Liz Braswell

3.5*
Imagine the Disney screenplay you grew up with and could recite word for word… rewritten with a Tim Burton-esque dark edge. That’s this Twisted Tale in a nutshell.

I love a good reimagining of a familiar story, and I grew up on Disney Renaissance, so I was excited to discover this series, starting with this book. I appreciate that the premise is stated right on the cover; this left me able to focus on the plot instead of over-analyzing details to discover the main twist from the original story. The inclusion of some exact details and dialogue from the animated film was at times comforting in its familiarity, but other times felt a bit jolting because this is such a different story. (Like two sets of characters in parallel universes having the exact same conversation.)

I didn’t realize how dark this retelling was going to get. Be aware that it’s definitely not intended for story time with young children. It is quite well written and cleverly thought out, though, and I look forward to reading others from this series.… (more)

A Whole New World
Twisted Tales, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: It’s been on my TBR forever.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: CCPL
Dates Read: 2/29/24 - 3/2/24
Stars: 4 Stars
Narrator(s): James Patrick Cronin

The Characters:

Aladdin
Jasmine
Jafar, Abu, Genie, Morgana, The male bestie whose name I cannot remember

The Story:

I do not know what I was expecting but this was not it. This re-imagining where Jafar gets the lamp and takes over agrabah is intense. Yet in between the sneaking, villainy and fighting we still get a love story.
Contrary to my initial belief I only burst into song thrice.… (more)