A Whole New World

A Whole New World takes a twist on the classic animated Disney film and tale of Aladdin. The first quarter of the book follows the Disney movie exactly - down to many of the quotes being exact lines from the movie. While I can see some readers finding comfort in this, I mostly found it annoying. It felt like retracing unnecessary ground. When the reader gets to point in the story where Aladdin finds the lamp, Jafar actually does make off with it, leaving Aladdin stuck in the cave under ground. Jafar is the first to summon the genie and all hell breaks loose with the genie enslaved to Jafar. I enjoyed the last half of the book much more than the first half. There is quite a bit of action, and even a little romance, that will appeal to show more most teen audiences. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the books in the Twisted Tale series will be like.

I would recommend this book to fantasy readers and fans of Disney movies, from tweens to older teens. This title is an optional purchase for libraries, not a must have. show less

Fantastic version of the traditional Aladdin but with honesty between Jasmine & Aladdin from (nearly) the beginning & a more dark & realistic plot twist with Jafar controlling the genie & Agrabah. Jasmine's transformation from a naive, fed up girl to a brave soldier who isn't above helping to rescue her own kingdom is refreshing and had the girl power in me standing and cheering! This is a more mature Aladdin story that still addresses good v evil, with love and honesty trumping all, which 21st century readers can relate to & support- I think the Sultana Jasmine & Prince Ali Ababua himself would give this a big thumbs up!

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Even before Disney took a hand in it, I’ve been a fan of the Aladdin story. It’s what led me to pick this book up. At first, though, A Whole New World seemed a pure retelling of the Disney version. While the description is strong, there are limitations to the written medium that meant the focus felt off. Certain types of interactions don’t translate well from the visual medium and would have done better to be replaced with scenes that drew on the qualities of a written version.

I saw enough strengths to keep going, but my expectations had been lowered.

Right about then, though, this story takes on a life of its own, first with small deviations and then a whole cloth rewrite that really show more works. It converts a story softened for small children with humor to replace intensity into one for older teens and young adults with tangible stakes and moral dilemmas all the way to a completely rewritten ending that makes sense and is true to the story. Though there are nods to the humor of the movie and the love story is at a similar level, the political, moral, economic, and social aspects are brought to life with sometimes horrifying detail.

The other aspect borrowed from the movie that didn’t translate well in my opinion is the way the text is peppered with oddly modern words and concepts. From the genie, they make him seem not bound to mortal time, which allows for humor, but doesn’t fit the rest of the story, and when these concepts come from other characters it broke a very strong illusion of a pre-industrial, magic-enhanced, Arabic world.

At the same time, the recognition of personhood in non-humans is beautifully done, first with pets and then both the genie and flying carpet. Real growth moments exist for Jasmine and Aladdin in the story, but she’s the one who goes through a lot of slaps in the face at first and even throughout the story as illusions born of isolation come crashing down. She has to consider the real people who are affected by decisions made in the palace.

There is no question about who is evil embodied, not with Jafar as a power hungry, insane wizard attempting to win by force what can only be earned. But there are many gray areas as well, with lessons to be learned among the community that comes together to oppose Jafar. This isn’t a strict hero/heroine story though Aladdin and Jasmine are the clear leads. They don’t win simply by out-talking Jafar as in the movie, nor is the effort to end his evil a magically simple one.

People die. Good people, bad people, and everyone in between. And those who don’t die must face harsh decisions between compliance and starvation while the costs of inflation are clearly illustrated from the perspectives of rich and poor alike.

Ultimately, community is the only hope for two people who have been alone, if for different reasons, most of their lives. Even Aladdin and Jasmine face choices where they must define where the lines are that cannot be crossed, and they don’t always choose well. They are not infallible, and struggle with both the costs and the reality of even their wise choices.

This is most definitely a mature version of the Disney story that, while providing a fun, intense, and evocative tale, also demands the reader choose sides and contemplate where those uncrossable lines lie for themselves. This makes the story deeper than at first appearance and well worth the read.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. show less

I purchased this book from Half Priced Books to read and #buddyread with my bestie @mycornerforbooksand. All opinions are my own. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 A Whole New World by Liz Braswell. Everyone loves Once upon a time and Happily Ever After but what makes it great is the story in the middle of those two lines. In A Whole New World all of the characters from the Disney movie Aladdin are here, but the twist comes when Aladdin doesn't find the lamp. What will happen to Jasmine? The genie? Agrabah? with all the power shifted? An amazing twist on a fairytale we all love so much with just a little more evil than would be expected. This edge of your seat, twisted tale will have you turning pages faster than you think. Review also posted on show more Instagram @borenbooks, Library Thing, Go Read, Goodreads/StacieBoren, Amazon, Twitter @jason_stacie and my blog at readsbystacie.com show less

This retelling of my all time favorite Disney film is a real shock! To begin with it's very similar to the movie, even using some of the dialogue. But then it starts to get twisted. This alternative route is amazing! I cried when the Sultan gets murdered by Jafar and was amazed at home badassed Jasmine was. The Genie has a happy ending but not as we know it.

The Media, movies, TV, books, etc. is in quite a fairy tale mood these days. From Maleficent, to Once Upon a Time and Grimm, to this and other books. If you like fairy tales as I do, it’s quite a time to be a reader/consumer of media.

Still, as many fairy tales/legends that I’ve read/seen this wasn’t at all what I was expecting it to be. It’s based on the Disney animated movie Aladdin, but it definitely lives up to its age suggestion (7th Grade and up), and it’s not for little kids like the movie is.

It’s not just a novelization of the movie by a long shot either. According to its blurbs it’s the start of a series where each book takes a Disney movie and changes a key moment in it. That totally twists the story on its show more head.

This one starts about the same as the animated movie it’s based on. We meet Aladdin, the poor Street Rat with an apparent heart of gold, and Jasmine, the apparently spoiled Princess who is just as trapped as Aladdin just in a different way, and wants to see the world. I really, really liked how Braswell wrote all the characters, and the other action/descriptions as well. Perhaps it was because I’ve probably seen the movie too many times, but her words very easily evoked my memories of the movie and I was drawn into the story on a level I hadn’t anticipated.

And then, the twist came, and while it wasn’t a huge stunning departure from the movie plot, it had huge repercussions for the characters in the story, and made for a definitely different and mostly awesome re-imagining of the story.

The one thing that was a little annoying about the novel was that here and there the characters got a little preachy about social issues and social justice. I got the allusions to our modern life, I didn’t need to be beaten over the head with it (and I think neither would seventh graders).

Still, it was such an enjoyable novel, and while, yes, it’s definitely a book written for older kids/young teens, it was also enjoyable for this adult to read. I especially recommend it if you like different takes on fairy tales, or even just reliving the Disney movies of your youth.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Disney Press. show less

So, I tried this series because I watched a webinar that mentioned this author's work. BUT after reading this....I'm not sure if I want to try another book.

The first quarter of this book feels like a plagiarism of the wonderful Disney film. I could quote the dialogue. Aladdin was the same. Jasmine was the same. Literally nothing is different (except elements of YA typical romantic meet cutes). But then the novel does change when Jafar gets a hold of the lamp..

"A Whole New World" then becomes a dark world. Indeed, Jafar is far darker than in the Disney film. We drift into undead, murderous territory. While I did not mind that per se, occasionally the violence felt over the top. There were also subtle political messages that made me role show more my eyes. Jasmine was a strong female protagonist, but it felt forced as well.

I also found myself missing the Genie a la Robin Williams. This genie was depressing. Honestly, the whole book was to me. show less