The Princess Who Saved Her Friends

The Princess Who Saved Herself #2

by Greg Pak, Takeshi Miyazawa (Illustrator)

The sequel to the beloved children's book based on the song by musician, singer-songwriter, and Internet superstar Jonathan Coulton (Thing a Week).

In The Princess Who Saved Her Friends princess Gloria Cheng Epstein Takahara de la Garza Champio continues to explore the good, and sometimes bad, sides of friendship and its effects. Gloria has always used determination, bravery, and understanding to build relationships and overcome strife in her friendships with monsters and witches, but how will she handle the discovery that the witch she befriended might not be such a great friend after all? Reuniting the team behind Mech Cadet Yu, join New York Times best-selling writer Greg Pak (Darth Vader) and illustrator Takeshi Miyazawa (Ms. Marvel) for this charming graphic novel sequel based on the beloved song by internet superstar musician Jonathan Coulton.

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Music, Childrens, Picture Books, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

Published February 15, 2022

About the author

Greg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."

Reviews

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mix of young children, teenagers and funny animals form a rock band and enter the big Battle Of The Bands competition. However, the dragon is having trouble playing in time with his band mates.
Told is short rhyming verse, this is a delightful book to read to younger minds, as well as an introduction to reading for children ready to read to their siblings.
There's a warm message here about differences and difficulties, working through them, and supporting your friends even when they falter.
It's filled with big, full page colorful illustrations that are sure to entrance young readers.
A fun book.

[Jaclyn Hillis]

This is a short & sweet, fairytale-esque graphic novel that shows the importance of sticking by your friends, especially during the tough times.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute graphic novel that would be great for a younger audience. It's a short story about friendship and sticking by your friends, even in tough times. Overall, I think this would make a great addition to any library or your personal collection.

[Niche · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this better than the first one "...saved herself." The rhyming is still labored, but it felt a little more separated from the panels, closer to a parody/homage of the narrative structure, maybe I'm reading too much into it. Either way, I loved the focus on friendship and the less commonly depicted conflict of hobbies for fun vs success. Quoting Complex Age: "When it comes to hobbies, whoever's having the most fun wins."

[Danielle T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oops, when i backed this on Kickstarter I didn't realize that either 1) it was a sequel or 2) we didn't own the first book. Still enjoyable on its own, a short but needed lesson on being nice to your friends even if they're not "the best" at whatever you're trying to do. Wide variety of kids, dragons, and other friends at the Battle of the Bands makes this perfect for children.

[Brigid · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming young-readers graphic novel told in blocks of rhyming text as well as word balloons. A princess and her friends all enjoy playing in a band, but some are more skilled musicians than others, which creates friction when a big contest comes up. The story is sweet and hits all the right notes (pun intended), with a happy ending for all involved.

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, upbeat message story about loyalty, music and friendship. The illustrations are just incredible. It's an absolute joy to look at them--especially the musical instruments, which are no easy drawing task!

[Crystal Land · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded down

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and cute comic about trying your best and sticking with your friends.

[Emma]

Quite a cute story,
Told in a rhyme,
Not at all gory,
Good to pass the time.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and wholesome.

[Ashlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute and quick read. It didn’t end the way I thought it would but it taught a good lesson. I’m glad I picked it up.

[John Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't cry as much and the message felt a little more muddled.

[Bexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very cute and I appreciated that it rhymed throughout the whole story. I did appreciate the message that if you can't get along with your friends doing one thing, find something that everyone can do. It had wonderful colorful artwork, and the snake was fantastic blowing on his whistle.

Copy provided by publisher.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow I missed the original book based (apparently) on a Jonathan Coulton song. I picked up this one because I was drawn to the disheveled scrappy-looking little princess centered on the cover who gave me Paper Bag Princess vibes.

That seems to be the gist of the first book. This one focuses more on perfectionism versus compromise and connection. Princess Glory and her friends' band is struggling and the Queen's ambition to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands divides the group. It's up to Glory to bring the band back together.

The art is very good and I love the character design of the Princess in particular, though it must be said that there's no unified style. The characters look like they all came from different comics which can be interpreted as charming or distracting depending on the reader.

What does not work well at all is the rhyming text which is clunky and at times forced. It was an awkward read aloud. It can't really decide if it wants to be a comic book or a picture book and ends up coming across as lopsided. I wished they'd either leaned into the comic book format to flesh out the story or polished the text more and turned it into a picture book.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Cute story about the importance of friendship & treating others kindly. I love the illustrations. This was cute & I enjoyed it. I think it has a place in classrooms and school libraries as the story teaches an important lesson. Themes include friendship, cooperation/working with others, music, and bullying.

Thank you, BOOM! for the advance copy.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story with cake and tunes. A simple cadence and rhyme makes this book good. The art is excellent too!

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art is fine. Story is nonsensical again, and I really wish they didn’t try to rhyme like that because they aren’t good at it.