A review by rachaellostinneverland
A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A good book for fans of Disney, and those who have ever enjoyed reading fanfiction, as it is essentially official Aladdin fan fiction that has gone through teams of editors and marketing (I mean that in a good way, not in the condescending way most people mean when they say “it reads like fanfiction). 

What I Like
  • I feel like because it was in the form of book, we got a lot of insight into these individual characters, especially Aladdin himself.
  • Some of the new characters were entertaining! 
  • I think in many ways, it gave us more insight into Aladdin’s life of thievery and why he does what he does.
  • I feel like there were some genuinely fun moments.
  • The jabs at the original movie (there was a scene where a character questioned where all the animals go after the big parade).

What I Didn’t Like
  • The pacing. It was honestly my biggest issue here, and part of the reason I decided to rate it 3.5 stars instead of 4 stars. I would describe it as medium-slow, but when it slowed down, man did it slow down. I don’t even mind slower paced books, but there were scenes that dragged.
  • Jasmine. I love Jasmine in the original movie, and I feel like they tried to make her more dynamic in this version, but idk… it just fell short for me. I saw a lot of missed potential, and it was kind of annoying. There are also privileged things she says that got on my nerves. I don’t think she was horrible in the books, and I don’t dislike her, I just dislike the missed potential.

Overall, I do plan on reading the rest of the series, even if this book was slightly above average for me. It does seem to be fans least favorite book, so I don’t know if I will continue to go in order, or read a more popular / well liked book in the series next.
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