Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Graphic Novel
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Publishing Date: March 21, 2023
Synopsis:
A tale of unlikely heroes and myths is made real in this debut graphic novel series about a “bad” demon trying to find her place in the underworld. But she’ll have to save it first!
Meesh is a bad demon. “Bad” meaning she always sees the good in those around her–which, strictly speaking, isn’t how a demon is meant to feel or act.
Bullied by the other demons, twelve-year-old Meesh is more likely to be found poring over Fairy World’s magazines and fangirling the fairy princesses. When disaster strikes and her family is threatened, Meesh must journey to the Fairy World to find a healing crystal that can save the underworld. And speak of the devil! She meets a fairy princess right away.
But things in the Fairy World aren’t so perfect either. As Meesh makes surprising new friends and unites a band of outcasts–including her bully–she learns there’s more to being a demon than being bad.
Sometimes the secret to real power is in loving yourself, faults and all.
My Review:
Meesh the bad demon is a cute and heartwarming debut graphic novel by Michelle Lam. This story is about accepting who you truly are to yourself. We can’t expect people to accept us when we are in denial, right?
Meesh is a twelve-year-old demon in the demon city called Mount Magma. Meesh doesn’t like the characteristics of demons. She loved the pink colour and had an interest in tending flowers rather than learning how to breathe fire or how to puke acid. I love how the author included the great theme of finding oneself and accepting who we are in a *cute* fantasy setting.
In the eyes of her friends, she was not a perfect demon, so they termed her bad. When Mount Magma falls into danger, Meesh sets out on her journey to save it. But when she arrived at a fairyland called Pulmeria City to seek help, she was kicked out of it because they saw her appearance as a demon and termed her bad. At last, she proved them all wrong. Despite being a demon, she protected the people of her hometown.
All the characters are so perfect and cute. I loved Meesh’s relationship with her grandma. Even though their conversations were only a few pages, the author conveyed how her grandmother loved and supported her.
Meesh’s friendship with Princess Nouna of Pulmeria City was so heartwarming. Xavier and Chai played a significant role in supporting both girls. With the help of her new-found friends, she achieved the unachievable.
The illustrations inside the book were so damn cute, and I spent a perfect amount of time staring at the detailing. The cover of the book is so well done. The book ended in a “to-be-continued” way, and I can’t wait for the second book.
Overall, a sweet-cute book with a powerful message of accepting yourself and doing good despite others’ opinions.
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with the arc of this book.
Click here for Tour schedule to see more reviews.
Book links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository| IndieBound
Mood Board:
About the author:
Michelle Lam is a Los Angeles based story artist in the animation industry, a graphic novel author and illustrator, and cartoonist on social media. She assistant directed the CG animated series ONI: Thunder God’s Tale (Netflix / Tonko House), storyboarded and wrote for I Heart Arlo (Netflix), and storyboarded for Arlo the Alligator Boy (Netflix / Titmouse Animation) and Trash Truck (Netflix / Glen Keane Productions). Animation work aside, Michelle moonlights as an author and illustrator with her first graphic novel Meesh the Bad Demon (Penguin Random House Knopf), and creates autobiographical comics on her Instagram @mewTripled. She shares her life and career experiences through the form of videos on Youtube also under @mewTripled.
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