Princess Princess Ever After

The premise is great: Progressive feminism with characters who don't conform to hetero-normative standards of society. Themes of pro LBGT+ without being preachy or judgy, and children can interpret the extent of their "friendship" how they want. A princess meets another princess; one princess is brave and masculine. The other is plus sized and more feminine. They resolve their conflicts with the outside world not with violence and bloodshed as in typical fairy tale books, but with ingenuity and kindness. There's basically something for everyone here.So what's the problem? Well these two princesses also encounter a prince, who doesn't fit into gender normative roles. He's weak and frail, meek and cowardly. He's not the macho hero that everyone expects him to be. So what do these to princesses do when they find a fellow traveler off the beaten path of society's expectations?They pick on him! They tease him and torment him relentlessly. He doesn't even get a real name, they just call him "Butthead" for the entire book. It's confusing and frankly unnecessary to the story. Feminism can be about raising women up without stomping men down in the process; unfortunately this book misses that point by a mile.Other than that part, it's a great children's book. In the same way that other than the shark, Jaws is a great children's movie.

Was a great book, until they met the prince and called him butthead the entire book. I thought this book would be good for my 7 year old daughter, until I got half way through the book and realized that the princesses become bullies and the book really teaches kids that it is OK to pick on others that are different from them.I truly wanted to like this book however at the end of the day, it's teaches the same thing most of us are trying to avoid.

I had high hopes for this to be a great little fantasy book my nieces and nephews could enjoy that would give them new perspectives. Of course I had to read it first to be sure it would be suitable. The illustrations are pretty good, but that's about it. The story is meaningless, merely a vehicle to carry the agenda. It's far too transparent and there isn't really a message beyond inclusivity. The alternative haircut and all-too-convenient plot make it a very dull read. It's a shame, because I am gay myself and my nieces and nephews are very religiously sheltered and don't know anything about it, so I was thinking this could be a good book for easing them into the idea. But I don't think they could make it past the first few pages, honestly. If you're not intensely into queer theory and that whole pride parade lifestyle, I don't think you'll really find much to enjoy about this book. If you are, you'll probably love it and should buy it. Heck, buy it anyway, we need to support work like this even if it's mediocre so more LGBT works will be published. Just don't expect much from this one. Hopefully the author will produce better quality works in the future.

Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O'Neill is a standalone graphic novel that starts when a princess saves another princess from a tower. This story is all kinds of adorable! Having read the Tea Dragon Society previously, I've noticed how diverse Katie O'Neill's graphic novels are and I'm all for it. I love reading diverse stories and it's an added bonus that this one comes with gorgeous artwork. In this book, Princess Sadie and Princess Amira go beyond what society expects of princesses as they try to figure out what they're meant to do with their lives. It's a short and heartwarming story that will appeal to both kids and adults alike. This is the sort of book that would be perfect when you need something refreshing to get you out of a reading slump. Will definitely be rereading this one and looking forward to reading Aquicorn Cove from the same author. I will also be on the lookout for new titles from her! There's an upcoming title next year called Tea Dragon Festival which I already have on my wish list.

Princess Princess is adorable. It's a short story in which two princesses meet and embark on an adventure to overcome their own personal obstacles. Some have made a big deal about the pro gay message, and while it is in there it's very subtle. The real strength of the book is in showing that you don't have to conform to roles that people may want for you. This is a great message for any young person.Highly recommended.

So, it’s fair to say that I am a little bit old to be the target audience of Princess Princess Ever After, but after spotting it in an article on The Mary Sue I thought I'd give it a look. I love anything to do with fairytale worlds with strong women women in it, and sometimes you just feel like reading something colorful and feel good. Honestly, it’s just a cute, fun story that I’d recommend to any kid- and not just because its progressive, but because its got a good sense of humor and adventure, with characters that are surprisingly nuanced for such a short book.The most obvious thing about Princess Princess Ever After is that yes, it is a fairy tale with a same sex couple aimed at children. And that’s a big thing. Although things have generally gotten better with LGBT people in media aimed at adults and even a YA audience, even liberals are often uncomfortable with the idea of a same sex couple in a kid's book or tv series (see Korrasami). This is because while they see opposite sex romance as fully encompassing romance, companionship, and innocent first love, they see same sex as equaling gay sex.This book shows that this doesn’t have to be the case. The tone is perfect for children: sweet, innocent and with a good sense of fun. The story is far more about two very different young women bonding and going on adventure together (with a prince in tow) than it is about romance- although their relationship is adorable.The characters are all likable and surprisingly fleshed out for such a short story. Its two main heroines are Princess Amira, the tomboyish knight, and Princess Sadie, the cute girly girl.Princess Amira is a great character. Strong and brave, who ran away from home to avoid conventional gender roles. In a genre which overwhelmingly glorifies delicate white (usually blond) women, it’s great to see a black Princess who’s not the usual ‘white woman painted brown’, but has a hair that looks like a style that a black woman is more likely to have and comes from an African culture (my guess would be North Africa, judging by the desert). ?Princess Sadie is the more conventionally feminine one,and my God, is she adorable. She’s sweet and cries a lot, but possesses a kind heart that makes her a good leader. They do have a traditional butch/ femme dynamic, though this is clearly done to show that there’s more than one way to be a girl rather than out of a belief there has to be a ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ in every relationship. This book does try and mix it up a bit and show that feminine does not equal inferior and Princess Sadie is just as useful as Amira. It’s a lot like Ruby and Sapphire from Steven Universe or Haruka and Michuru from Sailor Moon, or Utena and Anthy from RGU. As a woman who’s been in the army and seen that the tomboys really don’t perform better than the femmes, I’d totally love to see a story where the girly girl is a kick ass fighter and rescues her butch girlfriend, but hey, Sadie does get some rescuing in too..The villain is one that shows that sometimes it’s the ones closest to you that can hurt you the most. The only downside is that the main villain was defeated in a very quick and convenient way once the emotional confrontation was over. This seems to happen a lot (especially in stories aimed at girls), but the book was never about the final showdown and packs so much in that it doesn't really matter.The drawings are also really cute and make it a joy to flick through. They’re full of bright, round designs with lots of cute fairytale creatures like dragons and unicorns.Verdict: This is a brilliant comic and one I'd recommend to any kid- especially little girls, who can probably find a bit of themselves in both our heroines.

I purchased this book as I loved the online comic and wanted to support the artist, but sadly this book is not up to a great standard.But firstly let's start on a positive by saying that both the back cover and front cover are gorgeous with excellent use of spot gloss. It's a wonderful thing to have on your shelf. The story is still great and cute and the epilogue is also sweet.HOWEVER. The biggest issue this has is that the pages are not glossy - they are standard newsprint. Whilst this is okay for printing black and white comics, Princess Princess is full colour and using glossy paper would have been preferable; there is a reason it is industry standard for comics that are created digitally in colour. Newsprint paper makes the colours bleed and look imprecise, and also Princess Princess suffers in this format from being washed out, too dark, and slightly desaturated compared to its online version. A lot of detail is lost in the art.Had this been on glossy paper to let the art shine? Easy five stars. But the quality lets it down so much.So disappointing.

This is the most adorable thing I have ever read and I SO WISH that it had been available when I was little. The chance to see a fat princess, standing up for herself and falling in love with another girl. It would have been a dream come true! I'm just glad I got to read it now.

Such a lovely lovely fun read. Such a wonderful thing that this book exists. The illustrations are fluid and so awesome and the storyline is both traditional yet current. Think She-Ra.

Friendship, strength and love come in many forms. This short but beautiful story shows us that peoples views mean nothing. You are who you let yourself be, don’t let others hold you to a path that doesn’t feel right to you. Beautifully illustrated with engaging characters. A very worthwhile read.