Title: Angelica and the Bear Prince
Author: Trung Le Nguyen
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Publication date: October 7, 2025
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Summary
After a year of severe burnout, Angelica is ready to put herself back out there again. This time, it’s in the form of an internship at her favorite local theater. A place that holds a special place in her heart.
One source of Angelica’s confidence comes from a surprising place: the social media page of the theater’s mascot, Peri the Bear. Part of the reason Angelica wants to intern there is so that maybe she can learn who is behind the costume. Because Angelica might just possibly have a tiny crush.
Review: Angelica and the Bear Prince
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Graphic for an advanced copy of Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen. I have been eagerly awaiting Nguyen’s new graphic novel ever since I read The Magic Fish, which is one of my favorite graphic novels. This one is different in tone than that one, but still pulls in that fairytale aspect I love about his work.
Nguyen’s art style is so unique, and I love how it brings these fairytales to life. Angelica’s story is interwoven with a retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, accenting what’s happening in Angelica’s own story. A sort of golden frame is used as a transition between the two stories, and it works really well to pull those two storylines together.
The burnout that Angelica feels is something that I think a lot of teens can relate to. It also frames grief in an interesting way in this book; Nguyen shows that grief happens in all kinds of ways, really about all kinds of things. I appreciated that while the story is about grief at its core, it’s in a more subtle way than you normally read about grief.
All in all, I really enjoyed this, from the writing to the artwork. It’s a wonderful work of art, and I’m excited for others to get to read it as well!
4.5/5 stars