Cursed Princess Club: Volume Two - LambCat - ★★★★.½

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AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: LambCat
SERIES: Cursed Princess Club #1
GENRE: Webcomic, Graphic Novel.
PUBLICATION DATE: July 4, 2023
RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: As excellent as the first season in content, art, and themes. An amazing book for challenging those stereotypes that you have and those that you don’t even know you have. Can’t recommend this highly enough! Not just to teens but to everyone who would enjoy a story that looks like fluff but is absolutely not it.


NOTE: I'm reading this book on the WEBTOON app, but as Goodreads doesn't have that option, I'll be updating my progress against the graphic novel entries. This second volume of the graphic novel series is based on season 2 (episodes 30-61, plus four bonus shorts) of the webcomic.


The plot continues from the events of the first season, and should NOT be read as a standalone work. No plot preview, as I don’t want to go into spoilers.

All the feedback I wrote in my review for the first book is valid for this second book as well. In the first review, I focussed on the themes. In this, I’ll talk about some of my favourite characters and why they are so impactful. Each of these characters has something to teach us.

✨ Gwen: The youngest princess of the Pastel Kingdom dealing with low self-confidence and mental health issues. Has plenty of love for others, but none for herself.

✨ Maria and Lorena: Gwen’s older sisters who are exceptional beauties but are portrayed to be so much more than their appearance. They are Gwen’s biggest champions along with Jamie, and with their well-rounded personality, shatter the usual unidimensional detailing of beautiful girls in typical princess stories.

✨ Jamie: The only prince of the Pastel Kingdom, and always valued for his looks and for what he can offer as a food critic, than for his other traits. Uses his talent honestly, without bothering about others’ opinions.

✨ Frederick: The youngest prince of the Plaid Kingdom. Overshadowed in every way by his two elder brothers, he is trying to stand up for himself, but realises that change is neither easy nor instant.

✨ King Jack: A loving father who takes his ‘protective parent’ persona too far. Proves how helicopter parenting suffocates children.

✨ Prez: The president of the Cursed Princess Club, who uses her past to improve not just her future but that of many others. Shows the beauty of working for others.

✨ The other princesses (and prince) of the CPC: Each with their own quirks, and yet so supportive and accepting of each other. Demonstrate how true friendship is balanced rather than blind.

✨ Laverne the llama: Should be the model for L’Oreal because she knows “she’s worth it” and doesn’t settle for less.

Basically, no one and nothing in the book is stereotypical. So many a time, I felt my mind jumping to cliched perceptions about a character, only to have the plot set me right.

The storyline is amazingly intricate, and each subplot questions our notions and challenges many social perceptions. I love how beautifully it highlighted the importance of self-love and familial support.

I am so glad teens today have access to such a brilliant series, but I wish some older readers would also pick this up. Many of us need to be more openminded about people and situations, and this book offers this lesson brilliantly, along with many other life lessons.

Kudos to the creator of this webcomic! I am truly impressed. Till season 1, I was reading this for my daughter. Now, I am reading it for myself.

Strongly recommended to one and all. This is one of those YA works that has appeal beyond the target age group.

My thanks to the WEBTOON app for this free access to the story!

Off to Season 3!

For your reference: here’s a comparative listing of the episodes on the WEBTOON app and the physical graphic novels.

WEBTOON:

The end.

PHYSICAL GRAPHIC NOVELS:

Volume 1: Complete Season 1, Episodes 1 to 29.

Volume 2: Complete Season 2, Episodes 30 to 61.

Volume 3: Season 3, Episodes 62 to 77.

Volume 4 (To be released in December 2024): Season 3, Episodes 78 to 93.

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