FF Friday

Princess Princess Ever After, Katie O’Neill. A sweet short middle-grade graphic novel in which Sadie, the “big-boned” princess imprisoned in a tower by her older sister’s magic and her own self-doubt (she has befriended Oliver, the dragon set to guard her, largely by feeding him) is rescued by Amira, a princess of colour with “kick-butt hair”, who left her own kingdom to save people rather than get married to a prince. They, in turn, rescue a prince suffering under parental expectations, stop an ogre from destroying a village (Sadie tells him he’s a great dancer but his stomping is scaring people away. The ogre: “… Actually, I often wonder if my lack of creative fulfillment is because I never have an audience…”), and ultimately defeat Sadie’s sister. Then Amira leaves, to become a hero, and Sadie stays, to become a queen, but that’s not the end…

The creator’s website is here; she has a few other graphic novels that I will keep an eye out for (although they're published through the US, the author is an NZer).