Scan barcode
f_r_e_d's review against another edition
3.5
A fun spin on the story. Cute little read. A little predictable.
demonsanddelusions's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
story_sanctuary's review against another edition
4.0
Aladdin: Far From Agrabah begins with Prince Ali trying to impress Princess Jasmine and follows them through the magic carpet ride which allows her to get to know him and totally changes how she feels about him. It’s mostly off-script from the original story, something that could have happened in a deleted scene.
In the original animated movie, we don’t really get to know Jasmine very well. We learned about her desire to marry for love and her frustration at being kept apart from her kingdom. But in this book, we get to know her much more deeply. She dreams of things much bigger than marriage. She wants to lead her people. Jasmine wants to make a difference in their lives. She has ideas she wants to try if only someone would give her a chance.
Aladdin treats her as his equal, and never acts as though this is noteworthy. He wants to impress her with his wealth and prestige, but clearly considers her thoughtful and worthy of his respect. They make a great team, and the story really captures that partnership dynamic to their relationship.
Interspersed through the story are snippets from a history that Jasmine studies about great leaders. I liked how the story tied the lessons from history into the present through the moral lessons the leaders learned. It wasn’t preachy at all, but made the book seem like so much more than a fairy tale.
Aladdin fans, especially fans of Princess Jasmine, won’t want to miss this deeper look into the fabulous magic carpet ride that took Jasmine and her prince into a whole new world.
In the original animated movie, we don’t really get to know Jasmine very well. We learned about her desire to marry for love and her frustration at being kept apart from her kingdom. But in this book, we get to know her much more deeply. She dreams of things much bigger than marriage. She wants to lead her people. Jasmine wants to make a difference in their lives. She has ideas she wants to try if only someone would give her a chance.
Aladdin treats her as his equal, and never acts as though this is noteworthy. He wants to impress her with his wealth and prestige, but clearly considers her thoughtful and worthy of his respect. They make a great team, and the story really captures that partnership dynamic to their relationship.
Interspersed through the story are snippets from a history that Jasmine studies about great leaders. I liked how the story tied the lessons from history into the present through the moral lessons the leaders learned. It wasn’t preachy at all, but made the book seem like so much more than a fairy tale.
Aladdin fans, especially fans of Princess Jasmine, won’t want to miss this deeper look into the fabulous magic carpet ride that took Jasmine and her prince into a whole new world.
iceprime5's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed getting to spend more time with Aladdin and Jasmine but Aladdin's lie got to me a bit. I really hate when people lie and throughout this story he has to keep up the appearance that he is a real prince and they are actually in Ababwa. It got a little annoying at times (there are only so many times I needed to be reminded he was lying to be with Jasmine) but it was great seeing Jasmine observing and trying to decide what type of leader she could be, if given the chance. She has a better arc than Aladdin because she's not pretending and was able to change in the end.
This story takes place during "A Whole New World." While traveling everywhere on the magic carpet, where time and space work differently, Jasmine says they should visit Ababwa, Prince Ali's home. He gets creative and Genie creates his perfect kingdom from ruins. Unbeknownst to them, somebody is actually living nearby and witnesses the kingdom spring up out of nowhere.
While there Aladdin, ahem, Prince Ali, asks Jasmine to help with making decisions and helping the citizens. Jasmine is delighted. She's always wanted to be more involved but the Sultan and Jafar would never let her. She listens to each citizen and feels like she's actually making a difference as she helps them solve their problems. Everything is going perfectly, until that one real person decides to cause trouble that could ruin the illusion and expose Aladdin and keep them trapped in Ababwa.
Stories that take place in the middle of a movie are usually difficult for me to get invested in since I know how it ends (I've watched the movie so I know they make it back to the palace). However, this story excelled at having Jasmine and Aladdin explore their feelings, ideas, and identities. I knew they would get back safely to the palace, but I was still worried about some choices they were being forced to make and how they would handle it.
This story takes place during "A Whole New World." While traveling everywhere on the magic carpet, where time and space work differently, Jasmine says they should visit Ababwa, Prince Ali's home. He gets creative and Genie creates his perfect kingdom from ruins. Unbeknownst to them, somebody is actually living nearby and witnesses the kingdom spring up out of nowhere.
While there Aladdin, ahem, Prince Ali, asks Jasmine to help with making decisions and helping the citizens. Jasmine is delighted. She's always wanted to be more involved but the Sultan and Jafar would never let her. She listens to each citizen and feels like she's actually making a difference as she helps them solve their problems. Everything is going perfectly, until that one real person decides to cause trouble that could ruin the illusion and expose Aladdin and keep them trapped in Ababwa.
Stories that take place in the middle of a movie are usually difficult for me to get invested in since I know how it ends (I've watched the movie so I know they make it back to the palace). However, this story excelled at having Jasmine and Aladdin explore their feelings, ideas, and identities. I knew they would get back safely to the palace, but I was still worried about some choices they were being forced to make and how they would handle it.
aotora's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't know that this was a midquel- I usually don't usually enjoy those ... but I love this book.
It takes place during the magic carpet ride Aladdin and Jasmine take in the original live action movie.Aladdin wishes to show her his kingdom that he doesn't have so Genie makes one up for him -one that only stays up and showing as long as Aladdin and Jasmine are in it.
i loved all of the old and new characters in this one. I also loved the short chapter breaks that are about the famous sultans from the past - it all eventually connects with the story and comes full circle.
The only thing that I wish this book had more of was Genie because I loved him in the original, but he is back at the palace distracting everyone so that they don't see that Jasmin and Ali/Aladdin are missing but the parts where he does pop up are well-written and hillarious. It's a nice short quick page turner that is as great as the movie novelization was.
It takes place during the magic carpet ride Aladdin and Jasmine take in the original live action movie.Aladdin wishes to show her his kingdom that he doesn't have so Genie makes one up for him -one that only stays up and showing as long as Aladdin and Jasmine are in it.
i loved all of the old and new characters in this one. I also loved the short chapter breaks that are about the famous sultans from the past - it all eventually connects with the story and comes full circle.
The only thing that I wish this book had more of was Genie because I loved him in the original, but he is back at the palace distracting everyone so that they don't see that Jasmin and Ali/Aladdin are missing but the parts where he does pop up are well-written and hillarious. It's a nice short quick page turner that is as great as the movie novelization was.
aliciadun's review against another edition
4.0
I love the story of Aladdin so I was excited to receive an ARC of this book. This story is an Aladdin retelling that focuses mainly on Aladdin’s second wish. I liked how the beginning of the story closely aligned with the actual story and how it delved into its own story. The descriptions were well done and I loved reading about the new kingdom of Ababwa. We got to see both Aladdin and Jasmine’s leadership qualities in this book. I felt the ending needed more to it as it seemed to be lacking. I am not sure what exactly I was expecting for the end but it wasn’t that as it seemed to end quite abruptly.
lovemisty's review against another edition
4.0
This book is really cute and a quick read.
But I found it in the young adult section and honestly believe it is more along the lines of the dork diaries age group.
But I found it in the young adult section and honestly believe it is more along the lines of the dork diaries age group.
bookish_brooklyn's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of Aladdin: Far From Agrabah from Scholastic Books Australia in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Let’s start with what I liked: Far From Agrabah, I thought, was initially quite clever in that the bulk of the book actually takes place in the Kingdom of Ababwa, which my fellow Disney enthusiasts would know to be the fictionalised realm where Prince Ali aka Aladdin rules. What really made me chuckle was when Genie was working his magic, seeing that the land of Ababwa was being illustrated onto the map right in front of Jasmine and Aladdin’s eyes, it just made for a completely awkwardly sweet moment and definitely made me think of the live action movie that this book was based on, which for most part I really enjoyed!
What initially started to throw me off though about Far From Agrabah were the chapters throughout the main story though, where the reader learns about some prestigious and noteworthy rulers and how they came to govern their lands and how their realm was able to flourish. In theory I thought that these would have been quite fun and fascinating to read about, but truth be told I was just wondering how they connected back to our main story, with some of the Sultans and people of note slightly getting lost on me!
Whilst I enjoyed the originality of Far From Agrabah, I did find myself feeling the pacing to be a little bit slow, well truthfully quite a lot slow, so much so that I actually procrastinated finishing it because there were moments throughout this book where I personally felt like not much happened at all! To me, it felt like there were a stream of pages where we’re treated to the description of the kingdom of Ababwa, which is all well and good, I appreciate being able to visualise it but sometimes the descriptions just went on a bit too long, I thought.
What I did find curious though was the long awaited reveal of the strange man that seemed to follow Jasmine and Ali around Ababwa, initially I wondered if by some sorcery, maybe it was Jafar? What I must say was completely clever was that in the fabricated kingdom of Ababwa, there seemed to be a young street rat (who was completely cheeky and sweet) and it really felt like Genie modelled on Aladdin himself. There were some lovely scenes with the young boy and Aladdin and Jasmine, it was so sweet to read their dynamic together!
It was interesting too, from Jasmine’s point of view, that she thought Prince Ali reminded her of Aladdin, but I did find it low-key frustrating that it took her so long to piece it together! Now, I understand that Far From Agrabah was travelling along the line of the 2019 film, but I just wish there had of been more of a reaction from Jasmine when she learnt the truth! In this book, Aladdin was thinking how he wasn’t worthy of a Princesses as he sees himself as a nobody, of course we know they’re lovely together, but upon the reveal of Ali being Aladdin, I just felt it was all glazed over a bit.
That being said though, it was quite an innovative idea having this novel set in the kingdom of Ababwa, I think younger readers may enjoy reading about that too, as well as seeing some familiar faces from Aladdin!
Let’s start with what I liked: Far From Agrabah, I thought, was initially quite clever in that the bulk of the book actually takes place in the Kingdom of Ababwa, which my fellow Disney enthusiasts would know to be the fictionalised realm where Prince Ali aka Aladdin rules. What really made me chuckle was when Genie was working his magic, seeing that the land of Ababwa was being illustrated onto the map right in front of Jasmine and Aladdin’s eyes, it just made for a completely awkwardly sweet moment and definitely made me think of the live action movie that this book was based on, which for most part I really enjoyed!
What initially started to throw me off though about Far From Agrabah were the chapters throughout the main story though, where the reader learns about some prestigious and noteworthy rulers and how they came to govern their lands and how their realm was able to flourish. In theory I thought that these would have been quite fun and fascinating to read about, but truth be told I was just wondering how they connected back to our main story, with some of the Sultans and people of note slightly getting lost on me!
Whilst I enjoyed the originality of Far From Agrabah, I did find myself feeling the pacing to be a little bit slow, well truthfully quite a lot slow, so much so that I actually procrastinated finishing it because there were moments throughout this book where I personally felt like not much happened at all! To me, it felt like there were a stream of pages where we’re treated to the description of the kingdom of Ababwa, which is all well and good, I appreciate being able to visualise it but sometimes the descriptions just went on a bit too long, I thought.
What I did find curious though was the long awaited reveal of the strange man that seemed to follow Jasmine and Ali around Ababwa, initially I wondered if by some sorcery, maybe it was Jafar? What I must say was completely clever was that in the fabricated kingdom of Ababwa, there seemed to be a young street rat (who was completely cheeky and sweet) and it really felt like Genie modelled on Aladdin himself. There were some lovely scenes with the young boy and Aladdin and Jasmine, it was so sweet to read their dynamic together!
It was interesting too, from Jasmine’s point of view, that she thought Prince Ali reminded her of Aladdin, but I did find it low-key frustrating that it took her so long to piece it together! Now, I understand that Far From Agrabah was travelling along the line of the 2019 film, but I just wish there had of been more of a reaction from Jasmine when she learnt the truth! In this book, Aladdin was thinking how he wasn’t worthy of a Princesses as he sees himself as a nobody, of course we know they’re lovely together, but upon the reveal of Ali being Aladdin, I just felt it was all glazed over a bit.
That being said though, it was quite an innovative idea having this novel set in the kingdom of Ababwa, I think younger readers may enjoy reading about that too, as well as seeing some familiar faces from Aladdin!
sezziy's review against another edition
3.0
The book was sweet, and I loved the dynamic of Aladdin and Jasmine, and them spending more time together before they fall in love, but the entire premise felt flawed. I can sort of believe time working differently when they travel by carpet but there seems to be no plan for when they get back. The book ends as they return to Agrabah and leaves me with more questions than answers. Would Jasmine never have asked to visit "Ali's" kingdom ever again? What was Aladdin's plan if she did? Would the genie magic it up every time? Would she not wonder who was running things whilst Aladdin was away? So many unanswered questions!