The Prince and the Dressmaker - Jen Wang [Review]

Title: The Prince and the Dressmaker

Author: Jen Wang

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, LGBTQ+, Graphic Novel

Publisher: First Second

Publishing date: February 13th 2018

Pages: 288   

Rating

★★★★★

Hello, today I’m reviewing a graphic novel that’s been kind of popular since its release. The day I knew about it, just by the cover and title, I had to have it and one day during a book signing at Mysterious Galaxy I spotted it and it was signed! So I had to get it. I read it in two sits and totally loved it.

The Prince and the Dressmaker tells us the story of Prince Sebastian, who is looking for a

Frances and Sebastian.

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?

First of all I have to admit that what drew me to this graphic novel was the art in the cover, I was a bit disappointed when I found out it was a graphic novel and not a novel as I thought but I was still interested. The art style it’s cartoonish but distinctive, delicate and colorful. One of the things I liked the most regarding the art was the dresses designs.

French cover.

The premise is interesting and intriguing, a prince that cross-dresses, what could go wrong? I found the story refreshing and original, I had never read anything like that, I’ve read about girls that dress as boys, but not the other way around.

As it is a graphic novel, it’s a quick read. It’s fast paced and catches your attention making it hard to put down.

I totally loved the main characters, they had clear motivations and goals in life, and their conflicts and passions were understandable and realistic. The development in their relationship feels natural and I loved their secrecy and trustful relationship.

The book deals more with friendship but there is some romance too, but as I said, the focus is family, friendship and identity.

If you are looking for a cute graphic novel with a LGBTQ+ theme, wonderful art and cute characters, this is definitely for you. Read it. I highly recommend it ♥