Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In "All Princesses Die Before Dawn", Quentin Zuttion explores three very different stories of love within the span of a single day. A mother, a daughter, and a son, whom Love with a capital L evades in ways both familiar and heartbreaking to the reader. Fair warning, though - if you're looking for uncomplicated, story-book happy endings, you will inevitably be disappointed. And yet, the comic does end on a hopeful note of familial love and acceptance.

While the story is deeply touching (it did, after all, reduce me to tears by the end), it's the art style that really stood out to me, especially the very first page of the drowning princess doll, set to the tune of "Once upon a dream". The dreamy, pastel-colored panels are a thing of beauty, and made this comic an absolute pleasure to experience from start to finish.

A day in the life of a family each at different stages. The parents marriage is sadly falling apart. High school age sister Cam has a college age boyfriend who is pressing her for more in their relationship. Lulu who is eight and is the youngest. He wants to be a princess and is crushing on his best friend not really understanding what that entails. The father doesn’t understand his son and is disconnecting with the family. Coincidentally the day is the death of Princess Diana. The art work is beautiful and the story has a melancholy sadness. There is symbolism with the death of the People’s princess, maybe dreams dying or life is in transition. The story ends with Mom and the kids together playing in the light giving a feeling of hope for them together. It is a quiet, quick read and is currently out and available.

i really enjoyed this! it was a nice, short read with an aesthetically pleasing art style and i loved the title.

I quickly got attached yo everyone in the family, which is quite impressive for such a short story. The ending was precious. Some of the topics are a bit heavy, but nothing too bad.

(I'm actually crying. This is absurd. The last time a book made me cry was when I read five feet apart a year after I watched the movie with my friends.)

All Princesses Die Before Dawn is set in 1997, the day Princess Diana died. The story follows three family members, all facing their own challenges. Parents fighting and on the edge of a divorce, a self-conscious sister dealing with her problems with a much older guy, and the younger brother who tries on his mom's lipstick and tries to figure out his feelings for his best friend. I love how delicately done the topics are, with the soft art style to really show that fragility of this book. There's so much emotion packed into a short book, and Lulu discovering his sexuality really hits close to home. It's just so innocent and so beautifully done, showing that there is hope after everything that have happened.

*thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc!!*

This treated the topic of self-discovery in such a sensible way!

This graphic novel had such beautiful drawings and storytelling. It deals with a young boy's sexual awakening at such a pivotal moment in his life, as his parents are about to separate. He finds himself looking at his friend differently and starts to question his own identity while he roleplays fairytales during Australian summertime.

The ending was so heartwarming it actually made me cry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Europe Comics always publishes such fantastic graphic novels.

A lovely idea for a graphic novel and a nice way to showcase a young boy beginning to discover himself. The graphics were really nice and I enjoyed the pace of the story, taking place over a day or so.

I wish the story had had a little more depth to it. I also felt it weird that Lulu was so unaware of things and how he acted with his friend. Maybe he was younger than I thought he was and just really naive.

Still an enjoyable read!

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the copy!

If this had been just a little bit longer, and if it didn't brush over the homophobic slur and the situation with Cam and her older "boyfriend" so quickly, it would've been a 5 star read for me.
I fell in love with Zuttion's art style and the way it conjures up melancholy so perfectly. Lulu is a cutie, and his sibling relationship with Cam is very realistic and moving. 💗

Gorgeous illustration and a poignant story make All Princesses Die Before Dawn a beautifully heartbreaking and mending story. The juxtaposition of the framing story and the one we're witnessing gives depth to the idea of what it means to be a princess: courage, boundaries, and love. It serves as a reminder that what we want doesn't have to look like anything specific, and when we feel that something isn't right for us, heeding that message and feeling empowered to say something about it helps us to transform beyond what we believe is possible. I feel like this story had elemental nature to it, subtle clues that draw the reader's attention to water, fire, earth, and air. It's beautifully done.

Wow, what an absolutely charming and heartwarming graphic novel.

I absolutely adored this, from the flowy summery illustrations to the heartgripping perspectives of all three characters - I WAS HOOKED!

I wish for all teenagers to read this: it packs a punch in such few pages.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for uplaoding this to read and review: it has certianly reminded me of my love for graphic novels and the way they can hit so differently to reading regular novels.

I will for sure be buying a copy of this at some point to have on my shelves and reread.

I am in love! The graphics were gorgeous with the crayon/ colored pencil effect. All three stories within the one were beautifully written to coincide with one another. It was actually refreshing to see a young boy already know who he is and him know what he wants and is not afraid of it. And it’s even more refreshing to see his family be accepting.

The intro to this story immediately caught my interest. There was something in the drawings and the way the words were used that sucked me into this story.

There were so many things about Lulu that brought back memories from my childhood and years as a teenager. Memories I didn't even know I had. The way Luly played with the toys, the things that caused Luly to be annoyed, hearing things your parents say about you behind you back... It brought back some warmth, some pain and probably healed a few wounds. It was so recognizable, because once upon a time I was the main character in familiar scenes. Both pretty and horrible ones. So thank you, Quentin Zuttion, for giving a visualisation and somehow making me feel less alone in all of this. Thank you, for bringing up harder subjects while also adding enough warmth and hope.

Apart from the story, I am also a big fan of the art style! I was amazed by how the art was used to bring the fantasy world of children alive. Seeing the real world change into the ones they imagine being in, was such a lovely and beautiful experience.

This is for sure a graphic novel I'd like to reread sooner or later! May the fairy tales you once had as a kid come true one way or another.

Special thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this story in exchange for an honest review.

All Princesses Die Before Dawn is an affirming LGBT tale of innocent sexual awakening, painful transition, and both rejection and acceptance. This book was beautiful in every way: the art, the storytelling, the depth of the characters, the emotional resonance. The ending is positive and affirming and I cried a little because it was a wonderful full-circle moment.

Over the course of a summer day Lulu, a child on the verge of growing up, stumbles through an awkward, and at times emotionally painful, sexual awakening tinged with innocence. Lulu doesn’t know what’s happening when he catches his sister French kissing her boyfriend. He doesn’t know what a “fag” is when he is called out as one. He doesn’t fully understand why he yearns to kiss his male friend.

What he does know is that he likes to play with his sister’s cast-off dolls and dreams of being a princess in a fairy tale. He has stolen moments applying lipstick and wraps his shirt around his head to give the appearance of long princess locks, because, as he says, you don’t see a princess with short hair. He also knows that there is something the world deems “wrong” with these actions.

This is a tale of Lulu’s struggle to understand who he is and where he fits in the world. It’s painful, it’s emotional, it’s bittersweet, it’s inspiring, and ultimately it gives a message of hope and love.

Esta novela gráfica es alucinante, amé desde que hablaban sobre la muerte de la princesa Diana (algo muy secundario pero aún así relevante para la trama) hasta el final.
Los personajes tienen un crecimiento pequeñisimamente grande, cosa que amé y rescato demasiado. La trama puede parecer nula pero es muy interesante que en tan poco tiempo sucedan tantas cosas.
n libro sobre el autodescubrimiento y el apoyo que uno puede tener.

A painfully realistic story about family events; the constant ups and downs that it might bring while growing up.

The illustrations portrayed innocence so beautifully with those pastel colours.

It also is a discovery journey for our main character, Lulu, which is perfectly accompanied by Princess Diana's death throughout this graphic novel.

An emotional and tragic story about daily issues concerning each member of the family.

A heartwrenching story about love, family, and acceptance of the good and the bad.

It's a beautifully drawn comic, very innocent colours and art style that fit the theme of innocence. Juxtaposed with the serious topics, it made those topics harder hitting and more tragic.

The writer did well in capturing the speech and thoughts and tone of the characters and their different ages.

It really is a bittersweet story as most of our stories of our youth are, but there's that innocent hope that keeps the story bright. You know this family has struck together and will continue to do so and will always protect each other.

Overall a good read with beautiful art and an amazing title.

This was a lot. I read it on my phone so the pictures weren't the greatest, but it's more about the emotions of the story. It revolves around a family, each with their own problems. The parents are on the edge of a divorce, the teenage daughter is dealing with boy troubles and self image problems, and the young brother is dealing with feelings about his best friend he doesn't understand. Everything is woven together very well and is a wonderful read. CW for homophobia, high school/college student relationship, internalized body shaming, injury (sunburn), toxic relationships.

The ending of the book was truly beautiful. The fact that he was scared to be accepted or know what/how to feel but was accepted by his mom and his sister was amazing. Also the fact that they were trying to keep his innocence/naivety because he was so young is such a real thing that happens. I really enjoyed this book!

3.5 stars. Rounded up to 4.

This is a gorgeous graphic novel. The art style was the highlight for me, it was so dreamy! Especially in the first 7 pages which I went back to read again after the story was over! The story could get intense at times so I really appreciated the silent panels every once in a while!

Set in 1997, the story shows a family’s fight for love on the day that the death of Princess Diana broke out. I loved Lulu’s storyline the most and that is perhaps because it was the most fleshed out and we spent more time with him. Lulu loves to play with her sister’s old dolls and pretend to be a princess. He is so precious. At one point he watches his dad and his friend Yoyo bond over camping and setting up a tent which ends with Lulu tackling Yoyo. Although we don’t see any scenes of his dad berating him for not being into the same things, Lulu’s reaction solidified for me that maybe his dad has been upset with his love for princesses.

The storyline between Lulu’s parents, and her sister, Cam, and her boyfriend were not as striking as Lulu’s. I wish there had been more time spent on Cam, a teenager, and her older boyfriend. I don’t like how it was just brushed over. The parents’ storyline was the most cliché and the dad’s character seemed too one dimensional. There wasn’t really any depth to him.

I liked how the ending is celebrating Lulu and his queerness! It was super sweet. The princess dolls surround the radio, listening to the news going on about the death of Princess Diana. At the same time, in front of them, there is Lulu dancing in a dress! A new princess is born!

This is the story of 8-year-old Lulu, in love with his best friend; his sister Cam, trying to be what she thinks a cool teenage girl should be; and their parents, trapped in a struggling marriage.
Three love stories, from budding desire to fading passion, play out within one family the day after Princess Diana's death.

I really liked this story. I found the art style very sweet, and the characters quite believable. I felt the sadness and frustration emanating from the mother, the teenage angst and confusion felt by Cam, and the simple and pure feelings that Lulu had for his best friend.
I remember being around Lulu's age and wanting to play the same kind of games with my friends we had always played, but being met by sneer and being belittled because they were already changing into pre-teens, thinking of girls, wanting to distance themselves from their younger self.
I remember being a teen and sneakily smoking, convinced my parents would never know. I have never had a boy coming and going from my window, but having loud music, not feeling understood by anyone around me and being taken advantage of by older boys was unfortunately very relatable.
I have never been married, but I really felt the mother's struggle and I found the father quite distasteful.