The Prince and the Dressmaker | Jen Wang | Review
Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: Prince Sebastian is looking for a 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? - GoodreadsThis year I wanted to try and get into graphic novels, or at least have a go at reading one. I saw this one in the library and decided to pick it up. I am well pleased that I did, because not only were the illustrations beautifully drawn, but the story was super sweet.
Frances is working as a seamstress when she is given the job of making a dress for a new client. While most of Paris can't handle it's uniqueness, Frances soon gets approached by a man who says his client would like Frances to work for them, for a great deal more money than she's currently getting paid. She accepts, and off she goes.
As it turns out, her new client is the Prince, and he wants her to create gowns for him to wear out as he dresses up as Lady Crystallia. As the story goes on, there's ups and downs, the meeting of famous people, the hopes and dreams of people shattered and stitched together again.
While the story was very sweet, it was very predictable, and I did struggle with the dialogue in terms on consistently and era-savvy, as it was not the language of 'Paris, at the dawn of the modern age'. It was very modern and not what I imagine them speaking like back in the day. But it was a great coming-of-age and who-am-I story, and very beautifully drawn; Jen Wang is very talented!
If you're thinking of trying your hand (or eye?) at graphic novels for the first time, then The Prince and the Dressmaker was a good one to start with, I think. 3.5 stars from me.
Have you read The Prince and the Dressmaker? What did you think?
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