Book Descriptions
for Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Angelica (Vietnamese American) is an over-achieving high school student experiencing burnout. Determined to find a single activity that brings her joy, Angelica interns at a local children’s theater, assisting in a production of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Privately, Angelica has a literary crush on the Bear Prince character, Per, and has been chatting anonymously with someone running a Per the Bear fan account. She knows it’s weird, but she also feels safe and comforted by sharing memories of her late grandmother with a stranger. Evident to readers is that the author of @PertheBear is the new-to-town, kind, swoon-worthy nonbinary teen playing the role of the Bear Prince on stage. Meanwhile, Angelica’s best friend keeps trying connect with Angelia, but Angelica is alternately distracted and judgmental. Angelica also seems to be oblivious to her parents’ stress about the success of their restaurant business. Interspersed in this graphic novel is an episodic telling of the Norwegian fairytale, which parallels Angelica’s own quest for self-discovery and romance. Gorgeous, detailed illustrations add atmospheric warmth to a winter tale that successfully interweaves stories of personal growth and healing for multiple characters. Honest dialogue and well-crafted characters bring surprising depth to a story that at first glance appears to be about a wide-eyed girl falling in love with a teddy bear.
CCBC Choices 2026. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin – Madison, 2026. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Being a teenager is no fairy tale . . . but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a little magic. A high schooler’s journey to recover from burnout leads to a surprising romance with a twist from the bestselling author of The Magic Fish.
A LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BOOKPAGE, BOOKLIST
Angelica was the girl who could do it all—until suddenly, she couldn’t. Burnout hit hard. Now, after some very low moments, she’s ready to get her life back together, thanks to her friends, and one very surprising source of comfort.
A bear.
Peri is the mascot of the local theater. He’s been sending Angelica supportive messages from his social. They’ve become friends, and Angelica might even have . . . a crush?
Determined to find the human behind the bear costume, Angelica gets an internship at the theater. She might never go back to being the girl who can do everything, but perhaps she is becoming the girl who can magically have it all.
A LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BOOKPAGE, BOOKLIST
Angelica was the girl who could do it all—until suddenly, she couldn’t. Burnout hit hard. Now, after some very low moments, she’s ready to get her life back together, thanks to her friends, and one very surprising source of comfort.
A bear.
Peri is the mascot of the local theater. He’s been sending Angelica supportive messages from his social. They’ve become friends, and Angelica might even have . . . a crush?
Determined to find the human behind the bear costume, Angelica gets an internship at the theater. She might never go back to being the girl who can do everything, but perhaps she is becoming the girl who can magically have it all.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
