Year in Review & Review of A Whole New World

 

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My Year in Review 

This year has been tough for everyone. And while I have been reading or rather listening, I haven’t felt like sitting down to share about the books I’ve read.  

Not only is 2020 a year with a pandemic, the library I work at recently (ok in August) moved to a new larger building. I have been pretty busy as this was my first full year as Branch Lead/Manager (oh whatever the title is, I’m supervising the branch). I helped with organizing the move and this was all done during a Pandemic after many years of others’ hard work. I just took over and was there in the end.  On top of a move, I’ve also tried to work on shifting how I think about programing, not very successfully in my opinion. Though I have recorded multiple Virtual Storytimes for my job which are quite successfully received.  

Well, enough about my job life is pretty good all things considered, I just haven’t been motivated to share my reading with anyone. That is until now, below is a brief summary and review of A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell. This is the second Twisted Tale I’ve read. For those interested these are a “what if” type tale about the classic Disney Princesses and Princes. 

Review: A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale 

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As I mentioned above the Twisted Tales shares the “What IF” side of Disney stories. A Whole New World examines the question “What if Aladdin Had never found the lamp?” (Braswell, 2015, back
cover). Though in my opinion this idea is not fully correct, you see Aladdin does technically “find” the lamp, he just can’t keep the lamp. Those who remember the movie will remember the scene in the cave of wonders where Carpet rescues Aladdin and they escape from the wrath of the Cave of Wonders only to be shoved down by Jaffar in disguise. In Braswell’s tale this is where everything changes, Aladdin is trying to escape with the lamp, however is unsuccessful, and sadly so is Abu (his monkey friend, as you might recall he steals the lamp back in the movie). This leaves Aladdin stuck in the cave to die or escape with only a magic carpet and Abu, no Genie.  

Braswell then sends Aladdin through the desert to discover what has come of Agrabah, unaided by the Genie who is now in the service of Jafar. Can Aladdin rescue Jasmine, free the Genie, and save Agrabah?  The tale unfolds to show Jasmine as a strong woman who, once secure in herself, can lead an army of Street Rats to save the city! While Aladdin is the hero in the movie, he comes to play a supporting role for Jasmine, who has suffered much at the hands of Jafar. 

I enjoyed this alternate story of Jasmine & Aladdin. It allowed the reader to explore another view of what could have happened and how they could save the city from Jafar without magic. I look forward to reading more from the Twisted Tales series. 

Reference 

Braswell, L. (2015). A whole new world: A twisted tale. Los Angeles: Disney. 

Images take by me of A Whole New World by Liz Braswell