Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales by Melanie Gillman
Published by Random House Graphic on September 20, 2022
ISBN: 0593303199
Pages: 240
Genres: Fairy Tale
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads

The seven original fairy tales told in this graphic novel are a far cry from the standard helpless girl trope so often retold. That said, most were also quite often dark, sad, and ended on an ambiguous or even tragic note. The colored pencil illustrations are beautiful and compelling, and each story has a slightly different color scheme to help it stand apart from the others. The layout and feel of the book – heavy paper, ample white space, floral headers and footers on each page – is really beautiful. I didn’t love every story, but I did appreciate their uniqueness and inclusivity. As someone who always feels there should be more diversity in the folk and fairy stories on our shelves, I think this is a good one to have on hand for high school readers.

Reviewed by Jenny Martinez Nocito, Maine State Library