally, a mother and father end their marriage after Sunday family dinner. All this happens on the day of Princess Diana's death.
Initially the cover drew me into the story. By the end I was crying bittersweet tears. The light, gentle style of the illustrations disguise the heartbreaking stories within the book. "All Princesses Die Before Dawn" reminds readers that heartbreak comes in many shapes, and happens at any age. With a slight mature theme the audience is best suited for teens and older, However, no matter the age, readers will find someone or something to relate to in the story.
I'm unsure if I would like to add this book the my library. Given the mature content is short-lived and by no means explicit, ultimately I will add the book. It will provide validation and reassurance to readers both in and out of the queer community about identity and heartbreak.
🧜♀️ What a beautiful discovery!
This was my first book read through netgalley and I loved it!
This graphic novel shows 3 different stories in the same family:
✨ the little boy who likes to wear his mom's lipstick and play with dolls. He's in love with his friend and wants to play princess with him. I loved that he didn't face any hate from his parents and had a great supportive mom. The last scene was so heartwarming ♥
✨ the teenage girl who's dealing with those difficult emotions
✨ the mom who's dealing with her mariage falling apart
🇫🇷 All those stories are told simultaneously and with love. The art is gorgeous and I love the panels where we see the boys' pretend play. The story takes place in France in 1997 so there was a lot of familiar things for me to spot 😊
Thank you netgalley & the author for the copy. It was a lovely discovery! I will make sure to follow the author's future releases!
(this review will also be posted on my IG page)
Review to come February to blog/goodreads.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I just couldn't resist the book when I read that blurb and saw that title. I just had to find out more. See the family.
In this book we follow three members of this family. The mom, her daughter and her son. The mom knows her husband is cheating and that he isn't happy with things, but is he doing anything about it? No. He just comes home sometimes. I really wanted to yeet that guy far away. Then there is the daughter, named Cam, she is about to go to high school after the summer and she is meeting up with an older guy, but is he really it? And lastly we have the youngest, the son, named Lulu. He is into barbies, princesses, and he really likes his best friend. We see him try to explore that. And we see the reaction of the friend.
It was a really good read. I think out of all the characters the son was my favourite to follow. Seeing him try to figure out these feelings. To figure out what he is. Who he is. We read how he always has loved princesses. We see him play games in which he is the princess, or a mermaid. He is having mostly a fun time, but we see that things are not working out. His friend? I knew what would be coming next and I was trying to prepare myself, but in the end I was still heartbroken for this boy. Yes, it wasn't a good move to do that, but he was also exploring and probably didn't know any better ways. I loved that despite that his sister and he clashed at times they dearly loved each other. I loved how his sister was there for him.
I was also so proud of Cam and the mom. Cam for doing a very difficult thing, at least I would think it is that given everything + her age. That was a big decision and I am sure it hurt her, but I am proud that she stuck her guns. And then there is the mom who was just DONE with it. I loved seeing her standing up for herself. For her kids. Gave her husband a portion of her mind. I would have kinda liked them to talk instead of these fleeting moments that he pretended to be a good dad/husband.
Next to all of this we also have the death of Princess Diana. The book begins just when the accident happens and as the story unfolds so does the investigation and more. I am still not sure if I found it fitting with the story, given some things I guess yes, but at times I just found it more of a distraction.
The art is just gorgeous. I really love the style and I loved it when Lulu and his friend were playing games, fantasy stories. That really came to life. The style went from calm to explosive and colourful, totally fitting the epic stories and plays they play.
All in all, a beautiful family graphic novel about standing up for yourself, sexuality and who you are, love and friendship, and more. I would recommend it.
This review was made possible through NetGalley where i accessed an Advanced copy of "All princesses die before dawn"
I love the graphics in this book, they were gorgeous. And the multiple storylines were engaging and enjoyable.
My main feedback is that it was resolved so fast and I felt it needed an extra 25 pages at least to properly explore it.
However I do recommend this book just be prepared to not be 100% satisfied with the ending.
I also feel like the characters could've been introduced a bit better.
Beyond that i would read it again
There were some really nice aspects of this story, but it wasn’t great. The LGBTQIAP+ representation was a highlight. While I understand how Princess Diana makes sense to be included, it didn’t feel like it was necessary to the story. The artwork was great and the title is fantastic. Solid graphic novel overall.
Pretty heavy stuff.
This graphic novel focuses on a family all dealing with their own struggles.
Lulu like dolls, dresses, princesses and his best friend Yoyo. Yoyo doesn't feel the same.
Cameron is on the cusp of womanhood and trying to figure out who she is and what she wants without letting others push her into being who she doesn't want to be or things she doesn't want to do.
Their dad is in the process of leaving the family and their mom is trying to make peace with that while still fighting for the kids to have him in their lives.
The best part is the love and support between Lulu, Cameron and their mom.
I received an e-ARC copy from Netgalley and those are my honest words.
It’s short but very beautiful. And i might have a few tears in my eyes because the ending is all so soft and I love how the story despite its shortness covers everything. (4.75/5 stars)
It was a really sweet book and a nice representation. I would recommend it if you read and liked 'The Prince and the Dressmaker' and vice versa. I thought it was beautiful to start the book with that song and there were some cute details that made it kind of melancholic.
I liked how everything in this comic happens during the span of a day.
Lulu and his sister are spending the day swimming in a pool and sunbathing by their house. Then, their father and Lulu's friend arrive. Meanwhile, the TV is broadcasting the dead of princess Diana.
The sensation of reading this comic is like diving in the swimming pool in a sunny day, I loved the way the coloring gives a tactile feeling to the whole story. Everything is so intense because Lulu is a child and he is experimenting a lot of things for the first time: his first love, his sexuality, the emotions of his mother and sister.
All Princesses Die Before Dawn is a beautiful comic, the style is perfect for the kind of story this comic is telling. Nostalgic and warm like a sunset at the end of summer.
Thank you for Europe Comics for providing me with a version of this comic on NetGalley.