Part of Your World

So there’s this “Twisted Tale” series from Disney books that’s essentially all about screwing the heroines out of their happy ending and making the story “what if” instead. I don’t know why Disney’s trying to do this. To reach a mature audience you have to make everything grimdark and miserable? The first series was villain-focused with works like “The Beast Within” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and then a YA adventure of Disneyland crossed with “they only come out at night”. I hated all of them passionately.

I did not hate this.

In fact, I kind of like it. It’s like a Twilight Zone sequel to “The Little Mermaid” — what if Ariel lost? The writing feels more gothic and less modern, more ornate and show more unnecessarily lengthy (probably because someone’s trying to make a word count). But the story stays moving.

It lacks the sense of Disney whimsy that makes the first one magical. Sebastian’s now an old fuddy-duddy, not a wise-cracking crab. Scuttle is senile and has a grand-daughter. Ariel is world-weary and jaded by her experience. But maybe that’s plausible, given these characters didn’t get a “Happily Ever After”. It’s made for adults but lacks the Disney joy. Like Disney’s characters continued by Hans Christian Andersen.

A big flaw is that the world-building cribs the Disney movie and the fairy tale. The author picks and chooses from both (like turning into sea foam or immortal souls, but ignoring the “walking on knives” or the prince treats her like a pet), and sometimes that canon comes into conflict. It retcons some plot points and isn’t explicit about where the cut-off for the timeline is.

Basically, the key moment is that Scuttle doesn’t fly by the window where Ursula/Vanessa is singing and see that she’s really the sea witch. However, Ariel still somehow gets to the boat to confront Ursula. But I guess she’s too late? Then there’s a big Ursula vs. Triton battle (not in the book) and she wins, polyp-ifies Triton, and becomes Eric’s wife. But she wipes everyone’s memories so they don’t remember mermaids, and everything’s back to status quo. And now Ursula is starting to invade human lands.

Except…

Ursula never wanted to rule the human world. She wanted to rule the sea. She doesn’t give a flying fish about humans. Why would she? There’s more power in the oceans than one tiny human kingdom. She wants that trident and that crown. Eric is just a big dumb meathead means to an end. Ariel is a pawn for greater rewards (i.e. a contract that ropes Triton into sacrificing his crown for his daughter) and revenge for… something (the movie doesn’t say).

Anyway, it doesn’t matter. She’s a Faustian villain, a vehicle for Ariel to make a deal with the devil to learn the hard lesson that she shouldn’t let her desires lead her into reckless decisions.

But this is Ariel’s story. It’s an adventure and a redemption arc and it paints Ariel with an empowering brush. Ariel has had years to learn the consequences of her actions, to deal with the loss of her father, her role as Princess of the Sea, leaving the one she loved behind. It means Ariel and Eric take time to establish a relationship as they figure out what to do about Ursula. It was a satisfying follow-up to the original movie and I want to read more from the Twisted Tale series.

In reality, if Ariel did lose to Ursula, the sequel should be about her getting a lawyer and learning contract law. show less

I’ve been all about the mermaids lately! Can’t get enough of variations on this great fairy tale. In this “Little Mermaid” retelling, author Liz Braswell sticks to the Disney movie version of events with one exception—rather than Ariel defeating the Sea Witch at the end, Ursula wins, Ariel is turned back into a mermaid only because Tritan sacrifices himself for her, and now Ursula rule the human kingdom as a cruel princess. Awesome, right? I liked the way the author kept true to the Disney tradition while thinking through various what if scenarios for how the characters might have evolved had one crucial point in the plot been changed. This made for a fun read.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

I thoroughly enjoyed this twisted take on Disney's "The Little Mermaid". Here the question is asked, "What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula?" What we get is a story set five years after the wedding of Prince Eric and Vanessa (Ursula in disguise). The newlyweds rule their kingdom on land, while Ariel is thrust into the role as Queen of the Sea and rules Atlantica, voiceless and fatherless. Circumstances arise that necessitate Ariel to return to the surface and try once again to defeat the Sea Witch once and for all.

This definitely has the feel of the animated classic. You feel you are in the movie itself. Old, favorite characters return, along with some new ones. The ending wrapped up a little too quickly, but otherwise it was a fun, show more immersive experience.

Recommended to Disney's lovers. show less

* I got this book for the publisher for my honest thoughts, I also give it 3.5 stars for my review*

I really enjoyed this twisted tale. I loved the premise of this book. It was super fun and interesting to be in all the characters heads throughout this novel. It def made me understand all these characters and see them more as 3D character. I thought Ariel the character had such a unique arc in this novel and it def let it open for a sequel. I just found this be a super fun read and hope to read more of them in the future! I really enjoyed the duel focus on Ariel and Eric and how much we learned about them! I thought the book was on the longer side and thought it could have been condensed a tad but overall I found the story and plot to be show more compelling to read! show less

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a what if twist where Ursula is not defeated and married to Eric. Ariel still does not have her voice and is queen of the sea. Great action throughout the book. I could really see this as a graphic novel more than a movie version. The ending was great, not what I expected at all. I think I'll look into reading more types of these books in the future.

* I got this book for the publisher for my honest thoughts, I also give it 3.5 stars for my review*

I really enjoyed this twisted tale. I loved the premise of this book. It was super fun and interesting to be in all the characters heads throughout this novel. It def made me understand all these characters and see them more as 3D character. I thought Ariel the character had such a unique arc in this novel and it def let it open for a sequel. I just found this be a super fun read and hope to read more of them in the future! I really enjoyed the duel focus on Ariel and Eric and how much we learned about them! I thought the book was on the longer side and thought it could have been condensed a tad but overall I found the story and plot to be show more compelling to read! show less

I was very nervous about starting this book because I've had up and down feelings about the series so far. I actually really enjoyed this book it seems like Braswell took the positive criticism and used it to amp up her stories. I enjoyed the little glimpses at the Disney tale we all know and love but I like that it strays away from the original tale alot more and becomes its own story. I can't wait to see what the upcoming Twisted Tales have in store.