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 from 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
Aladdin with zombies? Yes, please!
I have always been a fan of Disney movies. So when I learned about the Twisted Tales series which gives Disney movies an alternate ending, I decided to give the series a read.
A Whole New World by Liz Braswell is a twisted tale of what would happen if Aladdin was never able to retrieve the lamp from the Cave of Wonders and Jafar is the owner of the lamp. It gives an inside perspective on how Aladdin lived his life in the streets and the relationships that he had while growing up. For the first few chapters, the events in the book remain faithful to the movie. Though not many may appreciate this lack of deviation from the first few chapters, I personally liked it. This is because it gave me a glimpse of the thoughts that were running inside Aladdin’s mind when he was running away from the guards and, most importantly, what his first impression of Princess Jasmine was. Having this kind of insider view, makes the story more interesting.
Another aspect that truly shone in this book was how they portrayed princess Jasmine. I loved how this book portrays Jasmine as a strong-willed, brave, and intelligent young woman who effortlessly assumes a leadership role in a rebellion to free Agrabah from Jafar’s tyranny. She manages this by using her wit, charm, and by leading through example which enabled her to win the loyalty of the rebels. Talk about being a force to be reckoned with!
One thing that is quite surprising about A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale, is that it has a number of dark plot twists. These sudden changes in events leave a lasting impression because it is not a direction that you would expect from a Disney retelling. Instead, such events leave the reader shaken as these incidences highlight the villainy of Jafar.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book Though it is targeted at a younger audience, I feel that older readers will enjoy this as well because of the refreshing tale that Liz Braswell has spun on the question: What would have happened if Aladdin never got the lamp?
Disclaimer: Synopsis is from goodreads.com
Audaysciously 
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