Review Detail

This book made me laugh, cry, and scream, all at the same time. And I couldn't thank it enough for it.

The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl by Emily Riesbeck is a graphic novel about a pirate banished from her home, but willing to find a family among her crew, and a girl wanting to reverse her curse of being made of porcelain. “I want to be beautiful. I want to be interesting. I want to be enough.” That was Ferra Brickminder’s prayer to win back the love of her life. And the gods answer—just not in the way she expected. After hoping for a miracle, Ferra instead watches her skin turn into delicate and dangerously breakable porcelain. Elsewhere, Brigantine de la Girona, a disgraced orc pirate captain, has her own problems. Penniless and banished from her home, Brig struggles to make ends meet with her crew as her only support. So, when a desperate Ferra enlists Brig to sail her across the Great Sea to her ex-girlfriend’s home for a very handsome fee, Brig is happy to strike a deal. Pampered Ferra and tough-as-nails Brig quickly butt heads, bickering their way across the high seas, but as they encounter increasingly perilous obstacles—including the gods themselves—the two become reluctant allies…and maybe more.

Going into this book, I assumed it was just going to be a run of the mill pirate story, with plenty of thievery and betrayal. But instead, I was surprised to find plenty of heart and emotional damage, that it made me weep and laugh at the same time. Riesbeck has a way of presenting characters that are so flawed and distorted that you want to hate them, but you have no choice but to love them. All while drawing the reader in with a gorgeous art style you won't find anywhere else.

My only gripe about this book, was that it was too short. I wanted more of Ferra and Brig's adventures. Perhaps Riesbeck has more books in mind? Please? Pretty please?

If anyone is looking for a heartful and humorous sapphic, pirate graphic novel The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl is at the top of my list.