2023 EDIT:
Reread: A hilarious anecdotal, cartoony comic about a girl and a unicorn.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
A cute and funny book of comic strips, about a girl and her unicorn.
'Phoebe and Her Unicorn' is similar to the 'Peanuts' strips, but with a unicorn, and a little girl at the center. There is no overarching plot, just the adventures in the life of this awesome duo, a sketch book in more ways than one.
I like how the unicorn lore is comically handled in a contemporary setting, and how Phoebe, at nine-years-old, already wants to explore and try different things on her quest to find herself, in a mundane environment where she is considered a lonely outcast at her school - even though she is quite hilarious. Being friends with her would be as much fun as being friends with a unicorn! Truthfully Phoebe, she of the one-track mind, can be whatever she wants if she endures and persists in a specific area, i.e. detective work, or piano playing. In one story, she might like a boy, as a friend or as something more, she really doesn't care which: this shows her growing and maturing casually, in her understanding her own feelings and undecided desires.
Phoebe's wish to be special and noticed by her peers not only make her relatable to the book's target audience (young females possibly suffering from low self-esteem), it also subtly contrasts with how her new unicorn friend, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, sees herself: as "scintillating", fully-developed in absolute perfection, the pinnacle of beauty, and superior to humans. An immortal, timeless unicorn's only apparent weakness is getting lost in her reflection.
So a narcissistic yet witty unicorn and an insecure, bungling fourth-grade girl with an impressive resume in her future make an adorable comedy pair. Seriously, who says that girls and mythical "girly" creatures can't be funny? The bond Phoebe and Marigold share has many nice, understated layers to it - such as how lonely both of them are, but not when they're together, plus their display of sarcasm in their banter - marking this book higher than mere "kiddy fluff".
And where else is there a story featuring a slumber party with a unicorn!?
Light, funny, girly, fluffy, bubbly, and utterly charming, 'Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle' is a graphic novel I would recommend to those who love girl power, fantasy, slice-of-life, laughing, and unicorns. A wacky, suburban, junior version of Peter S. Beagle's 'The Last Unicorn', it's a sweet, cartoony sugar romp.
Final Score: 4/5
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