Title: A Whole New World
Author: Liz Braswell
Publication: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Disney Press
Genre: Teens & YA Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 279
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
What if Aladdin had never found the lamp?
Aladdin is a Street Rat. Like most, he’s just trying to survive another day in impoverished Agrabah.
Jasmine is a princess, one who is about to enter into an arranged marriage. All she wants is to escape her fate, to see what lies beyond the palace walls.
But everything changes when the sultan’s trusted adviser, Jafar, suddenly rises to power. With the help of an ancient lamp, Jafar attempts to break the laws of magic and gain control over love and death. Soon Aladdin and the deposed princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion to stop the power-mad ruler threatening to tear the kingdom apart.
This isn’t the story you already know. This is a story about power. About revolutionaries. About love. And about one moment changing everything.
REVIEW:
I recently chose this book for my book club that I run. I had had it on my to-be-read list for quite a while….as well as sitting it on my shelf for the same amount if I am honest. I have previously read one other book in the series about Mulan. That book was amazing and it really was a twisted tale. I was really excited to read this one!
Aladdin was/is a street rat. He stole what he needed to order to survive. It also helped his mother survive as well. Then his mother died and then he was just stealing for himself. While stealing bananas, he watches a woman that he has never seen, take an apple and give it to a child who was starving. He saves her and the rest is history. It sets the wheels in motion for things that Aladdin could never imagine. This book was pretty good. There was at the beginning too much that was the same with the movie that was really boring. However, it certainly was a twisted tale. As the story progressed it was quite the adventure.
The whole idea, as it says on the cover of the book, what if Aladdin never found the lamp. He actually found the lap but Jafar was actually successful in taking the lamp from him and tapping Aladdin underground. This story was a complete 180 from what the Disney movie was. I really like the idea of Jasmine being a kick-ass feminist. I rather enjoyed the larger Jafar story. It really made me dislike him even more than normal. While he isn’t an enjoyable character in the movie he really isn’t in the book. The fact that there was an army of street rats and people who supported Jasmine on her quest was phenomenal. I am really excited to read more books in the twisted tales series. I have three more on my shelf and about 6 of them on my wish list on Amazon. I can’t wait to read more.
STAR RATING: 4/5
Pick up your copy of A Whole New World by Liz Braswell on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and check your local bookstore. Also make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. You can check out more from author Liz Braswell on her website HERE.
