Reviews

Aladdin: Far from Agrabah by Aisha Saeed

nataliesboooks's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars, rounded up.

This is basically a tale of Aladdin and Jasmine’s date on the magic carpet during the singing of “A Whole New World.” I’ve always loved that part of the movie, and it was nice to see it expanded upon in book form. There was more dimension to Jasmine and I really liked that she wanted to be a good leader to the people of Agrabah. Aladdin really milked that first wish of being a prince - even getting the Genie to create the fictitious city of Ababwa! Lengthening their date made the romance more believable. It was cute and I liked it. I really want to rewatch the cartoon now!

kristendv's review against another edition

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4.0

At the beginning I thought I would be bored rereading a story I already knew. As I kept reading I realized that this story filled in some gaps from the story we all know and love. What else happened on that magic carpet ride? This story took that moment and created a unique story around it!

caffeinatedfae's review against another edition

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3.0

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this fresh take on Aladdin. I have always been a huge fan of the movie so revisiting this world made me feel like a child again. Aladdin: Far From Agrabah is sure to be a hit with the midgrade audience. The writing was on par for mid-grade novels, and It was relatively fast-paced, One thing that I enjoyed the most was the fact that it added a new story to a classic Disney movie. I forgot how much I missed Aladdin so it was fun to take a few days revisiting old friends. One thing that I really wished this novel had was more of the back story. I felt that this book needed background. If I didn't grow up watching Aladdin as a child, I would have never known what was going on. I desperately wanted the background and I feel that this book does a disservice to readers who have never explored Agrabah before.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the book. It was fast-paced and easy to read. It is sure to be a favorite amongst midgrade novels who have watched Aladdin.

lainey34's review against another edition

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5.0

Far From Agrabah was a wonderful read! Before I read the book, I read a few of the reviews and I was a little reluctant to read the book, but I really loved it. I thought the story line was very unique and I liked the concept of explaining a part of Aladdin that hasn't been explained yet.

alekhyamaram's review against another edition

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1.0

Why did I read this so many regrets

alexandra_92's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this! And I have watched the movie too!

abetterbradley's review against another edition

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2.0

52 Week Reading Challenge: a book based on a movie

This was a weird book. It’s based on the Disney movie Aladdin. If you’ve seen the movie the actions of this book take place during the A Whole New World where Aladdin and Jasmine are on the magic carpet. This book says that Aladdin conspired with Genie to form the fake kingdom that “Prince Ali” is from in order to impress Jasmine. I don’t think that this was a necessary book but it allows me to check off an item from my 52 Week Reading Challenge list so I won’t complain.

kitkat8267's review against another edition

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3.0

So I love reading these types of books right b for the movie comes out just because they often have a few small hints about things in the movie. For most I’m so glad that Jasmine is going to be a take charge girl in this movie. In this books she’s suspicious, clever, and actually is very studious. I like cartoon Jasmine but because she is a sassy and strong willed princess. But that sadly doesn’t change that she doesn’t do anything really. I am looking forward to see her Handmaiden and Genie romance each other and hope it can be interesting. Maybe there will be a TV series reference to the female genie that Genie dates? I also think that Jafar is basically treating the Sultan in the same way King Theodonn. Other than that it was an interesting spin off but after 200 pages I got bored. But I’m excited for the movie.

chickadilly's review against another edition

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3.0

Probably 3.5 starts. I enjoyed this and I think many fans of Aladdin will as well. It gives more detail to the story of the movie as well as delves more into the characters back stories which I think only ads to enrich the story.

This would be a great read for kids around middle school age. It wears a bit for an adult but it doesn't take away too much from the story - I was just very aware that it was written for kids and not adults when reading. So half a point for that - which is possibly unfair considering I'm not actually the target age but it impacted how I reacted to it.

I docked a point because there are a few scenes from the film that I think would have improved this read but for some reason were taken out (or simply not written.) It lead me to wonder if the author just figured that we all had seen the movie and therefor did not have to elaborate on certain things but I felt it detracted from the richness of the story.

That said it's a fun read and if you're a big Aladdin fan you will most likely love it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy to review. :)

rbookish's review against another edition

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2.0

I sadly didn’t like this as much as I hoped i would.